AfterwardsnessMay 19-26, 2021





Details

“It was the first time I cried through a shoot.”
—Sasha Arutyunova on photographing Afterwardsness,
The New York Times

Afterwardsness is a hypnotic new commission by Tony Award-winning choreographer, director, and dancer Bill T. Jones. Performed by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in the expansive Wade Thompson Drill Hall for an audience of 100, Afterwardsness addresses the isolation and trauma of the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and on-going violence against Black bodies. The poignancy of the movement is under-pinned by a musical landscape featuring a new vocal composition by Holland Andrews, a violin solo for George Floyd entitled “Homage” by Pauline Kim Harris, as well as excerpts from Olivier Messaien’s war-time composition Quartet for the End of Time.

Your Health and Safety Are Important to Us

• All audience members are pre-screened for COVID-19 and rapid-tested on site before entering the performance space; anyone with a positive test leaves the building immediately
• In lieu of on-site COVID-19 test, Park Avenue Armory accepts proof of full vaccination prior to the performance date. You must present a government-issued photo ID as well as printed or digital proof of vaccination (a photo of your vaccination card or documents is acceptable). Park Avenue Armory also accepts New York State’s Excelsior Pass as proof of vaccination. Names must match on the photo ID and vaccination documents.
• Strict “no masks/no entry” policy
Social distancing is rigorously enforced at all times
• Seats are individually spaced 9 feet apart
• All ticket scanning and temperature taking is contactless
No gathering permitted in the building or on the sidewalks
• Air refreshing in the performance area exceeds CDC and ASHRAE standards
• Restroom facilities are disinfected between each use

Stay home if you are feeling sick
Wear your mask properly at all times
Respect social distancing of 6 feet at all times
Follow the directions of the Armory staff
Use hand-sanitizing stations provided throughout the building

There is no coat check; an individual bin for coats is provided under each chair
• Audience members are encouraged to arrive 45 minutes before start time
• Because on-site testing and screening takes 15 minutes, audience members will not be admitted within 20 minutes of the performance start time
• There is no late seating

If health conditions do not permit the re-opening of the Armory on the dates noted, the performances will be canceled, all tickets will be immediately refunded, and if possible, the performances will be rescheduled.

For more detail, please read the Armory’s Health and Safety Protocols.

Image © Sasha Arutyunova

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Visit

May 19–May 26, 2021

Tickets: $45 (plus fees)

Wade Thompson Drill Hall
A Social Distance Hall Production

This performance is approximately 65 minutes with no intermission.

Bill T. Jones, Creator, Director, & Choreographer
Janet Wong, Associate Artistic Director
Brian H. Scott, Lighting Designer
Mark Grey, Sound Designer
Pauline Kim Harris, Music Director, Violinist, & Composer
Holland Andrews, Composer, Vocalist

Creative Team & Company Biographies
Bill T. Jones, Director & Choreographer

Bill T. Jones (Artistic Director/Co-Founder/Choreographer: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company; Artistic Director: New York Live Arts) is recipient of the 2014 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award; 2013 National Medal of Arts; 2010 Kennedy Center Honors; a 2010 Tony Award for Best Choreography of the critically acclaimed Fela!; a 2007 Tony Award, 2007 Obie Award, and 2006 Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Callaway Award for his choreography for Spring Awakening; the 2010 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award; 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship; 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Seven; 2005 Wexner Prize; the 2005 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement; 2005 Harlem Renaissance Award; 2003 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize; and a 1994 MacArthur “Genius” Award. In 2010, Jones was recognized as Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and in 2000, The Dance Heritage Coalition named Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure.”

Jones 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 his company. Jones is 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.

Janet Wong, Associate Artistic Director

Janet Wong (Associate Artistic Director, New York Live Arts) was born in Hong Kong and trained in Hong Kong and London. Upon graduation, she joined the Berlin Ballet, where she first met Bill T. Jones when he was invited to choreograph on the company. In 1993, she moved to New York to pursue other interests. Wong became Rehearsal Director of the Company in 1996, Associate Artistic Director in 2006, and Associate Artistic Director of New York Live Arts in 2016.

