Who is Bill T Jones?

A dancer, choreographer and artistic director, to begin.  Bill T Jones began discovered dance at Binghamton University, while there on a sports scholarship, where he studied both classical ballet as well as modern dance.  In 1973, he became co-founder of the American Dance Asylum with Luis Welk after returning to Binghamton University.  Two years earlier, he met Arnie Zane who became his partner as well as long-time companion.  Together, they choreographed pioneering solos and duets in the 1970's that often employed openly gay choreography.  One of his most famous works, Still/Here (1995) dealt with the sufferings caused by HIV, with which Jones is infected and which was the cause of Zane’s death.   


Currently, he has created more than 140 works for his own company, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.  Jones has a great interest in new media and technology and often mixes video, text, and autobiographical material with his compositions.  Beyond his own works, Jones had also choreographed for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Boston Ballet and Lyon Opera Ballet, among numerous others.  He has won several awards for his innovative choreography, including the 1994 MacArthur "Genius" Award as well as a Tony Award for his work on Broadway.  He also was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2009 and named "An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure" by the Dance Heritage Coalition in 2000.  Outside of dance, Jones, who has been HIV-positive since 1985, held a series of workshops with other HIV- and AIDS-infected people.  Furthermore, Jones' memoir, Last Night on Earth, was published by Pantheon Books in 1995.