Allergies, allegiances and authenticity: Bill T. Jones’s choreography for Broadway | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Studies in Musical Theatre
  4. Volume 13, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 13, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 1750-3159
  • E-ISSN: 1750-3167

Abstract

The critical reception of Bill T. Jones’s choreography for the Broadway stage reinvigorates debates about high and low cultural production and reveals persistent critical biases regarding the requirement of authenticity for non-white artists. Jones’s genre crossing participates in a cultural history of choreographers and dancers who dance(d) across concert and commercial stages; Jones’s work is further complicated by a rubric of authenticity as it contributes to both the mythology of the avant-garde and audience expectations of racialized cultural producers. This article argues that the reception of Jones’s choreography evidences the interdependence between blackness as authenticity and high/low dichotomies of artistic production, particularly those that contour dance reception. I foreground the multiple ways in which the formulation of blackness as authenticity supports Broadway’s commercial, often posited as ‘inauthentic’, aesthetics and aims.

© 2019 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/smt.13.1.23_1
2019-03-01
2024-04-25
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Abadsidis, Savas. ( 2017;), ‘ The elegant legacy of Bill T. Jones. ’, The Advocate, 4 May, https://www.advocate.com/advocate50/2017/5/04/elegant-legacy-bill-t-jones. Accessed 1 October 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Adler, Steven. ( 2013;), ‘ Box office. ’, in R. Knapp,, M. Morris, and S. Wolf. (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the American Musical, New York:: Oxford University Press;, pp. 351–64.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Conan, Neal. ( 2011;), ‘ Bill T. Jones takes Broadway hit Fela! on tour. ’, Talk of the Nation, National Public Radio , 21 September, http://www.npr.org/2011/09/21/140672965/bill-t-jones-takes-fela-nationwide. Accessed 17 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Conan, Neal. ( 2013;), ‘ Looking ahead to the future of modern dance with Bill T. Jones. ’, Talk of the Nation, National Public Radio , 30 May, http://www.npr.org/2013/05/30/187310545/looking-ahead-to-the-future-of-modern-dance-with-bill-t-jones. Accessed 17 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Cote, David. ( 2008), Spring Awakening: In the Flesh, New York:: Simon Spotlight Entertainment;.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Das, Joanna Dee. ( 2017), Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora, New York:: Oxford University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Elswit, Kate. ( 2014), Watching Weimar Dance, New York:: Oxford University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Elswit, Kate. ( 2018), Theatre & Dance, London:: Palgrave Macmillan;.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Gennaro, Liza, and Wolf, Stacy. ( 2015;), ‘ Dance in musical theater. ’, in N. George-Graves. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Theater, New York:: Oxford University Press;, pp. 148–68.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Gottschild, Brenda Dixon. ( 2003), The Black Dancing Body: A Geography from Coon to Cool, New York:: Palgrave Macmillan;.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Harvilla, Rob. ( 2009;), ‘ West Africa story: Fela! on Broadway. ’, The Village Voice, 17 November, https://www.villagevoice.com/2009/11/17/west-africa-story-fela-on-broadway/. Accessed 20 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Healy, Patrick. ( 2010;), ‘ Unlikely fan of Afrobeat pulled Fela! to Broadway. ’, The New York Times, 9 June, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/theater/10hendel.html. Accessed 17 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Hoskins, Vicki. ( 2013;), ‘ Marketing musicals: Commercializing the avant-garde in Spring Awakening. ’, Studies in Musical Theatre, 7:3, pp. 359–68.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Isherwood, Charles. ( 2010;), ‘ Feeling unsettled at a feel-good show. ’, The New York Times, 27 January, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/theater/31fela.html. Accessed 10 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Johnson, E. Patrick. ( 2003), Appropriating Blackness: Performance and the Politics of Authenticity, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Johnson, Jasmine. ( 2016;), ‘ Queens’ diaspora. ’, African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal, 9:1, pp. 44–56.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Jones, Bill T.. ( 2014), Story/Time: The Life of an Idea, Princeton, NJ:: Princeton University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Kaufman, Sarah. ( 2010;), ‘ Bill T. Jones, who brought the avant-garde to Broadway. ’, The Washington Post, 3 December, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/12/03/AR2010120302765.html. Accessed 27 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Kaye, Kimberly. ( 2009;), ‘ Tony winner Bill T. Jones on art, life, death and Broadway’s Fela!. ’, Broadway Buzz, 17 November, http://www.broadway.com/buzz/139820/tony-winner-bill-t-jones-on-art-life-death-and-broadways-fela/. Accessed 1 October 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Kois, Dan. ( 2009;), ‘ Dancing with the stars. ’, New York Magazine, 24 November, http://nymag.com/arts/theater/reviews/62345/. Accessed 1 October 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Kourlas, Gia. ( 2010;), ‘ Following Lincoln through history. ’, The New York Times, 16 July, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/17/arts/dance/17jones.html. Accessed 5 November 2012.