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The USC Dept. of Theatre and Dance will host dancers from the legendary Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, performing alongside the USC Dance Company, April 1-2 at the Koger Center for the Arts.
Show times are 6:30pm, April 1 and 2pm, April 2. Admission is $15 for students, $20 for USC faculty/staff, military, and seniors 60+, and $22 for the public. Tickets may be purchased online at kogercenterforthearts.com or by calling 803-251-2222. The Koger Center is located at 1051 Greene St.
BTJ/AZ company members Shane Larson and Jacoby Pruitt are currently in residence at USC, where they are teaching classes, participating in community outreach, and choreographing the Bill T. Jones work Story/Time: Revisited. Conceived as a response to the John Cage spoken word composition Indeterminacy, Story/Time is a 60-minute work comprised of 1-to-3-minute dance “stories,” each utilizing a unique movement vocabulary inspired by creator Bill T. Jones’ 40-year choreographic history. BTJ/AZ dancers Barrington Hinds, Danielle Marshall, and Marie Paspe will also perform in the work.
“[Jones] was reaching back through his movement archives and pulling out different chunks of material and figuring out ways to spin it in different directions,” explains Larson. “Even for a large professional company, it's a huge undertaking. These students definitely have their work cut out for them, but they're doing a great job.”
“I’m so impressed by the willingness of the artists here,” says Pruitt of the experience creating this iteration of Story/Time with USC dancers. “I’ve felt such a receptive spirit from everyone embracing the newness of what we're presenting and jumping on board with us to go on this wild ride.”
The dancers’ three-week university residency provides vital learning experiences for dance students, says Associate Professor Jennifer Deckert. “Through daily rehearsals, lectures, and classes, these professional artists are not only teaching the movement vocabulary, but also giving the students an insight into the professional dance life. In addition, by having these high caliber artists on campus we can facilitate important outreach experiences for our community and allow our audiences to see the humanity behind the movement.”
The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company was born out of an 11-year collaboration between Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane (1948–1988). During this time, they redefined the duet form and foreshadowed issues of identity, form and social commentary that would change the face of American dance. The company emerged onto the international scene in 1983 with the world premiere of Intuitive Momentum, which featured legendary drummer Max Roach, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Since then, they have performed worldwide in over 200 cities in 35 countries on every major continent. Today, the BTJ/AZ Company is recognized as one of the most innovative and powerful forces in the modern dance world.
A gala fundraiser will accompany the April 1 performance. A special ticket will admit guests to the gala, which will include pre-show cocktails and a post-show party featuring delicious cuisine by Horseshoe Catering and music by the Reggie Sullivan Band. Gala guests will also receive complimentary valet parking and preferred seating during the concert. Gala tickets are $150 per person and are available by contacting Susan Anderson by phone at 803-777-0704 or by email at susanea@mailbox.sc.edu.
Sponsorship opportunities for the evening are also available, with levels ranging from $500 to $10,000. All proceeds benefit scholarships for students in the university’s dance program, cited in Dance Magazine as “one of the top three university programs to consider for classical ballet training.” The concert and gala fundraiser is made possible in part by the generous assistance of Presenting Sponsors the Robert S. Handler Foundation (Michael Donkle and Martin Dreesen, Trustees) and Morgan Stanley (Jan Jernigan, Financial Advisor); Grace Outdoor; and, the USC College of Arts and Sciences.
For more information on USC Dance Company in Performance with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, contact Kevin Bush by phone at 803-777-9353 or via email at bushk@mailbox.sc.edu.