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Friday, September 29, 2017

In Context: A Letter to My Nephew



Choreographer Bill T. Jones sets a portrait of his beloved nephew Lance T. Briggs against the political landscape of the present in A Letter to My Nephew, an intimate, impressionistic collage for nine dancers.

Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.

Program Notes

A Letter to My Nephew (PDF)

Watch & Listen

Video
Bill T. Jones on A Letter to My Nephew (YouTube)
Bill T. Jones and Associate Artistic Director Janet Wong sit down to talk about violence, family, and the evolution of the piece.

Playlist
A Letter—Inspiration Mix by Nick Hallett (Spotify)
A collection of the music that inspired Nick Hallett's original score for A Letter to My Nephew.

Read

Article
The Transcendent Artistry of a Legendary Dancer, Four Decades In (The New York Times)
Bill T. Jones on 40 years of movement, critique, and conversation.

Leon Levy BAM Digital Archive
Featured Collection: Bill T. Jones
Browse photographs, audiovisual materials, and ephemera from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company’s many BAM productions.

Poem
“A Letter to My Nephew” (The Progressive)
The text of James Baldwin’s powerful and resonant piece “A Letter to My Nephew,” which was an influence for Jones’ own work.


Related Event

Opera
We Shall Not Be Moved at the Apollo Theater (Oct 6 & 7)
A new opera with music by Daniel Bernard Roumain, libretto by Marc Bamuthi Joseph, directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones.


Now your turn...

What did you think? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.

6 comments:

  1. The dancing was top notch, but the performance context/narrative less so, even after reading pre-program material.

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  2. I love and adore bill t jones and think he's pretty ingenous. This piece was a bit of a mess in my view

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  3. disappointing....as a piece of art, it did not work for me.

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  4. While watching this piece, it was clear that there had been an intention and purpose, although not executed to its fullest potential. Overall, I enjoyed the performance, but unfortunately, I felt as though I left the studio empty-handed. Thank you for the experience despite all.

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  5. The show was overall exhilarating. However, viewing the test on stage was quite difficult to read due to the seating of the theater. All in all, the passion displayed through the dancers was well recognizable.

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  6. Disappointing. Too little dancing, wasn't prepared for all of the simulated gay sex. Hard to read the text when it was often projected on a board in the corner of the stage that was hidden or at least partially obscured from our orchestra seats. First (and probably last) Bill T. Jones performance, unfortunately.

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