Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company January 23, 2010

Continuing his tradition of challenging, thought provoking work, MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient Bill T. Jones is creating a new evening-length work about Abraham Lincoln. “I live with the uneasy feeling that society has shaped me as a result of something that was stolen from us when Abraham Lincoln was killed. The cynicism and alienation that I feel in my head and heart arose because of this strange turn of destiny,” says Jones. Fondly Do We Hope... Fervently Do We Pray finds Jones seeking a way to articulate, if not reconcile, the view of Lincoln he had as a young boy growing up during the civil rights struggle and as a mid-life liberal artist who "has very few heroes." The most ambitious project in the company's 25 year history, Fondly Do We Hope... explores the myriad meanings of Lincoln, rejecting accepted truth in favor of challenging (and celebrating) the lasting contributions of this great man. This dance theatre work investigates a handful of key moments from Lincoln’s remarkable life, allowing song and memory to transport the audience to an emotional and intellectual space beyond the boundaries of space and time. By envisioning the America that might have been had Lincoln completed the Reconstruction, Jones exposes the great distance between what is and what could have been.

Presented by the University Musical Society, www.ums.org.

Official Website: http://ums.org/s_current_season/artist.asp?pageid=547