Brian H. Scott, Lighting Designer

Brian H. Scott is a Theatrical Designer working primarily in the medium of Light. As a SITI Company member and resident Lighting Designer since 1997, he has had the good fortune to focus on the creation of new work and the re-investigation of classic texts through a contemporary, as well as a physically and visually rigorous lens. His collaborations as a company member of Rude Mechs in Austin, Texas have offered equally invigorating opportunities to create new work through contemporary eyes, in addition to sweeping adaptations of such literary works as Greil Marcus’ look at the history of counter culture, Lipstick Traces, and James Kelman’s book, How Late It Was How Late.

Mark Grey, Sound Designer

Mark Grey is an Emmy award-winning sound designer and composer who made history as the first sound designer for the New York Philharmonic (On the Transmigration of Souls, 2002, which also won the Pulitzer Prize in Music) and The Metropolitan Opera (Doctor Atomic, 2008, Nixon in China, 2011, Death of Klinghoffer, 2014, The Merry Widow, 2015, Bluebeard’s Castle/Iolanta, 2015, L’Amour de Loin, 2016). As a composer, his opera Frankenstein recently premiered at La Monnaie in Brussels, along with several commissions from the Atlanta Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has collaborated intimately with composer John Adams, and several others, for nearly three decades. He designed and toured extensively with Kronos Quartet for nearly 15 years. His sound designs have been heard throughout most major concert halls, HD simulcast theaters, and opera houses worldwide.

Pauline Kim Harris, Music Director, Violinist, Composer

Pauline Kim Harris (aka PK or Pauline Kim) is a Grammy-nominated violinist and composer. The youngest student of legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz, she has appeared throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia as soloist, collaborator, and music director. Known for her work with classical avant-punk violin duo, String Noise, she has also toured extensively with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and continues to collaborate with leading new music ensembles in New York City. Kim Harris was the first Music Director for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and has been the featured artist for choreographers David Parker and Pam Tanowitz. As a composer, Kim Harris deconstructs and re-embodies tactile connection between memory and sound. She has recorded for Tzadik, Nonesuch, Northern Spy, Mode, Cold Blue, and Black Truffle Records, among others. Her debut album, Heroine—a reimagining of the Bach Chaconne and Ockeghem’s Deo Gratias—was released on Sono Luminus.

Holland Andrews, Composer, Vocalist, Instrumentalist

Holland Andrews is an American vocalist, composer, improviser, and performance artist whose work is based on emotionality in its many forms. In their work, Andrews focuses on the abstraction of operatic and extended-technique voice to build soundscapes encompassing both catharsis and the interplay between dissonance and resonance to tell stories of the interior worlds of humanity. Frequently highlighting themes surrounding vulnerability and healing, Andrews arranges music with voice and clarinet, harnessing the innate qualities of these instruments’ power and elegance to serve as a vessel for these themes. As a vocalist, their influences stem from a dynamic range of musical stylings including contemporary opera, free jazz, musical theater, as well as ambient, drone, and noise music. In addition to creating solo work, Andrews develops and performs soundscapes for dance, theater, and film, toured nationally and internationally. Andrews has gained recognition from The New York Times, Uncut Magazine, Electronic Sound, NPR, and more. Currently based in New York City, Andrews also performs solo music under the stage name Like a Villain.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

Founded in 1982, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company has shaped the evolution of contemporary dance through the creation and performance of over 140 works. Recognized as one of the most innovative and powerful forces in the modern dance world, the company has performed its ever-enlarging repertoire worldwide in over 200 cities in 30 countries on every major continent. In 2011, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company merged with Dance Theater Workshop to form New York Live Arts, of which Bill T. Jones is Artistic Director and Janet Wong is Associate Artistic Director.

The repertory of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company is widely varied in its subject matter, visual imagery, and stylistic approach to movement, voice, and stagecraft and includes musically-driven works as well as works using a variety of texts. Its most celebrated evening length works include Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land (1990 Next Wave Festival, BAM), Still/Here (1994 Biennale de la Danse, Lyon, France), We Set Out Early…Visibility Was Poor (1996 Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City), You Walk? (2000 European Capital of Culture), Blind Date (2006 Peak Performances at Montclair State), Chapel/Chapter (2006, Harlem Stage Gatehouse), Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray (2009 Ravinia Festival), Another Evening: Venice/Arsenale (2010 Venice Biennale), Story/Time (2012, Peak Performances), and A Rite (2013, Carolina Performing Arts at UNC-Chapel Hill).

