Bill T. Jones News

In Dr. BJ Miller's TED Talk he left his audience with the following challenge: "Let death be what takes us, not lack of imagination." The palliative care physician and an executive with San Francisco's Zen Hospice Project proposes rethinking and redesigning how we die; creating a dignified system that allows life to play out as a "crescendo."

Tony and Obie Award-winning playwright and performer Sarah Jones presents an exclusive first-look production of her latest full-length performance piece SELL/BUY/DATE at New York Live Arts for 12 performances only as part of New York Live Arts' annual Live Artery season. This dynamic multi-character, one-person play is inspired by stories of people, especially women and girls, directly impacted by sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

German conductor Christoph Konig leads the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and American violinist Tim Fain in a program featuring the Pittsburgh premiere of Philip Glass's "The American Four Seasons," during BNY Mellon Grand Classics: Beethoven's Pastoral on January 15, 16 and 17 at Heinz Hall.

The playwright/performer's new solo piece is about women and girls who have been directly impacted by sex trafficking.

Festival General Director Nigel Redden announces the program for the 40th annual Spoleto Festival USA, taking place May 27 through June 12, 2016 in Charleston, South Carolina.

From creator Priya Narayan, Bindis and Bruises is a dance and theater production bringing awareness and hope around domestic violence and sexual abuse; a piece that highlights the abuse while providing solutions of change. The dance piece incorporates classical Indian dances such as Bharatanatyam and Kathak, which incorporate storytelling of Hindu religious stories. Check out some promotional photos from the piece, below!

The Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF) today announced programming for the inaugural Tilt Kids Festival. The new cultural festival for families will feature multidisciplinary international work paired with commissions from New York artists, including five premieres. Tilt Kids Festival runs from March 4 through April 3. Tickets will go on sale December 23 at www.tiltkidsfestival.org.

The Vineyard Theatre today announced that their 2016 Gala will honor Vineyard Board President and award-winning actress Kathleen Chalfant and New York theatrical press agent Sam Rudy. The annual Gala Fundraiser will take place on Monday, March 14, 2016, beginning at 6:30pm, at Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue).

Dance enthusiasts from all walks of life gathered for an intimate showing of the fascinating Eye on Dance episode taped in 1986, entitled 'Nurturing A New Generation of Dancers, featuring two beloved dance figures and mentors- Bessie Schonberg and Louise Roberts, presented at Gibney Dance. Curated by Celia Ipiotis (Creator/Co-Producer/Host of Eye on Dance) and Jeff Bush (Co-Producer of Eye on Dance), put together this lovely event as part of the Eye on Dance Public Screenings and Conversation Series.

Currently in its twelfth year, Journal to Journey is a pre-professional, creative youth development program of Urban Word and Hi-ARTS, designed by Creative Legacy Projects and co-presented at New York Live Arts.

ODC Theater has announced that it will present the West Coast debut of Compagnie Herve Koubi. The celebrated French-Algerian company kicks off ODC's 2016 season with What the Day Owes to the Night, a work of acrobatic dance for twelve men. Combining elements of capoeira, martial arts, urban and contemporary dance, What the Day Owes to the Night runs Friday to Saturday, January 22 - 23 at 8:00 pm.

Ann Liv Young brings her uncompromising vision of Sophocles' ELEKTRA to the stage in her first American commission since 2008, directed in collaboration with Annie Dorsen.

Assembling a stellar cast of rising stars in the worlds of R&B, funk, soul, jazz and classical, Thelonious Monk Competition Winner and Grammy Award-winning bassist Ben Williams pays tribute to the musical legacy of Prince at Harlem Stage, December 11 and 12. Drawing inspiration from his iconic discography, Dearly Beloved - The Music of Prince will feature newly imagined arrangements and compositions that celebrate the virtuosity of Prince with a wide range of special guests including vocalists Goapele, Frank McComb and Christie Dashiell, tap dancer/choreographer Jason Samuels Smith, poet/emcee/vocalist W. Ellington Felton and additional surprise guests. A guest DJ will spin for the pre-performance mixer and after-party. As a preview to the December 12 performance of Dearly Beloved - The Music of Prince, Harlem Stage will present an intimate conversation with Ben Williams. He'll share his creative process forDearly Beloved and discuss the art of re-imagining and arranging works of famous artists.

Currently in its twelfth year, Journal to Journey is a pre-professional, creative youth development program of Urban Word and Hi-ARTS, designed by Creative Legacy Projects and co-presented at New York Live Arts.

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, announced that the multi-talented artist Bill T. Jones will be honored at the 2016 Greater New York Gala Dinner

New York, NY – November 11, 2015: This showcase of young talent has become one of the New York Live Arts' most-loved community programs. Ellen Robbins has worked with young dancers, age 5-18, for over 3 decades training their bodies in technique, attuning their ears to great music and immersing them in special thrills of improvisation. Her students emerge as astonishingly sophisticated dance makers in the true sense of the word.

Merging dance, live music and visual arts, Choreographer/Director Pavel Zuštiak examines the multiplicity of concepts of beauty and its permanence within art in CUSTODIANS OF BEAUTY.

On Monday, November 30, playwright, novelist and songwriter Suzan-Lori Parks was awarded the 22nd annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prizeat The Public Theater in New York City.

Assembling a stellar cast of rising stars in the worlds of R&B, funk, soul, jazz and classical, Thelonious Monk Competition Winner and Grammy Award-winning bassist Ben Williams pays tribute to the musical legacy of Prince at Harlem Stage, December 11 and 12. Drawing inspiration from his iconic discography, Dearly Beloved - The Music of Prince will feature newly imagined arrangements and compositions that celebrate the virtuosity of Prince with a wide range of special guests including vocalists Goapele, Frank McComb and Christie Dashiell, tap dancer/choreographer Jason Samuels Smith, poet/emcee/vocalist W. Ellington Felton and additional surprise guests. A guest DJ will spin for the pre-performance mixer and after-party. As a preview to the December 12 performance of Dearly Beloved - The Music of Prince, Harlem Stage will present an intimate conversation with Ben Williams. He'll share his creative process forDearly Beloved and discuss the art of re-imagining and arranging works of famous artists.

TORONTO (October 28, 2015) - When did you first fall in love? Kevin A. Ormsby, Artistic Director of Toronto's KasheDance, and Christopher Walker, a Jamaican choreographer working out of the U.S.A., join forces for FACING Home: Love & Redemption, a powerful contemporary dance production that investigates the global impact of Bob Marley's music - its expression of humanity's struggle and its inspiration toward love, redemption and hope - and contrasts it to the active, deep-rooted homophobia in Jamaican/West Indian Culture. The Toronto premiere of this bold new work featuring eleven performers runs Today, November 26 to Sunday, November 29 at the Aki Studio Theatre in the Daniels Spectrum arts hub in the revitalizedRegent Park area of Toronto. The two choreographers aim to engage communities in conversation about homophobia using movement, music and poetry to access ideas of liberation and highlight the blurred lines between love, survival and choice.