Scope and arrangement
The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company records date from 1970 to 2016 and chronicle the work of the Company and its creators, dancer/choreographers Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane. The strengths of the collection, created by Jones, Zane, and the staff of the Company, are its comprehensive documentation of technical aspects of productions, and the logistics of running and financing a large performing arts organization. All major productions by the Company are documented, along with numerous collaborative and community projects. There are more than 2,500 video recordings that depict rehearsals, performances, and workshops from throughout the Company's history, with particular emphasis on the production, Still/Here (1994). The collection does not provide insight into the personal lives of Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane.
The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company records are arranged in eleven series:
-
1979-201319.04 linear feet (44 boxes, 3 tubes, 9 oversize folders)
The Production Files series documents the logistics of creating dance performances for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, covering all major productions from 1979 to 2013. Files are arranged alphabetically by production, with assorted production files and stage manager files ordered at the end.
The most extensively represented aspects of production are technical. Included here are lighting plots and designs, stage manager cue sheets, prop lists, sheet music, lyrics, sound cue sheets, riders, and costume designs and inventories. Also included are choreography notes, budget lists, contracts, agreements, headshots, resumes, and correspondence with dancers, composers, and other collaborators. Occasional audio recordings, video recordings, and photographs accompany the production files. There are also some costume inventories that predate the Company's founding by a few years.
Still/Here is the most represented production in this series, with plots, cue sheets, publicity materials, tour files on various cities, Survival Workshop documents, and storyboards for the Still/Here film. Other heavily covered productions include Chapel/Chapter, Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin, Story/Time, We Set Out Early... Visibility Was Poor, and You Walk?
-
1974-20137.33 linear feet (20 boxes)
Series II contains tens of thousands of photographs of the Company's productions; choreographers and dancers, such as Jones and Zane; and places and events attended by the Company from throughout its history. Formats include prints, negatives, contacts sheets, and slides. Photographs are arranged as they were by the Company, in the following groups: Photographs by Production; Photographs by Photographer; Photographs of Individuals; Photographs of Places and Events; Publicity Photographs of Jones and Zane; Photographs of Jones with Others; Photographs Given by Rhodessa Jones; and Unidentified Photographs.
Photographs of productions depict both performances and rehearsals, and are the most represented group in the series. Of special interest are photographs of productions from the Company's first year, such as Continuous Replay, Fever Swamp, Intuitive Momentum, and Shared Distance; as well as photographs of Fela!, a musical choreographed and directed by Jones about Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. Another Evening/I Bow Down, Blind Date, Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Still/Here also feature prominently.
Individuals depicted include Lar Lubovitch, Meredith Monk, and Robert Longo. There are also many photographs of Bill T. Jones from throughout his career, mostly in performance and promotional shots.
This series also holds photographs of events, programs, workshops, parties, and other engagements attended or organized by the Company or Jones. There are photographs of the Company's residency at Ravinia Festival, mainly of 2009 dress rehearsals; and the Company's attendance at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival from 2006 to 2010. Numerous educational programs conducted by the Company, such as its Bard College Dance Program and Jones' YoungArts residency, are represented here. Also of note are photographs from a 2006 tour of Brazil, the Toni Morrison Lecture Series at Princeton University featuring Jones, and the 2006 Monaco Dance Forum.
Photographers whose work is featured in this series include Lois Greenfield, Robert Mapplethorpe, Beatriz Schiller, and Nathaniel Tileston.
-
1980-201612.83 linear feet (32 boxes)
The programs in Series III comprehensively cover the Company's domestic and international productions from 1980 to 2016. Programs for single performances, repertory tours, and special projects are contained here. Ordered chronologically, programs chiefly date from the 1990s and 2000s.
-
1984-20114.0 linear feet (10 boxes)
The Publicity Materials series consists of news articles about Jones, the Company, and its productions; as well as press releases, press kits, and occasional interviews. Emphasis is given to the 1990s and 2000s, particularly Still/Here and the Company's 20th anniversary season. Materials in this series are arranged chronologically, with a group of assorted press files ordered at the end.
-
1985-20134.79 linear feet (12 boxes)
Series V consists of working files on cities the Company visited for domestic and international tours. These files, arranged first by location and then by date, contain technical information on venues where the Company performed, as well as general tourist information about the cities, budgets, receipts, publicity materials, programs, and correspondence with Jones and other Company staff members regarding venues and performances. Files mostly cover cities in the United States and Europe. The files arranged by date provide a nearly complete touring history of the Company from 2000 to 2015.
-
1976-20076.42 linear feet (17 boxes)
The Special Projects series covers benefits, galas, charitable initiatives, community programs, and performances or events that are not clearly associated with a specific production or touring season. These files provide a broader picture of Jones' and the Company's activities between 1976 and 2007, specifically collaborations with individuals and organizations. The files are arranged in alphabetical order. Occasionally, files kept by the Company for special projects do relate to a specific production, but usually in the context of a benefit performance or opening night party.