Vinson Fraley, Jr., Performer

Vinson Fraley, Jr. hails from Atlanta, Georgia. He began his training at age 14 under Lynise and Denise Heard and studied voice, dance, and drama at DeKalb School of the Arts. Fraley received his BFA in dance from NYU Tisch in 2015. He was a member of A.I.M (Abraham.In.Motion) prior to joining the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in 2017, and has worked with Carrie Mae Weems. Fraley has performed at New York’s Frieze Art Fair and most recently presented his own solo work in Berlin and France. Fraley hopes to continue expanding himself as a choreographer and musician.

Barrington Hinds, Performer

Barrington Hinds has worked professionally with Verb Ballets, NW Dance Project, Stephen Petronio Company, and Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out (national tour). In 2011 Hinds was a finalist for the Clive Barnes Award for young talent in dance. He has worked with choreographers Lauri Stallings, Edgar Zendejas, Sarah Slipper, Helen Pickett, Thaddeus Davis, and Cherylyn Lavagnino. Hinds works as a choreographer and teacher; his choreography has been shown at Purchase College, Dixon Place, Warwick Summer Festival, Arts On Site, and The Tank. School. Training: Ballet Florida (Marie Hale); BFA Dance, SUNY Purchase College. Company member since 2017. @bar_hinds barringtonhinds.com

Chanel Howard, Performer

Chanel Howard has worked with noted choreographers, including Mark Haim, Helen Simoneau, Mark Caserta, Tommie Waheed Evans, Wayne St. David, Netta Yerushalmy and Bobbi Jene Smith as well as performed in works by Robert Battle, Troy Powell, and Benoit Swan-Pouffer. She has participated in the Montpellier Danse 30 Festival (France), National College Dance Festival 2015, and 2017 Center for Performance Research choreography presentation. She received the 2014 Young Choreographer Award from the National High School Dance Festival, studied with DanceMakers (Atlanta) and Ballet Preljocaj’s Professional Training Program (Aix-en-Provence), and earned a BFA in dance from University of the Arts.

Dean Husted, Performer

Dean Husted has performed in works by Merce Cunningham, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane, and Christina Robson. He was selected for the Summer 2017 Contemporary Program at The School at Jacob’s Pillow, where he performed works by Marguerite Donlon, Jae Man Joo, Milton Myers, and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. Husted studied abroad in Berlin under the direction of Pamela Pietro and teachers Judith Sanchez-Ruiz, Ayman Harper, and Erion Kruja. From Virginia Beach, Husted began his training at Denise Wall’s Dance Energy and earned a BFA from NYU Tisch. This is Husted’s first season with the company.

Shane Larson, performer

Shane Larson was raised in Minnesota, where he received his early training at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. He graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a BFA in dance and a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. He also studied at SEAD in Austria. Since living in New York City, he’s branched out to collaborate with punk musicians, film makers, improvisational music ensembles, and site-specific visual artists. He is also a multimedia video artist making collage-based work about memory. Larson joined the company in 2015.

s. lumbert, Performer

s. lumbert is a Brooklyn based transgender dance artist. They earned a BS in both Dance and Exercise Science from Skidmore College and an MFA in dance from The Ohio State University. lumbert sometimes makes and performs their own solo work and collaborates on duets with Rachel Sigrid Freeburg. After a brief hiatus from dance, lumbert is excited to be working on a new project with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company.

Nayaa Opong, Performer

Nayaa Opong is from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She began her dance training at The Bowman School of Dance and later continued at Eleone Dance Unlimited. Opong choose to further her studies at Mason Gross School of the Arts— Rutgers University where she earned a BFA in dance and spent a semester at The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Since graduating in May 2019, she performs with Hysterica Jazz Dance, has begun working with the BIRDHOUSE artist collective, and has started her first season with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company.

