Kennedy Center honoree and Tony Award-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones says Wyoming's discussion about the value of arts in school curriculum is an important one. Jones is the Director of the acclaimed Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance company, and he's considered one of the most influential dance artists working today. Jones is working with University of Wyoming students who will perform one of his works in November. When it comes to arts education, Jones says it can teach students about the world around them as well if not better than a science course. He uses dance as an example.
"Come and see good work and you begin to feel more alive. You begin to feel more acute in your body, more capable of negotiating the difference between bodies that are different than yours, skin color, sexual preference, gender. All those things dance promises, it has to be good of course. So, I think that is pretty important to the educational process."
Jones noticed that the U-W students he's worked with have challenged themselves through dance and he says that is also important. Jones will be featured in an upcoming P-B-S special called "A Good Man." He spoke at U-W on Friday.
Bill T. Jones says the Arts are an important part of learning
