Mr. Jones was choreographically turbulent throughout the program. Struggle itself appeared to be the theme of "Havoc," which received its New York premiere. Created in 1990 for the Berkshire Ballet in Massachusetts, it was originally called "Havoc in Heaven." Although heaven is no longer in the title, there is still havoc on stage, and John Bergamo's percussive taped score drums away like a call to battle.

"Havoc" pits two dancers against each other. The movements given Mr. Aviles require him to hop and scramble like a goblin, imp or wild beast. He also leads a small group (Odile Reine-Adelaide, Maya Saffrin and Andrea Woods). His opponent is something of a loner. Cast in this role, Sean Curran took assertive stances, and his ferocity suggested that he was digging deep into the stage with his footwork.

The two men are occasionally locked in conflict. At other times, each seems the other's alter ego. And there are moments when all the dancers are pulled on and off stage, as if by a gigantic magnet. Finally, everyone departs. Yet Ms. Reine-Adelaide's imperious demeanor was a hint that if this power struggle continued, she might be a third force with which the men would have to contend.

Whatever allegorical significance Mr. Jones intended his choreography to have was not clear on a first viewing. Yet its sheer intensity made the piece compelling rather than puzzling.

The fact that its import and outcome were ambiguous may also say much about Mr. Jones's outlook. None of his dances came to a tidy or glibly comforting conclusion. Nevertheless, just as he avoided sentimentality, he also avoided cynicism by implying that the capacity to accept uncertainty is a form of courage.

Bill T. Jones is an American dancer and choreographer, who has no taboos whatsoever. This performer, whose scenic presence thrills the audience, expresses violence, gentleness and emotion. His status as a black, homosexual dancer has influenced the social theme of these works, just like modern dance and the importance of improvisation have influenced the creative approach.
 

Brought up in a very modest African-American family, he studied theatre and dance at the University of Binghamton. A turning point in his life occurred there when he met the performer Arnie Zane who would become his companion and main partner. Together they founded the American Dance Asylum in 1973, before going on to become the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982. Arnie Zane died from AIDS in 1988, Bill T. Jones, who is HIV-positive has continued the company ever since.
 

Bill T. Jones has created works for A. Ailey, the Boston Ballet, the Berlin Opera Ballet and the Lyon Opera Ballet for which he has been honoured with numerous awards. He has also worked on opera and theatre productions. Interested by the diversity of morphologies, he has made this one of his specialities. Black, athletic, sensual and technically highly-skilled, Bill T. Jones played on the differences between himself and Zane, who was small, white and who invented funny gestures and spiced the virtuosity of their duos with a certain kind of nonsense. Bill T. Jones addresses controversial subjects in his choreographical work, such as the status of African-Americans and homosexuality, and he even goes so far as to take a stand on different social issues. His dance, which is already narrative and has broken away from minimalism, is as such militant.

Sources : Panorama de la danse contemporaine, Rosita Boisseau (Ed. Textuel, Paris, 2006) ; New-York Live Arts 's website

More information : newyorklivearts.org 

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.

His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).

Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon

Artistic Direction: Bill T. Jones

Creation: 1982

The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company was born in 1982 out of an 11-year collaboration between Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane (1948–1988). During this time, they redefined the duet form and foreshadowed issues of identity, form and social commentary that would change the face of American dance. The Company has performed worldwide in over 200 cities in 40 countries on every major continent and is recognized as one of the most innovative and powerful forces in the dance-theater world.

The repertory of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company is widely varied in its subject matter, visual imagery and stylistic approach to movement, voice and stagecraft and includes musically-driven works as well as works using a variety of texts. The Company has been acknowledged for its intensely collaborative method of creation that has included artists as diverse as Keith Haring, Cassandra Wilson, The Orion String Quartet etc.

Source: New-York Live Arts

More information : newyorklivearts.org