Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company’s Groundbreaking Still/Here Returns to Wex

On Friday, April 17, for one performance only, Still/Here by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company returns to Mershon Auditorium at the Wexner Center for the Arts on the occasion of its 30th anniversary.

Created as a Wexner Center Artist Residency Award Project in 1994, the production was hailed as a major work of dance and representation, while also attracting controversy for its boundary-breaking approach to the personal and political. Still/Here’s multifaceted approach incorporates spoken word, video portraits (created in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Gretchen Bender), dance, and the abstract nature of gesture. Upon its debut, Newsweek said the production is “so original and profound that its place among the landmarks of 20th-century dance seems ensured.”

“The Wexner Center is honored to bring this piece back to its creative origins,” says Head of Performing Arts Nathalie Bonjour. “A cornerstone work of the Wex’s rich history as a supporter and generator of new work, this remarkable multidisciplinary project still moves audiences with its innovation, empathy, and care for those living with life-threatening illnesses. It is a true testament to the power and impact of art and resilience.”

This current remounting of the production also offers new generations of audiences the opportunity to experience this landmark performance for the first time and for those who saw it at the beginning, to see it again.

Bill T. Jones says, “We were very excited (and somewhat trepidatious) about the remount of Still/Here. This rigorously formal work held the messiness of an era and ignited a wild discourse probably unworthy of revisiting. Now, on a national tour over 30 years after its premiere, a work that attempts to make sense of mortality, survival, and the human spirit remains resonant and relevant, especially in this moment. The Wexner is part of the Still/Here legacy and provided important support to both my and Gretchen’s creative process. We look forward to revisiting Still/Here with the people of Columbus and engaging a new generation of audiences.”

Tickets are available now, in person at the Wexner Center for the Arts or online. Assigned seats are $20–$50 for Wex members, $24–$66 for the general public, $24–$61 for adults 55 and over, and $18 for students.

About Still/Here
The two-act Still/Here pays homage to the participants of survival workshops held across the country during the project’s initial stages. The participants’ generosity of spirit and willingness to express their experiences through words and gesture have always been and remain the essence of Still/Here. Their gestures inform the choreography, their words the lyrics, and their images the stage.

While the company worked on the live elements of the performance, Jones’s collaborator, the prominent multidisciplinary artist Gretchen Bender, utilized the Wex’s state of the art Film/Video Studio, then called Art and Technology, to assemble the multiscreen video montage that has become a prominent fixture of this piece. Still/Here returned to the Wex on February 18, 1995, after its premiere in Lyon, France, and has continued to be performed around the world ever since.

About Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones (artistic director/cofounder/choreographer: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company; artistic director: New York Live Arts) was the associate artist of the 2020 Holland Festival and recipient of the 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, 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 Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure.”

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 140 works for his company. Jones is the artistic director of New York Live Arts, an organization that collaborates with boundary-pushing artists, advocates for their vision, and fortifies a creative future. For more information visit www.newyorklivearts.org.

About the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company 
Over the past 43 years the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company has shaped the evolution of contemporary dance through the creation and performance of over 140 works. Founded as a multicultural dance company in 1982, the company was born of an 11-year artistic collaboration between Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane. Today, the company is recognized as one of the most innovative and powerful forces in the modern dance world. The company has performed its ever-enlarging repertoire worldwide in over 200 cities in 30 countries on every major continent. In 2011, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company merged with Dance Theater Workshop to form New York Live Arts of which Bill T. Jones is the artistic director.