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Turn crisis into art: Choreographer Bill T. Jones on “Afterwardsness," his pandemic masterpiece

Turn crisis into art: Choreographer Bill T. Jones on “Afterwardsness," his pandemic masterpiece

FromSpark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity


Turn crisis into art: Choreographer Bill T. Jones on “Afterwardsness," his pandemic masterpiece

FromSpark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity

ratings:
Length:
43 minutes
Released:
Jan 26, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

When faced with a crisis, how do you move forward? Sometimes, you look backward first. It’s March 2020, and legendary choreographer Bill T. Jones is weeks away from a world premiere, when his company is forced into lockdown. All seems lost. But what comes next paves the way for a transcendent performance at the Park Avenue Armory called “Afterwardsness” — one of the only large-scale performances held anywhere during the pandemic. On Spark & Fire, the larger-than-life Bill T. Jones tells this powerful story of creative grit, love of art and reckoning with legacy — in his own fierce, fiery, funny words. He’s joined at times by his Associate Artistic Director, Janet Wong, and together they offer inspiration and ideas to fuel your own creative journey.In 1982, Bill T. Jones co-founded the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company with his partner Arnie Zane. Jones is the company’s artistic director and choreographer; he’s also won two Tony awards for work on Broadway. He is a 1994 MacArthur Fellow and was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2013. Follow on Instagram at @billtjonesarniezanecoFollow along (with transcript and amazing photos) at https://sparkandfire.com/billtjones/Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMrThis episode was shortlisted for a 2021 Webby for Best Individual Episode. Of any podcast. Do you know how many individual podcast episodes were made in the past 12 months? Conservatively, one zillion. Yes it's that good.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Released:
Jan 26, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (37)

Creativity. It’s as mysterious and elusive to humans as love. We stalk it. We crave it. We try to bring it out in ourselves. Every creative work you’ve ever loved has a hero’s journey behind it. Whether it’s a book or a building. A movie, a mural, a musical. It starts with a spark. Then: Endless iteration. Inevitable setbacks. Magical people who appear to help. And the breakthrough idea — that takes on a life all its own. On Spark & Fire, for the first time ever, you’ll hear what was happening in the mind of a creator as they brought their iconic work to life. But this isn’t an interview show. It’s a story — told entirely in the artist's own words — against the backdrop of originally composed music of the prepared piano. In Season One, you’ll hear from Yo-Yo Ma on the Silk Road Project, director Rian Johnson on making Knives Out, Isabel Allende on The House of the Spirits, Kemp Powers on Pixar’s Soul, architect Thomas Heatherwick on The Vessel, choreographer Bill T. Jones on Afterwardsness, book designer Chip Kidd on the cover of Jurassic Park, executive producer Kamilah Forbes of the Apollo Theatre, Susan Orlean on The Orchid Thief and more.With host June Cohen — cofounder of WaitWhat, former executive producer of TED Talks and co-host of the TED conference — in her first hosting role since TED.What really happens on the road to success? You’re about to find out. Let these epic stories spark your own creative journey. Spark & Fire is a WaitWhat original series.Episode 5 of Spark & Fire, "Turn crisis into art: Tony-winner Bill T. Jones on Afterwardsness, his pandemic masterpiece," has been nominated for a 2021 Webby Award as one of the five best individual podcast episodes produced in the past 12 months.https://linktr.ee/SparkandFire