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April 2009
A Helluva Party
The Shhhh... Party Like It's 1983 at Santos Party House on March 26:
Yes, it was a helluva party - a semi surprise party in fact. I say "semi-surprise" because I had to will myself not to acknowledge various clues in the weeks leading up to the event. The biggest one being that on at least two occasions, people either dropped their voices or stopped talking about it when I came within earshot.
Here are some of my impressions of that night:
- My staff, starting with Jean Davidson, showing a mix of anxiety and relief on their faces: anxiety as to if it would work and would I enjoy it, and relief in that it was at last a reality and seemed to be coming together as a loose gathering of dancers, collaborators and friends old and new, displaying some prodigiously talented people and lots of good cheer.
- The generosity of the performances was moving!
Arthur Aviles whose very presence brings a smile to my face as he is probably one of the most outstanding dancers to have come thru my company, made some touching remarks and showed a film version of a duet he choreographed, danced by two handsome young men, naked except for toy pistols around their waists, evoking everything from Martha Graham's Lamentation to a western-themed sex act and - most touchingly - a direct reference to "male physical culture" as modern dance pioneer, "Ted Shawn And His Men Dancers," would most certainly have recognized.
- Clarissa Sinceno our female vocalist in Fondly Do We Hope... Fervently Do We Pray came with her jazz combo and delivered a powerful cover of jazz standard, Afro Blue.
- Alicia Hall Moran, our soprano collaborator in Chapel/Chapter, surely surprised me with her lovely, cryptic setting in song of the last chapter of my memoir Last Night on Earth. Larry Goldhuber, with a straight face, said he had never heard the phrase "allowed Bjorn to relieve himself" sung in such an elegant way!
- Jerome Begin made clever use of a sample of me reading some biographical reminiscences about being born in 1952 in his electronic offering for the evening.
- George Lewis, our remarkable MC/singer/songwriter in A Quarreling Pair and current collaborator in Fondly Do We Hope... broke out/rocked out with his own ensemble.
- A high point of the evening for me was seeing my always professional tech crew in full rocker mode with, among others, Eric Launer (TD of the dance company) on guitar and a very sexy Kyle Maude (Production Stage Manager/Head of the Production Department) as lead singer... This inspired present company members to give us demonstrations of 80's classic dance styles: The Running Man, Packman, Moonwalk, etc. while company member Maija Garcia demonstrated what Fela Kuti's Queens would have called "The Roll-Down!"
- Aaron Johnson, musical director of Fela! A New Musical along with members of Antibalas attacked the small stage as a part of the band Chin Chin with such verve that it was impossible not to dance.
- And as Bessie Smith would say, "The funk was certainly flying" when songwriter/composer and DJ, Moby, offered an inspired set. When it comes to dance music, not all DJ's are created equal...
Did I say dance? Yes, indeed, I certainly did!!! Although I did not set out doing it consciously, I did end up dancing with any and every one who rushed, tip-toed, rolled, sashayed on or stormed the dance floor (and some quiet souls who thought they were safe on the sidelines as well!). If I had been at that moment less "altered," I might have had an anthropological moment of objectivity. Dancing in such a place, in such a way, reveals all the components of our community and perhaps even some of its fault lines. Yes, the people who were actually dancing during the 70's and 80's had to time-travel in the heart if not in the body to get loose enough to share the floor with people who in some instances could be their children or certainly looked at them as if they were their parents. Likewise, some otherwise hearty souls fell victim to the fear that they "were not good enough" to dance with me or the likes of my beautiful company members, or Claire Danes... We have to work on this for future community building events.
As I said to Ellie Friedman (ex-Board Chair) a few days later when she was remarking how my dancing became the center of attention, "Such dancing is about excess, flirtation, generosity and daring! It's about being looked at and looking."
The ever-elegant and often surprisingly irreverent Janet Wong shared the Master of Ceremony Role with my friend, comic and former company dancer, Lawrence Goldhuber. They were a sight to behold in green 80's fashion. Janet's fashion disclaimer was that she had raided her "archive" to set the tone for the 80's themed event. Considering how many in the room were adolescents or even infants in the 80's, this aspect of the evening did demand forbearance on my part!
A very pregnant Roz LeBlanc, followed by Greg Hubbard, both former dancers, "roasted" me, telling uncomfortable tales about me. These stories painted a picture wherein the "T." in Bill T. Jones stands for "Terror" - a now legendary quote attributed to Larry Goldhuber...
Strange how history gets written...
And yes, the 1921 Tequila flowed like water thanks to the generous sponsorship of its makers. The first drink of the evening was placed in my hands by a charming young woman and man representing the brand. It was not the last! In fact, I felt at times that I was bathing in a sweat-flavored sea of the stuff...
In the days that followed I was gratified and slightly embarrassed that some of the emails I happened to see being exchanged between staff and board kept repeating with something like relief or disbelief that "Bill seemed to really be happy!"
Thank you to all those that made the evening and shared the joy!
Photos by George Hirose
-- Bill T. Jones (Thursday, April 9, 2009)
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