FY26 PARTNERS IN CREATION

FY26 PARTNERS IN CREATION

TOGETHER, TOWARD THE FUTURE

A LETTER TO MY PARTNERS

Hello, Partners in Creation,

“And I tell myself, a moon will rise from my darkness. Nothing is harder on the soul, than the smell of dreams, while they’re evaporating. We suffer from an incurable malady: Hope.”

My favorite quote from the poet Mahmoud Darwish fuels my commitment especially during our present moment when neither protests nor legal challenges seem to budge a lawless government. Action moves into disruptive, innovative and avant-garde means of expression and behavior. This is the stuff of art and artists, and what Bill T. Jones and New York Live Arts, with Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company as its resident Company, have been engaged in since the beginning. Supporting this “troublemaking” and ingenious Company has never been more meaningful.

Thanks to its committed leadership—artistic and administrative—and its board and its Partners in Creation (PIC) —Live Arts has survived through a pandemic and financial crises, and has thrived. Because of its solid base of multi-year support, PIC continues to be foundational—with no requirement for grant application or metrics, simply a dedicated commitment to Bill T. Jones, his collaborators, and his company members as they create bold new work. Many Partners have been supporters since the inception of PIC—an irreplaceable and remarkable longevity. Others have since stepped in, as their capacity enabled them to make multi-year commitments that carry this work forward year after year.

The challenge in these times is to grow all partnerships, especially PIC. As Bill once asked the gathering of Grantmakers for the Arts, “Why not give 5-year, 10-year, 25-year commitments of support?” These commitments are acts of vision, creating the long-term stability for artists to dream beyond the season ahead, and build work for generations to come.

Joining the Partners in Creation is an act of defiance - and obedience. It claims resistance to the lack of funding for creating new art, and it promotes a heartfelt belief in the importance of supporting and learning from living artists.

With a robust PIC collective, we can provide an enduring stability for The Company that can withstand the uncertain waters we are navigating.

Thank you to all who make this work possible, prescient, and probable for the present and the future. Let us put our hope in artistic interference.

Hope on, Partner, Ellie Chair,

Partners

in Creation

A LIVING LEGACY

Last year, with the support of our Partners in Creation, we marked a pivotal moment in our history with the return of Still/Here at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Originally premiered in 1994, Still/Here has long been regarded as a seminal piece, transcending its time by evoking the spirit of survival, loss, and resilience in the face of adversity. It was phenomenal watching the piece come to life again with vitality, heart, and force.

It is remarkable to witness an artist’s original productions performed with the same salience and emotional weight as the day they first premiered. At New York Live Arts, we find ourselves in this position each time our founding Artistic Director, Bill T. Jones, reconstructs a repertory piece from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company for fresh eyes.

This year, the Company will engage deeply with Bill’s legacy works, touring Still/Here and other significant repertory pieces across the country. Audiences, familiar and new, will join us in witnessing Bill’s innate talent to illuminate the pressing issues of our time through performance. Throughout his storied career, Bill has initiated complex conversations on our most essential societal questions making his work ever poignant and timely. His artistry continually invites us to be meaningful participants in these critical conversations and to locate ourselves within our present moment.

With our Partners in Creation, we can dream bigger in producing impactful work that speaks to Bill’s artistic core and moves us all. As we look ahead, we invite you to explore the enclosed packet, which highlights the projects, partnerships, and performances on the horizon. We look forward to deepening our commitment to Bill’s lifelong conversation with movement, meaning, and social action. We hope you’ll join us in building this brilliant artistic legacy as a fellow Partner in Creation!

Very best,

Kim

Executive Director & CEO

New York Live Arts

kcullen@newyorklivearts.org

The Fund for Equity

The Fund for Equity, established in 2021, was created to increase artist compensation at Live Arts starting with members of the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company. It ensures company performers receive a consistent annual wage, independent of touring and rehearsal schedules, and supports their ability to create at the highest level. This represented the beginning of a meaningful change to what it means to be a working artist at Live Arts and aligns with our values and mission.

“The goal of the Fund for Equity is to create a model that is more economically sufficient, providing more equitable wages for artists. We implemented an annual wage for Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company members in July 2021, providing more stability and proactively manifesting our intentions.”

