T. Jones News

PARADISE SQUARE is a glorious if frustrating addition to the musical theatre canon, blessed with an exceptional cast, a stirring score, and the unbelievably exquisite choreography of Bill T. Jones. Yet, despite these riches, the opulent production trips self-consciously on its own ambition, with the whole adding up to something less satisfying than the sum of its exceptional parts.

Marymount Manhattan College's Ferraro Institute for Breakthrough Civic Leadership is pleased to announce its inaugural event: Bill T. Jones on the Arts and Social Justice, in conversation with Lane Harwell of the Ford Foundation slated for February 6, 2019 on the Marymount Manhattan campus. The Rudin Foundation is also a sponsor of this event.

Check out all new video from Paradise Square: An American Musical. The world premiere is helmed by acclaimed director Moises Kaufman, with choreography by the legendary Bill T. Jones and a book by Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas, and Larry Kirwan. Music by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan, with lyrics by Nathan Tysen, and based on the songs of Stephen Foster.

Paradise Square: An American Musical at Berkeley Rep opened this week. The world premiere is helmed by acclaimed director Moises Kaufman, with choreography by the legendary Bill T. Jones and a book by Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas, and Larry Kirwan. Music by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan, with lyrics by Nathan Tysen, and based on the songs of Stephen Foster.

Four women of color breaking boundaries at Mabou Mines as part of the 2019 SUITE/Space program - Cinthia Chen, Marcelle Davies-Lashley, Cristina Pitter and Edisa Weeks.

Veteran vocalist Roberta Donnay, whose new album 'My Heart Belongs to Satchmo-a collection of tunes from the Louis Armstrong songbook of the 1920's-1930's-is drawing rave reviews.

Due to an overwhelming demand and two weeks of sold-out previews, Berkeley Rep has announced that the world premiere of Paradise Square: A New Musical will extend for an additional week. Originally scheduled to close on February 17, the popular show will now run through Sunday, February 24.

See new photos from Paradise Square: An American Musical. The world premiere is helmed by acclaimed director Moises Kaufman, with choreography by the legendary Bill T. Jones and a book by Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas, and Larry Kirwan. Music by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan, with lyrics by Nathan Tysen, and based on the songs of Stephen Foster.

As part of its Open Spectrum series, New York Live Arts is hosting a discussion on mental health in the arts community. Moderated by Latina feminist mental health activist Dior Vargas, the panel will include multidisciplinary artist A'Driane Nieves aka addyeB, poet/artist/cultural worker Caits Meissner, writer/photojournalist Loubna Mrie, and professional ballerina/mental health advocate/singer Sydney Magruder Washington. The forum is curated by culture creator/marketing strategist Brian Tate.

Festival General Director Nigel Redden announces the program for the 43rd annual Spoleto Festival USA, taking place May 24 through June 9, 2019. For 17 days and nights, a variety of artists converge in Charleston, South Carolina, filling the city's theaters, churches, and outdoor spaces with wide-ranging performances and concerts.

ABC drops 'The Alec Baldwin Show' from Saturday slot.  Look for repeats of 'The Rookie' (January 5) and 'A Million Little Things' (January 12) to fill the time period until NBA coverage takes over the night on January 19.

In this stunning 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winner, we meet Pops, an ex-cop and widower clinging to one of the last rent-controlled apartments in NYC, dealing with a never-ending swirl of demands from family, friends, former colleagues, and a shady church lady...until he resolves to draw the line and make some demands of his own.

92Y's Harkness Dance Festival celebrates its 25th season celebrating Merce Cunningham's centennial. For five weekends from March 1-30, HDF presents performances of Merce's own choreography for Cross Currents, Doubles, Landrover, Loose Time, Scenario and Septet, danced by New York Theatre Ballet, Melissa Toogood, Calvin Royal III and New World School of the Arts. The Festival continues with four weekends of world premieres representing four generations of Cunningham dancers who established companies of their own - Douglas Dunn, Dylan Crossman, Jonah Bokaer and Ellen Cornfield.

Returning to New York Live Arts, Dances by Very Young Choreographers will showcase solos choreographed and performed by children 8 to 18 years old who study dance and choreography with Ellen Robbins. The program is devised to give a young audience exposure to the variety of theater experiences that modern dance affords.  It includes dances that are humorous, narrative, minimal, lyrical, and visually conceptual. The music selections, chosen by the choreographers, range from classical to contemporary music including folk music, jazz, and the spoken word.  

Germaul Barnes, a NY-based contemporary dance artist with a global approach to movement, will appear as a panelist and master educator at the International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference & Festival in Dayton, OH, January 22-27, 2019. Barnes is a member of the IABD Next Generation Committee and will teach three master classes and serve on a panel with the Coalition for Diasporan Scholars Moving (CDSM) during the conference.

Veteran vocalist Roberta Donnay, whose new album 'My Heart Belongs to Satchmo-a collection of tunes from the Louis Armstrong songbook of the 1920's-1930's-is drawing rave reviews.

Created to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Anne Frank's deportation, this moving production begins after the liberation of Auschwitz. Anne's father, the only survivor of the Frank family, returns to the Secret Annex where he receives his daughter's diary from Miep Gies. While reading it, he discovers aspects of her personality that he did not expect. A work of extraordinary beauty and grace at the hands of Italy's ImPerfect Dancers Company, an eight-member contemporary dance troupe celebrating its 10th Anniversary.

Legendary choreographer, National Medal of Arts (2013) and MacArthur "Genius" Award (1994) recipient, and artistic director of New York Live Arts, Bill T. Jones welcomes a discussion with Oskar Eustis-Artistic Director of New York's Public Theater, who has nurtured one game-changing hit after another for the Public, including the award-winning musicals Fun Home and Hamilton. As both leaders in the arts world and change-makers, Jones and Eustis delve into the responsibilities of both arts organizations and artists.

In the video below go inside rehearsals for Paradise Square: An American Musical. The world premiere is helmed by acclaimed director Moises Kaufman, with choreography by the legendary Bill T. Jones and a book by Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas, and Larry Kirwan. Music by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan, with lyrics by Nathan Tysen, and based on the songs of Stephen Foster.

BalletNext presents BalletNext 2019 Season in partnership with the University of Utah School of Dance at New York Live Arts, 219 W. 19th Street, NYC from February 19-23, 2019.