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Krasner, David. ( 1997), Resistance, Parody, and Double Consciousness in African American Theatre, 1895-1910, New York:: St. Martin’s Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Kraut, Anthea. ( 2015), Choreographing Copyright: Race, Gender, and Intellectual Property Rights in American Dance, New York:: Oxford University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Lee, Felicia R.. ( 2009;), ‘ Finding depths in Fela!’s women. ’, The New York Times, 16 December, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/theater/17fela.html. Accessed 15 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Levine, Lawrence. ( 1990), Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America, Cambridge, MA:: Harvard University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. McCarter, Jeremy. ( 2006;), ‘ No show tunes allowed. ’, New York Magazine, 25 December, http://nymag.com/arts/theater/reviews/25582/. Accessed 15 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Mermelstein, David. ( 2008;), ‘ Spring has sprung new breed of tuner. ’, Variety, 22 April, pp. A2–A9, https://variety.com/2008/legit/markets-festivals/spring-has-sprung-new-breed-of-tuner-1117984481/. Accessed 13 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Moten, Fred. ( 2003), In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition, Minneapolis:: University of Minnesota Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Nereson, Ariel. ( 2017;), ‘ Sound in motion: Bill T. Jones repurposes John Cage. ’, Critical Stages, 16, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Pareles, Jon. ( 2009;), ‘ Fela! Broadway? Dance!. ’, The New York Times, 22 November, p. 20, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/theater/22fela.html?pagewanted=all. Accessed 15 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Pogrebin, Robin. ( 1998;), ‘ THE CREATIVE MIND: Lionesses as metaphors and other visions in dance. ’, The New York Times, 11 November, https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/11/theater/the-creative-mind-lionesses-as-metaphors-and-other-visions-in-dance.html. Accessed 21 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Preston, Rohan. ( 2012;), ‘ A sacred monster is reborn. ’, Star Tribune, 9 June, http://www.startribune.com/a-sacred-monster-is-reborn/157958215/. Accessed 10 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Rogoff, Jay. ( 2010;), ‘ Tharp’s junk-food frank, Jones’s mostly happy Fela!. ’, The Hopkins Review, 3:4, pp. 568–75.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Rooney, David. ( 2009;), ‘ Fela!. ’, Variety, 23 November, pp. 38–40, http://variety.com/2009/legit/markets-festivals/fela-3-1200477297/. Accessed 10 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Royster, Francesca T.. ( 2011;), ‘ Fela!: Fela Kuti, Bill T. Jones, and the marketing of black masculine excess on Broadway. ’, Biography, 34:3, pp. 492–517.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Savran, David. ( 2011;), ‘ Class and culture. ’, in R. Knapp,, M. Morris, and S. Wolf. (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the American Musical, New York:: Oxford University Press;, pp. 239–50.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Sisario, Ben. ( 2008;), ‘ Summoning Afrobeat’s rhythmic, rebellious force to the stage. ’, The New York Times, 5 August, p. E1. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/theater/06fela.html. Accessed 20 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Spector, Lynn. ( 2013;), ‘ Breaking it down: An exploration of the musical Fela! in relationship to Greek tragedy and Nietzsche’s Apollonian/Dionysian duality. ’, Studies in Musical Theatre, 7:3, pp. 369–74.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Sulcas, Roslyn. ( 2007;), ‘ It takes a rule breaker to create dance for rebels. ’, The New York Times, 7 June, p. E1, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/arts/dance/07jone.html. Accessed 30 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Tomko, Linda. ( 2000), Dancing Class: Gender, Ethnicity and Social Divides in American Dance, 1890–1920, Bloomington, IN:: Indiana University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Wander, Robin. ( 2015;), ‘ What would you ask Tony-Award winning choreographer Bill T. Jones?. ’, Stanford News, 28 January, https://news.stanford.edu/2015/01/28/jones-students-econversation-012815/. Accessed 30 September 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Wollman, Elizabeth. ( 2006), The Theater Will Rock: A History of the Rock Musical, from Hair to Hedwig, Ann Arbor, MI:: University of Michigan Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Nereson, A.. ( 2019;), ‘ Allergies, allegiances and authenticity: Bill T. Jones’s choreography for Broadway. ’, Studies in Musical Theatre, 13:1, pp. 23–36, doi: 10.1386/smt.13.1.23_1
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/smt.13.1.23_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): avant-garde; choreography; contemporary Broadway musicals; criticism; cultural politics; race

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error