Bill T. Jones, the veteran dance artist and choreographer whom The Dance Heritage Coalition named “an irreplaceable dance treasure” in 2000, has been the recipient of numerous awards, ranging from a 1994 MacArthur “Genius” Award to Kennedy Center Honors in 2010. Jones earned a 2010 Tony Award for Best Choreography in the critically acclaimed FELA!, the musical he co-conceived, co-wrote, directed and choreographed. He also earned a 2007 Tony Award for Best Choreography in Spring Awakening as well as an Obie Award for the show’s 2006 off-Broadway run. In 2009, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Jones began his dance training at the State University of New York at Binghamton (SUNY). In 1982, he formed the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company with his late partner, Arnie Zane. In 2010, he was named Executive Artistic Director of New York Live Arts, which was formed out of a merger of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Dance Theater Workshop.
In addition to creating more than 140 works for his own company, Jones has created dances for modern and ballet companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Boston Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet and Berlin Opera Ballet.
His work has been recognized with the 2010 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, the 2005 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement, the 2003 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize and others. In 1980, 1981 and 1982, Jones was the recipient of Choreographic Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The making of the dance-theater piece, Still/Here, was the subject of a 1997 documentary by Bill Moyers and David Grubin entitled “Bill T. Jones: Still/Here with Bill Moyers.” And, the PBS series American Masters documented his creative process creating the work Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray.
Jones has received honorary doctorates from Yale University, The Art Institute of Chicago, Bard College, Columbia College, Skidmore College, the Juilliard School, Swarthmore College and the State University of New York at Binghamton Distinguished Alumni Award.
