Peak Performances @ Montclair showcased the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company this autumn with a semester-long celebration of the company’s work. This celebration began in September with Spoken Steps, Bill T. Jones’s stirring address to the student body, highlighting the amazing arc of his career and an artist’s responsibilities in the world. Following in October was the sold out return engagement of the acclaimed work Blind Date, which was commissioned by Peak Performances and had its world premiere at the Alexander Kasser Theater. This celebrated piece, after two years of change and development, saw its final performance in the place where it was created. October also brought Mr. Jones’ rarely performed solo As I Was Saying. This daring and resilient artist won the Tony Award for his choreography of the Broadway hit Spring Awakening, revealing his startling and courageous work to a whole new wave of audiences.

The dazzling Bill T. Jones semester ends with a bang with the World Premiere of A Quarreling Pair, November 30^th, December 1^st and December 2^nd. A Quarreling Pair is the result of Bill T. Jones’ 15-year fascination with Jane Bowles’s four-page puppet play of the same name. In this hour-long production, Jones begins with the apparently simple story of two sisters: Rhoda, a depressed and tired introvert and the pragmatic and self-contented Harriet. Jones uses these interconnected polar opposites, as a point of departure for a multi-layered theatrical exploration of what happens to a relationship that exists in isolation. A combination of choreography, spoken word, and original music, A Quarreling Pair becomes Jones’ personal testament, a metaphor for a world that threatens his artwork, personality and expressiveness. By making it personal, Bill T. Jones uses his artistry to make the experience universal, an anthem to curiosity, imagination and free will.

Daniel Bernard Roumain is the Musical Director for A Quarreling Pair and set design is by Bjorn G. Amelan. Lighting Designer is Robet Wierzel and Liz Prince designs the costumes for this new work.

Peak Performances @ Montclair has become one of the premiere dance showcases in the nation. In the recent past, it has commissioned and presented work by the top tier of dance artists working today, including Susan Marshall, Charlotte Vincent and Trisha Brown.

Tickets for A Quarreling Pair are only $15. To order your tickets call the Box Office at 973-655-5112 or order online at peakperfs.org. Peak Performances @ Montclair: Every Performance, every seat $15.

WNYC is a media sponsor for the 2007/2008 Season of Peak Performances @ Montclair. Peak Performances also acknowledges the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

World Premiere

A Quarreling Pair
Friday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 2 at 3 p.m.

Tickets: $15
Alexander Kasser Theater
Montclair State University
One Normal Avenue
Montclair, New Jersey
973 655 5112
www.peakperfs.org

Contact:

Alfred R. Fredel 973.655.3004
fredela@mail.montclair.edu

Released: October 29, 2007