- Kim Cullen, Live Arts Executive Director & CEO

Total cost to New York Live Arts in FY25: Over 600K including benefits.

Arnie Zane

September 26, 1948–March 30, 1988

Co-Founder of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

Bill T. Jones

Artistic Director of New York Live Arts

Co-Founder of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

Bill T. Jones welcomes rehearsal director

Shayla-Vie Jenkins!

Shayla-Vie Jenkins is a performer, choreographer, educator, writer, and proud mother. From 2005–2016, she was a member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, during which the company received Bessie Awards for Chapel/ Chapter (2007) and D-Man in the Waters (2013). She has taught for the company and restaged notable works at universities and dance festivals nationwide.

A Creative Partnership

At the center of each creation is Bill T. Jones. Every new work begins as an idea, a first thought that develops over time into something fully realized. The process is a journey into the unknown, step by step, until a vision comes into focus. Bringing that vision to life requires hours of rehearsal with company members, experimentation with artistic staff and guest collaborators, and close partnership with designers. With you as a partner, this vision is made real. Your support sustains the time, people, and resources that transform an idea into a work of art.

Join the (Ad)Venture

New York Live Arts and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company invite you to invest in creative and organizational growth by joining us in this commissioning (ad)venture. Partners in Creation (PIC) gives you a front row seat to Bill’s legendary artistic process, allowing you an unprecedented level of access to one of the preeminent artists of our time. As a Partner in Creation, you will forge a relationship with Bill, his collaborators, and the members of his world-renowned Company, as you travel with them along the long and fruitful road toward the creation of new work. Your participatory and financial partnership will make this a successful program by supporting innovation, living artists, and contributing to the organization’s financial sustenance.

You may participate in one of two ways:

1. Fully Funding a Work: Make a one-time contribution at a larger level to underwrite the cost of creating or reconstructing a single work.

2. Join the PIC Fund: Become part of an intimate circle of multi-year supporters whose combined generosity sustains all of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company’s creative work– from new work creation to touring and special projects. Multi-year pledges range from $90,000 to over $300,000. These gift levels can be made as a one-time payment or paid in installments over 3-5 years.

Pledge Ranges and Donor Benefits are listed on the PIC Benefits Page.

An Insider’s Journey

From the very beginning of a work’s conception, you as a Partner will receive personal correspondence from Bill and the Company and be invited to share in exchange about the work’s idea, impact, design, and the organizing principle of the work. Along the way, you will be offered the opportunity to attend rehearsals so that you can witness the transformation of the piece and have the opportunity to chat with Bill and the dancers about the social significance and their attitudes toward the work. Later, you will be invited to an intimate Partners event with Bill, designers, guest artists and other Partners, where you may discuss your shared understanding of the ideas. As momentum builds to the world premiere, you will have the opportunity to invite your friends to join you as your special guests, offering them backstage access and insider information about the work’s evolution. Bill and the organization will give special recognition—publicly and privately— to your contribution and your vital role in bringing the work into the world.

ABOUT PARTNERS IN CREATION

A Social Opportunity

By becoming a PIC Partner, you join a close knit circle, essentially an intimate group of modern art connoisseurs, who understand the societal need to support remarkable artists like Bill who are on the forefront of artistic innovation. This insider’s journey will also be a unique opportunity to meet like-minded individuals, share in social gatherings and enjoy a variety of experiences and interactions.

What Do Partners Fund?

You will make an extraordinary impact upon the organization and its artists, and provide Bill and his collaborators the opportunity to devise, conceive, create, rehearse, design, re-imagine and bring to fruition a work of art. Most costs associated with new work creation, including rehearsal time, artistic and production staff time, dancer time, designer and musician fees, guest collaborator costs, scenery and costumes, and multimedia equipment, come during the research and development phase.

Join Us as a Partner!

We invite you to join Bill as a Partner in Creation, at the height of his artistic outpouring, to experience Bill’s singular artistic path with a multi-year commitment. Your participation will represent an unprecedented level of connection between the supporters of new work and its creators. It is a remarkable opportunity for prospective Partners, for Bill and the Company, and the organization as a whole. We are eager to embark upon it with you. We look forward to traveling with you, and discovering what we create together.

