Jones, Bill T. (1952-…), is an important American choreographer ( dance designer), dancer, and stage director. Jones has been both praised and criticized for the strong social commentary of many of his dances. His subjects include art, censorship, political power, racism, religion, and sexual identity. He presents them in an aggressive style that challenges the audience. Jones created many of his dances for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Jones and Zane, an American dancer and choreographer, cofounded the company in 1982. In 2011, their company merged with the Dance Theater Workshop to create New York Live Arts.
Jones has choreographed more than 100 works both for his own company and for such ballet companies as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, based in New York City; the Berlin Opera Ballet; and the Boston Ballet. In addition, he has choreographed operas. Jones’s major works include Secret Pastures (1984), D-Man in the Waters (1989), Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land (1990), Still/Here (1994), Serious Fun (1995), The Table Project (2001), Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray (2009), and Another Evening: Venice/Arsenal (2010). Jones won Tony Awards for his choreography for the Broadway musicals Spring Awakening (2007) and Fela! (2008), which he also directed. Tony Awards are presented annually for distinguished achievements the previous season in the Broadway theater in New York City.
William Tass Jones was born on Feb. 15, 1952, in Bunnell, Florida. Jones grew up in upstate New York. In 1970, he began studying classical and modern dance at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He met Zane there in 1971, and they became companions. They worked together as dancers and choreographers from 1971 until Zane died of AIDS in 1988. Jones became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2010.
