Acclaimed choreographer joins Gammage Residency program

Internationally acclaimed choreographer Bill T. Jones is bringing his most ambitious work to date, "Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray" to ASU Gammage March 5, 2011 at 7 p.m.

The presentation by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company begins a three-year relationship with ASU Gammage as part of The Gammage Residency program.

The Gammage Residency represents a three-year commitment to an extraordinary performing artist group that includes performance, creative time and resources, intensive training for ASU students and local artists and engagement with many local communities. Prior ASU Gammage Residencies were held over two separate three-year periods with musician Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) and Anne Bogart/SITI Company.

The Bill T. Jones Gammage Residency will include creation of new work that will explore such themes as transformation, rejuvenation and sacrifice. When asked what content might be included, Jones said, “It will be based on what I am hungry for at the time.”

Most recently, Jones was selected as a 2010 Kennedy Center Honoree, an annual award bestowed upon leaders in the arts and entertainment industry. The awards ceremony will take place December 5 at the Kennedy Center. Jones will receive the Center’s top honor with an esteemed list of four other arts and entertainment legends including Jerry Herman, Oprah Winfrey, Merle Haggard and Paul McCartney.

Originally commissioned by the Ravinia Festival in 2007 to honor the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, "Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray" will find Jones ‘leading with his own heart,” seeking a way to articulate if not reconcile the view of Abraham Lincoln he had as a young boy growing up during the civil rights struggle. A truly brilliant fusion of dialogue, dance, multi-media, original and traditional music, the piece cannot help but move audiences and make us ponder the greatness and possibilities of perhaps our most cherished President. After touring to sold-out houses across the U.S. last year, the piece will have its international debut at the Biennale de la Danse in Lyon, France, Sept. 18-22.

About Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
Over the past 28 years the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company has shaped the evolution of contemporary dance through the creation and performance of more than 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 more than 200 cities in 30 countries on every major continent.

About ASU Gammage
Located on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University, ASU Gammage is among the largest university-based presenters of performing arts in the world. ASU Gammage is the home theater of the PROGRESSIVE® Broadway Across America – Arizona and Beyond series. Its mission is connecting communities by providing artistic excellence and educational outreach to the public. ASU Gammage is an historic hall designed by internationally-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright.