Bill T. Jones World Premiere Set for Peak Performances This Weekend

tra-mon-tane adjective r?-'män-. t?n, . tra-m?n-' 1. Traveling to, situated on, or living on the other side of a mountain; latin transmontanus "beyond the mountains" Analogy/Dora: Tramontane is based on an oral history Bill T. Jones conducted with 94-year-old Dora Amelan, a French Jewish nurse and social worker during World War II. Analogy began twelve years ago, simply, as a gift Jones created for his longtime partner and collaborator, Bjorn Amelan and his family. Dora Amelan's harrowing, touching and inspirational story is broken into 25 episodes that become the basis for choreography, narrative and music. These episodes chronicle her early family life, her mother's death as the Germans were marching into Belgium, her journey onwards to France and the loss of further family members during the war. Arriving in Vichy France she encounters the internment camps of Gurs and Rivesaltes, where she devotes herself to working for a Jewish underground organization. Dora currently lives in Paris and will attend the premiere.

Analogy/Dora: Tramontane uses the interview format between Jones and Dora as a springboard to multiple levels of transformation. The nine dancers of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company move seamlessly between dancing, speaking and singing in the evening length work. The simple passing of a microphone signals taking on one of the roles of the "interview." Analogy/Dora: Tramontane is a meditation on the spirit of service, the call of duty and the amorphous nature of memory. What, for any of us, constitutes a life well lived?

Bjorn Amelan's decor is constructed and de-constructed by the company to suggest a hotel, a railway station, barracks and less easily defined spaces. Musical accompaniment features haunting songs of the wartime era, from the quietly beautiful words of Charles Trenet's song Le Soleil et la Lune, and the evergreen Parlez-moi d'amour, to some of Schubert's most evocative lieder, Nachstück, Alinde and Nähe des Geliebten. Original music composed and performed live by Nick Hallett adds additional dimension to the work.

Two-time Tony winner and National Medal of Arts recipient Bill T. Jones' long affiliation with Peak Performances has produced some of his most profoundly moving works, including Blind Date (2005), A Quarreling Pair (2007), and Story/Time (2011). This is his first new work since 2013.

Analogy/Dora: Tramontane is the first part of a trilogy. Part II, titled Analogy/Lance: Bad Boy aka The Escape Artist will premiere in Summer 2016. Part III, titled Analogy/Ambros: The Emigrant will premiere the following year, in 2017.

Analogy/Dora: Tramontane
Conceived and Directed by Bill T. Jones
Choreographed by Bill T. Jones with Janet Wong and the Company
Original Score Composed by Nick Hallett
Decor by Bjorn Amelan
Lighting Design by Robert Wierzel
Costumes by Liz Prince
Sound Design by Sam Crawford
Associate Set Design by Solomon Weisbard

WHERE TO GO
The performances are June 18, 19 at 7:30pm; June 20 at 8:00 pm; June 21 at 3:00pm.

The Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University is located at 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, New Jersey 07043. Tickets are $20, and are available at the box office, www.peakperfs.org, or by calling 973-655-6112.

Charter bus service is provided from New York Live Arts at 219 West 19th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues to the Alexander Kasser Theater ($10 per person, round trip) for all Saturday and Sunday performances. Bus reservations may be made by calling 973-655-5112 or by visiting www.peakperfs.org.

For restaurants close to the Alexander Kasser Theater, visit www.destinationmontclair.com.