The New York Live Arts will begin its 2025 home season with two performances from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company.
The company will host the world premiere of “Curriculum III: People, Places & Things” as well as “Bill T. Jones: Memory Piece: Mr. Ailey, Alvin…the un – Ailey?,” with performances starting May 15.
“Curriculum III” is a multidisciplinary reflection set “against the backdrop of a memory of freedom.” The theme of freedom, including the desire and the discovery of it, will be heavily dissected and displayed through the 10 company members in the performance.
“Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company began this work as an exploration of stateless people drifting in the seas, a rumination on willful displacement and searching; recognizing the dichotomy between desperation and the commitment to one’s own freedom,” according to a news release.
Inspired by the 1965 Bob Dylan song “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues,” it conveys a growing sentiment of unease given the divisive policies brewing in America, “where everything from the environment to authoritarianism and political upheaval seem to be like the ocean itself, unknown and full of darkness and anxiety,” according to the news release. “Both violent and elegiac, the work examines who is or what makes an American in light of the demonization of immigrants, mass deportations, surveillance, and censorship.”
Bill T. Jones will also reprise the deeply personal solo “Memory Piece: Mr. Ailey, Alvin…the un – Ailey?,” recently performed at the Edges of Ailey exhibit at The Whitney Museum of American Art.
The performance has Jones reflecting on the moments and people who have impacted his career. Focusing on his own legacy in juxtaposition to another famed Black performer and choreographer, Alvin Ailey, the piece’s combination of spoken word, music, and movement pay tribute to Jones’ impact on dance.
The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company was created in 1982, six years before Zane’s death. Known for its contribution to contemporary dance, the company has developed over 140 works, paving the way for New York Live Arts with Jones as its artistic director.
The Live Arts new season will also promote performance art that touches on identity, resilience, spirituality, and place in the world. Its performances maintain this commitment to embracing community while acknowledging internals conflict that remain universally felt.
Held at the Live Arts Theater, the company will launch new community ticket pricing, including “Pay What You Wish” options and “What iI Really Costs” tickets at $250. Standard prices begin at $30.
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