1. AADH Day 17 – “What is Black Dance?” and Bill T. Jones “What is Black Dance?” Bill T. Jones Fish Story Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land

2. Intro - Labels in dance – Background Labels serve a purpose – to market dance To defining and position an artist Historical or and cultural context Postmodern, new dance, avant-garde Audience not always aware of the entire history

3. Postmodern era Grew out of 60s, Cmerce Cunningham and Judson Church Rebellion against classical modern dance of Graham, Humphrey, Limon, Sixties about experimentation, black power movement -civil rights Dancers seeking balance between the narrative and pure movement

4. Postmodern Aesthetics Assemblages of period or theatrical reference - comment on the present. Historically aware. Second wave of postmoderns - people like Bill T. Jones, Ralph Lemon Return to "theatrical and virtuosic performance. Perform personal intimate

5. Labels Postmodern - separation from audience as necessary for performance event Black artists desire to foster communication form and function united New dance - political and social activism 90’s popular terms - multicultural and diversity

6. What is Black Dance? Who defines the answer. Term – black dance, obscure meaning – yet loaded with power Echoes the question from 1930’s – “What shall the Negro Dance about?”

7. What is Black Dance? Funding entities – for black dance – labels pigeon holes companies Critics – lump choreographers together Who does this term refer to? Black Dance – a label critics use to summarize a richly diverse body of work

8. What is Black Dance? Responses to the Term Insistence for the freedom to define culture on their own terms, likewise for their creative work. Black choreographers feel their work is about life informed by their lives. Artists who happen to be black,

9. What is Black Dance? Lumping all Af- Am dance forms separates and diminishes their diversity Issue now is artistic freedom “Cultural imperialism vs. cultural self- determination.” A misconception – that ethnicity predetermines culture Dialogue needed on this issue

10. What is Black Dance? How does this relate to identity. What examples have we seen so far? Whose perspective is being presented? Bill T. Jones - What does black mean in western culture context?

11. Focus on Bill T. Jones Biography to Autobiographical material in dance Born 1952 – tenth of twelve children Grew up in upstate New York Informed his understanding and confusion about race

12. Aesthetic Choices - Methods Talking in dance – postmodern aesthetic – telling his story Formalism – pure gesture and line, recall opening day poem Personal emotion – dares to show anger, express love Pedestrian – blends technique with simplicity Improvisation as a creative process Contact Improvisation – especially in early duets with Arnie Zane

13. Focus on Bill T. Jones - Issues of Identity

14. Life and Art - blur the boundaries Arnie Zane – lover and collaborator Their duets exposed their relationship Continent of two Politics – personal, class and race – they drew directly on their own lives to understand their identity

15. Life and Art - blur the boundaries

16. Arnie Zane died in 1988 of AIDS Fish Story – an earlier dance that explores death Performed in 1980 in the context of Jones great loss of Zane. Aesthetic choices, fractured language and dance blur, have to read both texts

17. Arnie Zane died in 1988 of AIDS Fish Story - 1990 Performance

18. Other Dances Untitled – expresses anger Etude – pure design in space

19. Untitled

20. Etude

21. Uncle Tom’s Cabin/Last Supper/The Promised Land (1990) About faith, History, Anger and Seeking Common Ground Identity – who are we first, second and third.

22. Uncle Tom’s Cabin/Last Supper/The Promised Land (1990)

24. Bill T. Jones - Last Night of Earth What does he say about history? History has rules, one: identity forged by violence and deprivation will manifest violence and deprivation Such rules must be broken, a conscious effort Black people’s experience has helped to educate the human heart History is a mirror in which to see himself

25. Uncle Tom’s Cabin/Last Supper/The Promised Land (1990)

26. How do you respond to his historical account? More and more personal- history ultimately is what happens to you What you do or do not do

27. Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin Uncle Tom’s Cabin – sketch of the story Entre act Faith - on stage interview with a priest or rabbi on issues of faith This follows Bill T. Jones dancing to the reading of Job, Jones own tragic loss of his partner parallels Job’s loss Yet Jones does not regain all back in the end through faith

28. Uncle Tom’s Cabin/Last Supper/The Promised Land (1990)

30. Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin Was to acknowledge his division from his mother’s faith Sixties naivete to go beyond anger, beyond division With an African-American voice speak to a diverse audience, Speak about being human, our lives, our dreams

31. Uncle Tom’s Cabin/Last Supper/The Promised Land (1990)

33. Four - The Promised Land King’s speech backwards as an argument Dance develops abstractly - people gradually disrobing First Arthur Aviles has appeared alone as nude - by end everyone is. Community and personal gutsiness to confront self-willing to expose self and join in community

34. Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin

35. Uncle Tom’s Cabin/Last Supper/The Promised Land (1990)

36. Jones’ goal for LSUTC Wanted to disavow an identity as a dying outcast, Affirm our commonality through the body, “we are not afraid” His company reflects the diversity of the audience he hopes to speak to, drew on real life identities of his cast

37. Jones goals for LSUTC Work addresses the disorientation, that he feels around issues of power, sex, race, religion, and art Desire to blend political, social, spiritual issues with narrative and movement

38. Jones goals for LSUTC Work addresses the disorientation, that he feels around issues of power, sex, race, religion, and art Desire to blend political, social, spiritual issues with narrative and movement