PIC FUNDED PROJECTS

Photo by Maria Baranova

Memory Piece: Mr. Ailey, Alvin… the un-Ailey? (2024)

Memory Piece is a series of solo performances reflecting on influential moments and figures throughout the illustrious career of our Artistic Director. Jones describes himself as someone who went in a different direction than Alvin Ailey. This iteration will welcome audiences into a rare and intimate space built from words, movement, and music. Memory Piece: Mr. Ailey, Alvin... the un-Ailey? premiered as part of the Edges of Ailey exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Conceived, written, and performed by Bill T. Jones, with lighting design by Robert Wierzel, sound design by James Bennett, and projection by Janet Wong. Video excerpts include Revelations (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), Secret Pastures (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company), and Au Bord du Precipice (Alvin Ailey for the Paris Opera Ballet). Musical excerpts include My Lover’s Prayer by Otis Redding, The End by The Doors, and When the Music’s Over by The Doors.

by Maria Baranova

CURRICULUM III: PEOPLE PLACES & THINGS (2023)

People, Places & Things was created against the backdrop of a memory of freedom, and with that memory comes a taste for self determination: living where one wants to live; loving who one wants to love, celebrating that youthful desire to be free and discover the world and oneself within it. Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company began this work as an exploration of stateless people drifting in the seas, a rumination on willful displacement and searching; recognizing the dichotomy between desperation and the commitment to one’s own freedom. Where everything from the environment to authoritarianism and political upheaval seem to be like the ocean itself, unknown and full of darkness and anxiety. The work is both violent and elegiac as people break off: Who are they? Where are they going? What are they doing? Through this work, Jones is trying to understand the world we live in right now through the mechanism of recalling, reinventing and imagining, using the Company to draw a portrait of this moment, set to the soundtrack of his youth.

CURRICULUM II (2022)

Curriculum II is a timely new work conceived and directed by the iconic, Tony-winning, Bill T. Jones and choreographed by Jones with Janet Wong and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. Applying the ideas of Cameroonian historian and political theorist Achille Mbembe, Nigerian-born Afrofuturism scholar Louis Chude-Sokei, and Jamaican writer and cultural theorist Sylvia Wynter. Curriculum II explores the historical and persistent connection between race and technology and the pursuit of what is human. In The Sound of Culture: Diaspora and Black Technopoetics, Louis Chude-Sokei quoted Sylvia Wynter:

“The other must be understood as not just that which is oppressed or marginalized or rendered inhuman, subhuman, or animal; it also must be understood ‘as that which is to come.”

NEW WORK

A poetic quilt of text, narration as philosophical lecture, live singing, and soundscore, Curriculum II features the rich archive of Jones’s movement phrases, which are mostly non-theatrical, non-psychological, non-narrative, and made with the intention of clarity and form. Jones’s title is an ironic reference to Achille Mbembe’s 2018 interview by the Norwegian journalist Torbjorn Tumyr Nilsen, in which he said

“For me, this is a matter of common sense. I am in favor of expanding the archive, reading the different archives of the world critically, each with and against the others. There can’t be any other meaning to a planetary curriculum.”

This fertile notion inspired Bill T. Jones to undertake a series of works entitled Curriculum, juxtaposing formal exploration with a range of today’s urgent topics as expansive as Jones’s artistry. The series attempts to embrace formal directness and clarity while allowing it to be intruded upon by word fragments, imagery, and the stuff of Mbembe’s “planetary curriculum.”

Still/Here (1994-2024)

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company remounted this timeless “landmark of 20th century dance” on its 30th anniversary underscoring its ongoing resonance with today and its ability to evoke a spirit of survival. Created during one of the most contentious and terrifying periods, the AIDS epidemic, Still/Here broke boundaries between the personal and the political and exemplified a form of dance theater that is uniquely American. In spite of its being at the center of the culture wars, or because of it, the highly formal multimedia work defined and ultimately transcended its era. In the intervening years, much has changed in the world. Though with another Pandemic behind us, wars raging, the planet failing, and technology rising, somehow the questions around mortality remain. The highly formal structures of Still/Here are delivered with simplicity and sophistication, marked by spoken text, video portraits, dance and the abstract nature of gesture. Gretchen Bender’s visual concept and multimedia environment is joined by music from Kenneth Frazelle (sung by Odetta) and Vernon Reid. Long-time collaborators include Liz Prince (costumes) and Robert Wierzel (lighting).