Marie Lloyd Paspe, Performer

Marie Lloyd Paspe is a native of Singapore and the Philippines who is from Boston. She graduated summa cum laude from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in 2016, studying dance performance and business administration. Paspe toured with Carolyn Dorfman Dance and worked with choreographers Renee Jaworski, Peter Chu, Jae Mann Joo, Omar Carrum, Rami Be’er, Martin Harriague, and Manuel Vignoulle. In 2015, she studied in Israel at Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and in 2017, she attended Springboard Danse Montreal. Paspe creates work, teaches Pilates and dance, and freelances as a commercial model. Paspe joined the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in 2018.

Huiwang Zhang, Performer

Huiwang Zhang trained rigorously in physical disciplines such as Peking Opera, martial arts, and classical dance in China. Prior to his career with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, he was a lead performer with the Chinese national theater in Beijing. He has also worked with Pearson Widrig Dance-Theater, YinMei Dance, and Paper Tiger Theater. His choreography has been featured internationally in the United States, China, and Germany; his work attempts to portray the value of dance as a serious art form and critical research practice.

Vicky Chow, Piano

Canadian pianist Vicky Chow has been described as “brilliant” (The New York Times) and “one of our era’s most brilliant pianists” (Pitchfork). Her album Surface Image composed by Tristan Perich was listed among the “Top 10 Avant Music Albums” in Rolling Stone. As an artist frequently broadcasted on WNYC radio, her recorded work can be found on the Nonesuch, New Amsterdam, Tzadik, and Cantaloupe Music labels. Interviews and articles featuring Chow have appeared in the Huffington Post, Gramophone, The New York Times, and others. She is currently the pianist for Bang on a Can All-Stars, on the Board of Advisors for Composers Now, and a mentor as part of the Juilliard School mentoring program. Chow is a Yamaha Artist. vickychow.com

Paul Wonjin Cho, Clarinet

Paul Wonjin Cho, bass clarinetist of Hartford Symphony Orchestra and principal clarinetist of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, has been described as a “stylish clarinetist” by The New York Times. He served as guest principal with the American, New Haven, and Vermont symphony orchestras, and has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Singapore Symphony, and was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. Cho finished the program Ensemble Connect and became a core member of Decoda. He performs regularly with Ensemble Échappé, Ensemble LPR, and Sejong Soloists. Cho studied with Dong-Jin Kim, Yehuda Gilad, and David Shifrin at Korean National University of Arts, University of Southern California and the Yale School of Music. Cho is a F. Arthur Uebel Clarinets artist.

Caleb van der Swaagh, Cello

A versatile chamber musician and soloist, cellist Caleb van der Swaagh is an alumnus of Ensemble Connect. He won the First Prize at the [year] SAVVY Chamber Competition, Manhattan School of Music Pablo Casals Award, and Tanglewood Karl Zeise Memorial Cello Prize. An advocate of contemporary music, van der Swaag is a member of counter)induction and Ensemble Échappé and performs with other leading new music ensembles. He appears on counter)induction’s most recent album, Against Method (New Focus Records) as well as recordings on Albany Records, Bright Shiney Things, Supertrain Records, Linn Records, and Avie Records. Van der Swaag studied at Columbia University (Columbia – Juilliard Exchange), New England Conservatory, and Manhattan School of Music. His primary teachers are Bonnie Hampton, Laurence Lesser, and David Geber. calebvanderswaagh.com

How to Purchase Your Ticket

Step 1: Purchase ticket (only e-tickets are available).
Step 2: You will automatically receive a receipt for your ticket purchase, but not the ticket.
Step 3: 48 hours before the performance, you will receive a COVID-19 Screening Questionnaire. You and each member of your party must fill it out and submit it by 10am the day of your performance to receive your e-ticket(s). If the completed questionnaire suggests any circumstance related to a possible COVID-19 infection, no ticket will be issued and the cost will immediately be refunded to the original payment method. The questionnaire will also contain a consent to be rapid-tested on site by Elevation Health.
Step 4: E-ticket(s) will be issued by email upon successful completion of the COVID-19 Screening Questionnaire.

Entry to the Armory for this event will not be on Park Avenue. Please enter on Lexington Avenue near East 66th Street.

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