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Famed dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones will be an artist in residence Jan. 14-15 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Famed dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones will be an artist in residence Jan. 14-15 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The residency, representing a collaboration between UNC’s Ackland Art Museum and Office of the Executive Director for the Arts, will lead to the North Carolina premiere on Jan. 15 of “Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray” by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.

The modern dance company is celebrating its 25th anniversary season. Carolina Performing Arts will present the performance at 8 p.m. in Memorial Hall as part of its 2009-10 dance series.

The residency is the first of three to be presented in conjunction with the Ackland’s exhibition “Jacob Lawrence and The Legend of John Brown,” which will feature works by African-American artist Lawrence (1917-2000) that explore the life of abolitionist Brown. The exhibition will run Jan. 15 through May 9. Admission is free.

Residency events will be free to the public, but those interested should first e-mail edaengagement@unc.edu to learn how to participate. Here are the events:

  • Jan. 14, 8 p.m. Jones lecture, Gerrard Hall. Jones will speak about the thematic elements of the works in this collaboration. He will speak on the contemporary importance of Lawrence’s historical artistic works, grounding their shared subject matter in the cultural context of America today.
  • Jan. 15, 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Dance Master Class with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Union Underground, Frank Porter Graham Student Union. Members of the company will lead an open-level class. The event is free on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve a spot in the class, email edaengagement@unc.edu.
  • Jan. 15, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Panel discussion, Creative Collaborations,” Hyde Hall. Panelists will include Jones and Janet Wong, associate artistic director for the dance company. Jones and Wong will discuss the collaborative production process behind “Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray,” which involved significant input from each member of the company.
  • Jan. 15, 8 p.m. Performance of “Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray,” Memorial Hall. The performance will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the company.

“Fondly Do We Hope…,” which premiered in Illinois in September, examines the life of Abraham Lincoln, exploring what might have happened to the Union had he lived to complete Reconstruction.

Only a limited number of tickets remain. Tickets are $30 to $75 for the public and $10 for UNC students. For tickets, visit www.carolinaperformingarts.org , call (919) 843-3333 or visit the Memorial Hall Box Office on Cameron Avenue. Weekday hours through Friday (Jan. 8) are noon to 5 p.m. Regular hours – weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. – resume on Jan. 11.

Emil Kang, executive director for the arts at UNC, said his office’s collaboration with the Ackland is an effort to display the thematic link between art and history.

“You have this performance about an important time in our nation’s past, which has been examined and interpreted by two different artists using two very different mediums – art and dance,” Kang said. “The collaboration gives participants a chance to see for themselves the link between art, dance and history.”

The collaboration will continue with residency activities surrounding performances at UNC of Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s “the break/s: a mixtape for stage,” Jan. 29 at 8 p.m., and “The Shipment” performed by Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company, Feb. 12-13 at 8 p.m.

“The Ackland is very pleased to collaborate again with Carolina Performing Arts,” said Emily Kass, director of the Ackland. “These brilliant, award-winning artists triumphantly present new perspectives on art and history. Their dance and their voices make challenging connections for all our audiences.”

Jones and Zane founded their company in 1983 Zane died in 1988. Since then, the 10-member, Harlem-based company has performed in more than 200 cities and 30 countries. Its honors include numerous New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessies). “Fondly Do We Hope …” recently was featured on PBS’ “Bill Moyers Journal.” For more on the episode, visit http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/12252009/profile.html.

The Whitney Museum of American Art described Lawrence as “an astute observer and storyteller who focused on the struggle for freedom and justice in America from the Civil War period of the 1860s to the end of the 20th century.” Committed to accurate historical contexts for his work, Lawrence conducted research in the Schomburg Collection of the New York Public Library, its chief archive on African-American life and history.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company Web site: http://www.billtjones.org/
Jacob Lawrence bio site: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/L/lawrence.html

Photos: For downloadable art, visit www.carolinaperformingarts.org/media

Office of the Executive Director for the Arts contact: Reed Colver, (919) 843-1833, rcolver@unc.edu
Ackland
Art Museum contact: Nic Brown, (919) 843-3675, nic_brown@unc.edu
News Services contact:
LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589


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