At the heart of Still/Here are the “Survival Workshops: Talking and Moving about Life and Death.” These workshops were conducted across the country with people living with life-threating illness. The participants living on the front lines of the struggle to understand our mortality are in possession of information - info possible of being a gift and a burden. The participants’ generosity of spirit and willingness to express their experience both with words and gestures was both inspiring and difficult. They are the essence of Still/Here. This work is dedicated to them.

Photo by Maria Baranova

RECONSTRUCTED LEGACY WORKS

Conceived, choreographed, and directed by Bill T. Jones, with visual concept and media environment by Gretchen Bender. Lighting design is by Robert Wierzel*, and costume design by Liz Prince. “Still” features music composed and lyrics arranged by Kenneth Frazelle, recorded and performed by Odetta, and by the Lark String Quartet with Bill Finizio on percussion. The “Denial” monologue was written by Lawrence Goldhuber. “Here” features music composed and arranged by Vernon Reid, recorded and mixed by Bradshaw Leigh and Vernon Reid. (*Denotes member of the United Scenic Arts Union, USA.)

The original cast included Arthur Aviles, Gabri Christa, Josie Coyoc, Torrin Cummings, Lawrence Goldhuber, Rosalynde LeBlanc, Odile Reine-Adelaide, Daniel Russell, Maya Saffrin, and Gordon F. White, with original production staff Kelly Atallah, Gregory Bain, and James Irvine.

Special thanks to Janet Wong, Gregory Bain, Kelly Atallah, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The 2024 reconstruction was re-staged by Janet Wong.

D-Man in the Waters (1989)

Bill T. Jones’s joyful tour-de-force, D-Man in the Waters, is a true classic of modern dance and a two time New York Dance and Performance (“Bessie”) Award-winning work. It is a celebration of life and the resiliency of the human spirit that guides audiences through loss, hope and triumph. Set to Mendelssohn’s Octet for Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20 the work is one of the finest examples of the post- modern aesthetic and was featured in PBS’s landmark film Dancing in the Light – Six Dances by African-American Choreographers

(1989) “In a dream you saw a way to survive and you were full of joy.” –

Photo by Olivia Moon

Story/ (2013)

Story/ was a result of the company’s continued investigation in using John Cage’s Indeterminacy as a choreographic tool. Following the model for the acclaimed Story/Time, the work employs a random menu of movement that is accompanied by Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 (Death and the Maiden) to craft a conversation between the music and the movement.

Continuous Replay (1977, revised 1991)

Continuous Replay reflects Arnie Zane’s interests in photography and film. Originally choreographed by Zane in 1977 as a solo titled Hand Dance and later revised as a group work by Bill T. Jones in 1991, Continuous Replay is based on 45 precise gestures accumulated in space and time, cunningly complicated by discrete movement events. A newly commissioned score for string octet by Jerome Begin combines motifs from Beethoven’s first and last string quartets with recorded sounds to create a surprising soundscape.

Collage Revisited (2025)

In Collage Revisited, the company revisits the History of Collage, the last collaboration between Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane before Arnie succumbed to AIDS. Originally created in 1988, the remounting is part of a legacy project for the company. Kaatsbaan audiences will experience a preview of the first time Collage will be performed in over 20 years. The piece recalls the excitement the two artists shared as they set out to reconsider dance spectacle during the 1980s art scene.

PREVIOUSLY FUNDED PROJECTS

“I have oscillated between two or more polarities my entire career: love, mortality, and what it means to be human.”

- Bill T. Jones

Analogy Trilogy:

Analogy/Dora: Tramontane (2015)

Analogy/Lance: Pretty aka The Escape Artist (2016)

Analogy/Ambros: The Emigrant (2017)

Deep Blue Sea (2021)

What Problem? (2020)

Afterwardsness (2020)

PIC BENEFITS

Legacy Circle

$300,000 Over 3 Years (100k Annually)

All Chairperson’s Circle benefits, plus:

- Annual private dinner for you and a guest with Bill T. Jones.

- Prominent sponsorship credit.

