NJCU Hosted ‘An Evening with Bill T. Jones’ on November 15

Tony Award-winning Artistic Director and Choreographer Reflects on His Illustrious Life in the Arts

New Jersey City University (NJCU) presented an evening with Tony Award-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones as he reflected on his illustrious life in the arts.

“An Evening with Bill T. Jones” took place on Tuesday, November 15 in the Skyline Room of the NJCU School of Business, located at 200 Hudson Street, Harborside Plaza 2, Jersey City, N.J. 07311.

Revered as one of the top choreographers and artistic directors of modern time, Mr. Jones shared an intimate conversation, candidly unpacking of the processes of art-making, along with the dilemmas of self and identity as seen from the point of view of an artist who constantly asks the question: “Am I in this game and how do I stay in this game? The game in question is that of a life lived in the arts.” 

With a forty plus year career in the performing arts, Mr. Jones has choreographed and performed worldwide, receiving countless awards and recognition including the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors.

The event marked the first program in NJCU’s 2016-2017 Presidential Lecture Series, which was presented by NJCU’s Center for the Arts.

For more information about the visual, performing, and literary arts at NJCU, visit www.njcu.edu/arts.

ABOUT Bill T. Jones

Bill T. Jones (Artistic Director/Co-Founder/Choreographer: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company; Artistic Director: New York Live Arts) is the recipient of the 2016 HRC Visibility Award; 2014 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award; the 2013 National Medal of Arts; the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors; a 2010 Tony Award for Best Choreography of the critically acclaimed FELA!; a 2007 Tony Award, 2007 Obie Award, and 2006 Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation CALLAWAY Award for his choreography for Spring Awakening; the 2010 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award; the 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship; the 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Seven; the 2005 Wexner Prize; the 2005 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement; the 2005 Harlem Renaissance Award; the 2003 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize; and the 1994 MacArthur “Genius” Award. In 2010, Mr. Jones was recognized as Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and in 2000, The Dance Heritage Coalition named Mr. Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure.”  

Mr. Jones choreographed and performed worldwide with his late partner, Arnie Zane, before forming the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in 1982. He has created more than 150 works for his company. Mr. Jones is Artistic Director of New York Live Arts, an organization that strives to create a robust framework in support of the nation’s dance and movement-based artists through new approaches to producing, presenting and educating.

ABOUT New Jersey City University (NJCU)

The mission at New Jersey City University (NJCU) is to provide a diverse population with an excellent education. The University is committed to the improvement of the educational, intellectual, cultural, socioeconomic, and physical environment of the surrounding urban region and beyond.  Established in 1927 as a training school for teachers, today NJCU is among the most comprehensive universities in the state.  Located in Jersey City, NJ, and minutes from New York City, NJCU's fully accredited College of Arts and Sciences, Education, Professional Studies, and School of Business offer 43 undergraduate degree programs and 28 master’s programs and 2 doctoral programs, including emerging and interdisciplinary fields.

NJCU students engage in rigorous applied-learning experiences that include opportunities to study abroad, and cooperative education internships.  NJCU operates two additional campus sites—NJCU School of Business at Harborside Plaza 2 in Jersey City’s financial district and NJCU at Brookdale in Wall Township in Monmouth County.