Bios
Bill T. Jones
A native of rural upstate New York, Bill T. Jones is the artistic director, co-founder, and choreographer of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in New York City.
Jones is also the artistic director of New York Live Arts, an organization that strives to create a robust framework in support of the nation’s dance and movement-based artists through new approaches to producing, presenting, and educating.
The associate artist of the 2020 Holland Festival, Jones was the recipient of the 2014 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, the 2013 National Medal of Arts, the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors, the 2010 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, the 2005 Harlem Renaissance Award, and the 2003 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize.
He earned a 2010 Tony Award for Best Choreography of the critically acclaimed FELA!. He also won the 2007 Tony and Obie awards for his Spring Awakening choreography.
Jones was recognized as Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2010. The Dance Heritage Coalition named him “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure” in 2000. He was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant” in 1994.
He choreographed and performed worldwide with his late partner, Arnie Zane, before forming the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982. He has created more than 140 works for the ensemble.
His memoir, Last Night on Earth, was published by Pantheon Books in 1995.
Go to Bill T. Jones to learn more.
Michael Mwenso
Michael Mwenso was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, but moved to London as a child. He spent his teen years hanging out at the legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott’s, where he was exposed to musicians such as Benny Carter, Elvin Jones, Ray Brown, and Billy Higgins.
He had already started honing his talents as a trombonist, singer, and performer, playing in jump bands, reggae and Afrobeat horn sections, and at hard-bop sessions. Mwenso’s talent as a performer caught the attention of many, which lead him to meet James Brown. The funk legend became a mentor and allotted space for him to sing and dance at his London shows.
In 2012, friend and jazz musician Wynton Marsalis brought Mwenso to New York City to serve as curator and programming associate at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he also booked nightly sets at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. Over the next few years, Mwenso booked and performed with the likes of Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jon Batiste, Aaron Diehl, Sullivan Fortner, and Jamison Ross.
Through the performances, at Dizzy’s, Mwenso began to collaborate with a variety of Juilliard-trained musicians, a collective that soon became known as The Shakes. This unique group of global artists present music that merges entertainment and artistry with a formidable timeline of jazz and blues through African and Afro-American music. The group has toured extensively through the United States and has received high praise from the debut release Emergence.
Visit Mwenso and the Shakes to learn more.