Chairperson’s Circle

$250,000 Over 5 Years (50k Annually)

All Producers Circle benefits, plus:

- Guided tour of BTJ archives with a Curator at New York Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center.

- Prominent sponsorship credit.

Producers Circle

$150,000 Over 5 Years (30k Annually)

All Leadership Circle benefits, plus:

- Complimentary tickets for you and a guest to any Bill. T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company performance anywhere in the world.

- Prominent sponsorship credit.

Leadership Circle

$90,000 Over 3 Years (30k Annually)

- Exclusive access to VIP rehearsals, discussions, and closed performance showings with Bill T. Jones, dancers, and collaborators.

- Two complimentary tickets to Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company premieres (pending availability) with concierge ticket service for additional tour dates.

- Special backstage access and individually tailored opportunities to meet with dancers, production staff, and collaborators.

- Invitations to Partner cocktail receptions and social gatherings.

- Bi-annual PIC newsletter featuring Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company updates, behind-the-scenes photos, and insights into the artistic process, including ideas, inspiration, and designs.

FUNDING SOURCES & HOW WE SPEND THEM

SOURCES:

DONOR-ADVISED FUND (DAF)

Your support sustains the bold, necessary work of New York Live Arts and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. We invite you to explore the giving options below and choose the one that works best for you.

By Check:

Please make checks payable to:

New York Live Arts, Inc.

219 West 19th Street

New York, NY 10011

Attn: Development Office

Donate Online:

The fastest and most convenient way to support our work. You may make a onetime gift or set up a recurring monthly contribution.

Recommending a grant from your Donor-Advised Fund is a simple and impactful way to sustain visionary new work and preserve our legacy repertory.

Legal Name: New York Live Arts, Inc. Tax ID (EIN): 13-3056061

Address: 219 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011

If your fund allows, please include your name in the grant designation so we may recognize your support.

Gifts of Stock or Securities:

Donating appreciated stock or securities may provide tax advantages while fueling Live Arts’ mission.

Wire Transfer:

We gratefully accept contributions via wire transfer.

Employer Matching Gifts:

Many companies match employee donations, doubling or tripling the impact of your gift. Please check with your employer to see if your contribution qualifies. For assistance with any giving methods, please contact: Ali Burke, Development Director aburke@newyorklivearts.org (212) 691-6500 x372

CURRICULUM II (2023)

Lighting by Robert Wierzel

Over the decades of collaborating with Bill and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, I have developed a way of seeing light and space that has moved from the simple to the complex.

Due to Bill’s deep understanding of the world, I have come to realize how light can communicate ideas and create visual vocabulary. How light can have meaning in context.

Working with Bill has made me understand that light can have artistic, emotional and psychological weight. I can be active in the process yet not necessarily re-active. I am often called upon to complete the ‘picture,’ however, with Bill this becomes the act of incredible co-creation and deep satisfaction.

After these many years of working together, we have developed a creative shorthand, and Bill has intellectually challenged me in ways that have made me the designer I am today.

Robert Wierzel

STORIES IN THE WORK

In 1994 I was 16 and a serious violin student at the Peabody Preparatory in Baltimore, MD. There was a program called Arts for Talented Youth which was a mix of young dancers and musicians. My mother, Linda Shapiro, was running the program as an administrator and there was a heavy focus on interdisciplinary work between dancers and musicians. As part of this program, the whole group , maybe 15 of us, took a field trip to see the opening of Still/Here. I have no idea who made the decision to take us but I suspect it was my mother, trying as always, to expose young artists to living artists.

I remember we sat in the back section of the orchestra left, and we collectively had no idea what to expect. When Ryan White’s face popped up I remember thinking- “Ohhhhh wow. Well this should be interesting.” AIDS education was a very big deal for high school students at that time as we all knew his story. And then I proceeded to have my teenage mind blown. While I don’t remember everything from that performance, what I do remember mostly was walking away with a much larger realization of the role of the artist in society. I realized that what I was seeing was a new way of “doing art.”

Experiencing this piece at age 47, now as a parent, and having lost my mother to a 5-year battle with cancer in 2011, it hit me in a different way. She could have been one of the voices/experiences whose story was told and shown in this piece. My personal understanding of death is now from a completely different vantage point but the message remains the same.

Rachel Shapiro, Partners In Creation Member