Two-time Tony Award Winning Choreographer Bill T. Jones to present the annual Toni Morrison lectures at Princeton University

Two-time Tony Award Winning Choreographer Bill T. Jones to present the annual Toni Morrison lectures at Princeton University.

Bill T. Jones, Co-founder and Artistic Director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Executive Artistic Director of New York Live Arts, will deliver a three part series for the annual Toni Morrison Lectures entitled “The Life Of An Idea: Investigating Belonging, Appropriating And Adapting In The Context Of Time” at 8:00 p.m. on April 17, 19, and 24, 2012 at Princeton University. Sponsored jointly by the Center for African American Studies and Princeton University Press, the lecture series is free and open to the public. Tickets are required for admission and can be ordered from the University Ticketing Office by calling (609)258-9220.

[Media who would like to attend the lectures should RSVP to Jennifer Loessy at the Center for African American Studies no later than April 16 at 5:00 p.m. for the April 17 lecture; April 18 at 5:00pm for the April 19 lecture; and April 23 at 5:00 p.m. for the April 24 lecture by emailing jloessy@princeton.edu or calling (609) 258-3216.]

The first lecture entitled “Past Time” will take place on April 17, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. Jones will address creative practice and history through the lens of dance and body-based art making. Questions of identity, aesthetic value, and criticism will also be explored.

On April 19, Jones will read a selection of sixty original stories, each one minute long, from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company’s newest work, Story/Time (2012). The performance lecture will be held in McCosh Hall, Room 10 at 8:00 p.m. Story/Time composer and musician Ted Coffey (MFA, PhD Princeton University) will accompany, and Story/Time set designer and Creative Director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Bjorn G. Amelan, will also participate by creating a drawing in real-time as part of the performance-lecture.

Bill T. Jones

The final lecture entitled “With Time” will take place on April 21, at 8:00 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. Jones will discuss how his thinking about art making has evolved over time while addressing the constant fight for relevance, inspiration, and the tenacity needed to sustain a creative life. “We are delighted to have Bill T. Jones deliver the Toni Morrison lectures,” said Eddie Glaude, Chair of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University. “Jones is one of the finest choreographers and dancers of our time. We are looking forward to an amazing journey that only he can direct.” Jones is a multi-talented artist, choreographer, dancer, theater director and writer whose major honors include a 1994 MacArthur “Genius” Award and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2010. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2009 and named “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure” by the Dance Heritage Coalition in 2000.

His ventures into Broadway theater resulted in a 2010 Tony Award for Best Choreography in the critically acclaimed FELA!, the musical co-conceived, co-written, directed and choreographed by Mr. Jones. He also earned a 2007 Tony Award for Best Choreography in Spring Awakening, as well as an Obie Award for the show’s 2006 off-Broadway run. His choreography for the off-Broadway production of The Seven earned him a 2006 Lucille Lortel Award. In addition to his role as Co-founder and Artistic Director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Jones serves as Executive Artistic Director of New York Lives Arts, an organization that supports the nation’s dance and movement-based artists through new approaches to producing, presenting and educating.

“I am deeply honored to deliver this year’s Toni Morrison Lectures and it is particularly exciting to share my thoughts about a lifetime in the creative arts and the particular journey represented by Story/Time," said Bill T. Jones. "I hope that in reflecting on my creative process, audiences will be encouraged to further engage and participate in the world of ideas.“

Ted Coffey is a composer of acoustic and electronic chamber music, interactive installations, and songs. A graduate of Princeton University (MFA, PhD), Coffey is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Virginia, where he teaches courses in composition, music technologies, critical theory, and pop.

Coffey’s electroacoustic composition has been featured at ICMC (2004, 2005, 2006), SEAMUS (2001, 2009, 2010, 2011), the Spark Festival (2009), the Third Practice Festival (2005, 2008, 2009), and the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (2010), among others. Story/Time is Coffey's first collaboration with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.

Sponsored jointly by the Center for African American Studies and Princeton University Press, the Toni Morrison Lectures will be held annually and spotlight the new and exciting work of scholars and writers who have risen to positions of prominence both in academe and in the broader world of letters.

The lectures presented by Bill T. Jones will be compiled and published in book form by Princeton University Press to celebrate the expansive literary imagination, intellectual adventurousness and political insightfulness that characterize the writing of Toni Morrison.

Additional information about the Toni Morrison lectures and other events can be found on the Center for African American Studies website at: www.princeton.edu/caas/events/

Posted Mar 22, 2012By Jennifer Loessy, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Media contact: Jennifer Loessy, (609) 258-3216 jloessy@princeton.edu

IMAGE CREDIT: By Russell Jenkins [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons