On the evening of February 24, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company performed their new work Story/Time at Zellerbach Hall, presented by Cal Performances. The work consists of seventy one-minute stories, told in a sequence that is randomly generated prior to each performance, resulting in a unique experience for every audience. This aspect of the work draws on John Cage’s Indeterminacy (), which heavily influenced Jones. Jones delivered the stories from a desk center stage, illuminated by a small gooseneck lamp. A row of green apples lined the front of the desk. The floor of the stage was lined with tape, creating ten grid squares surrounding the desk. This grid was used by the dancers as they performed a random series of sequences, randomly selected from thirty-five pieces totaling over 100 minutes in length, a choreography method inspired by Merce Cunningham. In addition, the dancers moved to music that was being generated by the composer in the moment. He sat at a computer near the stage.
Jones’ stories were taken from his own personal experiences. Often marked by a subtle poignancy, the stories inspired both laughter and quiet contemplation amongst my fellow audience members. Though the program notes gave no indication that the stories and the dances were connected, it definitely seemed as if they were. For instance, Jones would tell story set in a living room where people were arguing. The dancers would drag on a couch and fight amongst themselves.
The use of the grid was most intriguing to me. Sometimes the dancers strictly confined their movements to the grid squares, with a solo or a duet that never crossed the boundary. At other times, the grid was totally disregarded as the dancers leaped across the stage. I tried desperately to understand the grid’s purpose, attempting to fashion some critical argument involving a triumph over arbitration, but it was of no use. Every revelation I had about the performance was quickly met with the realization that I was the only one having that realization. Tomorrow night, surely, would be a completely different show. Even the people surrounding me that night would be having different experiences. So what was the point? That there was a different point for everyone? Sometimes, I feel performance art can be a bit nihilistic in that regard. I asked the girl next to me what she thought of the show. “I thought it was gimmicky,” she bluntly replied.
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