This series holds correspondence, event schedules, budgets, programs, menus, guest lists, inventories, and invitations. The Company's collaborations with the Walker Art Center and The Kitchen are well-documented here, as are projects with colleges and universities.
-
1978-201118.54 linear feet (45 boxes)
Series VII holds the Company's operational files dating from the 1980s through 2014. These files demonstrate the complexity of operating a large international dance company. They are arranged into: Arnie Zane Files; Bill T. Jones Files; Files Kept by Administrative Assistants; Subject Files; Grant Proposals; Financial Files; Legal Documents; and Tax Documents. Files are arranged alphabetically within each section, except for Financial Files, which are arranged chronologically.
Included here are files from Arnie Zane's office, which document his professional interests and work during the 1980s; as well as files on the many awards and tributes received by the Company and Bill T. Jones. There are also files maintained by administrative assistants and other Company employees, such as meeting minutes, schedules, notes, reports, inventories, and business correspondence.
This series contains extensive subject files that cover topics such as collaborations with other companies and performing artists, employee recruitment, the challenges of attracting young supporters, the Company's search for a permanent dance space in Upper Manhattan, and the Dance Theatre Workshop merger. There are also files kept by the Board of Directors, the Company Manager, Executive Director, Human Resources department, and the Office Manager. The large amount of Development files chronicle initiatives, tours, and events. Additionally, there are subject files on the Company's educational programs, marketing strategies, and website and social media development.
This series holds grant proposals and drafts for numerous foundations and organizations. Grants largely date from the 2000s. Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and Mellon Foundation are particularly well-represented.
Financial files contain audits, year-end financial summaries, and deposits, which give an overall picture of the Company's finances. Legal documents comprise contracts and insurance papers. Also included are tax documents for the Company, Dance Theatre Workshop, and Foundation for Dance Promotion. Tax documents chiefly consist of reports and returns.
-
1973-20137.58 linear feet (10 boxes, 11 tubes)
Posters are for productions by the Company, special projects, and repertory tours. Posters that represent specific productions are arranged by title. Posters from repertory tours in which many different dance pieces were performed are arranged by date, or, when undated, by location.
Of special note are posters for 1994 and 1995 Still/Here performances, and 2013 New York Live Arts performances.
-
1970-20096.95 linear feet (5 boxes, 12 tubes, 4 oversize folders)
Series IX contains lighting and set designs, and plots, for performances by the Company. Most designs and plots are for performances from the 2000s, covering such productions as Blind Date, The Breathing Show, and You Walk? There are also some designs and plots for repertory shows featuring multiple productions. The majority of designs and plots identify the performance space, designer, and date (or dates) of performance. Designs and plots from specific productions are arranged by title; those from repertory tours in which multiple dance pieces were performed are arranged by date.
-
1982-2007
Series X contains audio recordings of music used in Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company productions and Bill T. Jones' solo shows, as well as interviews with Jones. There are some recordings of music which may have been written for or used in Company productions, but they are not identified as such. This series is arranged into: Productions, Interviews, Bill T. Jones Solo Shows, Music by Composer/Artist, and Miscellaneous.
Music for Another Evening, Blind Date, Freedom of Information, and Secret Pastures is well-documented in this series.
-
1974-20130.42 linear feet (2 boxes)
The collection holds more than 2,500 video recordings, which provide a comprehensive history of the Company and Bill T. Jones' career from 1974 to 2013. These recordings document all major Company productions with rehearsal and performance footage in New York and other cities where productions premiered, as well as on domestic and international tours.
The Company used a code to identify the category and date of the majority of video recordings, which is used in this inventory. A single letter prefix designates genre (B (Broadcast), I (Interview), L (Lecture), P (Performance), R (Rehearsal), SP (Special Project), and W (Workshop)). Dates follow, represented by the last two digits of the year and a single digit or digits for both the month and day. In cases where there are multiple recordings from the same day, an additional number is added. For example, R921142 indicates the second rehearsal recording from November 4, 1992.
Series XI is arranged into: Video by Internal Call Number, Video by Date, Video by Title, and Miscellaneous and Unidentified Video. Video by Date is by far the largest group; videos in the other three groups are not identified by date.
The most extensively documented production is Still/Here. Nearly every day of activity by the Company from the years 1993 and 1994, when Still/Here was first rehearsed and performed, is represented through video recordings. There are videos of rehearsals, performances, and all of the Survival Workshops Jones conducted in preparation for the piece.
Other widely documented productions include Freedom of Information, Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin, and We Set Out Early… Visibility Was Poor. Also of note are video recordings of productions from Company's first year in 1982, notably Social Intercourse.
Additionally, there are video recordings of interviews, lectures, classes, and solo performances by Jones.