By Liam Otten
February 23, 2001
In "You Walk?" choreographer Bill T. Jones takes his dancers on a fantastic voyage where cultures meet, clash and transform each other with astonishing sensual beauty.
Dance St. Louis and the Edison Theatre's "OVATIONS!" Series will present "You Walk?" with performances March 2-4 by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.
Jones' latest evening-length work, "You Walk?" was commissioned in 1998 by Teatro Arena del Sole of Bolgna, Italy, for the Bologna 2000 Festival, in celebration of "the radiance of Latin-Mediterranean culture throughout the world." The work's world premiere was March 24 last year at the University of Iowa.
Jones is known for his passionate commitment to social causes and calls this latest piece "a poetic response to a social and political topic" --the meeting of disparate cultures --but also stresses that "the work strives to stay clear of polemics."
Reviewers of performances last year agreed. The Village Voice said, "The key word is radianceÉ. Jones shuns the arena of politics and race to create a luminous chain of ritual games." The Cleveland Plain Dealer called "You Walk?" "a fabulous journey through time and space."
The score features East African and Amazon Indian traditional music; medieval Spanish dance; Central American Baroque opera; Portuguese Fado; Texas prison work songs; a Mozart string quartet; bluegrass and blues; and contemporary Brazilian choral work in the style of Gregorian chant --all this in addition to spoken words by John Cage and the dancers themselves.
The athletic choreography weaves together movements from modern dance, classical ballet, gymnastics, yoga, mime, children's games, liturgical ceremonies, tango, disco, African folk dance and everyday body language. Digital projections, a constantly evolving lighting design and an ingenious set of gauze panels create the illusion of indoor and outdoor spaces.
"When cultures come in contact with each other," Jones noted in his artist's statement, "inevitably something dies and something is born. Transformation is the only constantÉ And there is solace if we dare believe it. The creation of beauty or art out of even the greatest of tragedies is in some manner the only way we can bear history."
Jones and his late partner Arnie Zane founded their multicultural dance company in 1982 after collaborating with each other as dancers and choreographers for 11 years. The 10-member troupe has since become a major international force in contemporary dance, and has performed its ever-enlarging repertoire --currently more than 50 works --in more than 100 cities in America and more than 30 countries.
Jones has been commissioned by numerous modern and ballet companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Boston Ballet, Berlin Opera Ballet and Diversions Dance Company.
His many honors include a 1994 MacArthur Fellowship; two New York Dance and Performance ("Bessie") Awards; the 1993 Dance Magazine Award; and honorary doctorates from the Art Institute of Chicago, Bard College and the Juilliard School.
Shows begin at 8 p.m. March 2-3 and at 2 p.m. March 4. Tickets are $25 and are available through the Edison Theatre Box Office (935-6543), the Dance St. Louis Box Office (534-6622), and all MetroTix Outlets (534-1111).
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