Another Evening: I Bow Down

“If we insist on telling the same stories again and again… we will become that.” — Bill T. Jones

In Another Evening: I Bow Down, Bill T. Jones reveals how personal stories and historical events converge, in an examination of the resilience of the human spirit in the face of disaster. Known for taking risks on stage, Bill T. Jones continues to push the boundaries of modern dance through unconventional collaborations in the latest incarnation of his evolving Another Evening series. Featuring live music by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) and the uncompromising sound of the young Bronx-based hardcore band Regain The Heart Condemned, Jones’ company erupts from the stage like an unstoppable force of nature.

Today, civil unrest, religious conflict, and natural disaster touch almost everyone, and increasingly the youth of the world face uncertain futures and confusing messages from all sides. Acknowledging the brutally honest quality of youth culture, Jones suggests that disaster can be a powerfully redemptive force. “If disaster if the lifeblood of change, why haven’t the changes been made?” intones guest actor Andrea Smith, reminding us that rationality is most often not the guidepost of history.

In Another Evening: I Bow Down, Jones’ powerfully skilled dancers move with individualistic purpose and style, while at the same time displaying the ability to dance together in beautifully synchronized unity. As the performance unfolds on stage, the actions of choreographer and company become stories in themselves, as history, life, and art merge into a unified experience. Weaving personal stories together with mythical and historical events reminds us that even if all disasters could be prevented, we would still have our own mortality to face. Yet, while life itself may be temporal, Bill T. Jones asserts through his work that ideas themselves have a life of their own that transcend individual mortality.

Jones’ diverse company, an embodiment of the world he wants to live in, sweeps through time and space in the minimalist, dreamlike landscape created by set designer Bjorn G. Amelan and lighting designer Robert Wierzel. Very much in the spirit of late co-founder Arnie Zane, this piece is a inspired by the bold works Jones and Zane began creating over 20 years ago. Their faith in the transformative power of dance – despite the adversity of ignorance, disasters, and personal tragedies that defy rationality – is a testament to the redemptive power of art.