DANCE
Then and Now with Bill T. Jones
Documentary chronicles choreographer’s life work
BY GARY M. KRAMER
The gifted, Tony Awardwinning
choreographer
Bill T. Jones’s 1989
piece, “D-Man in the
Waters,” was a response to the
ongoing AIDS crisis. The modern
dance honored not just Jones’
partner and artist collaborator, Arnie
Zane, but was named for Demian
Acquavella, one of the company
members. Both Zane and Acquavella
had succumbed to the AIDS.
The show is diffi cult for performers
as it involves leaps and fl ight
and dives. One company member,
Gregg Hubbard, regrets trying a
belly slide in a rehearsal because
Jones incorporated the tricky move
into the fi nal production. However,
the dance — which is described as
being “more athletic than balletic”
— is thrilling to watch as the many
clips in the fi lm attest.
“Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones
and D-Man in the Waters” is an
inspiring documentary that recounts
the original performance
by members of the Bill T. Jones/
Arnie Zane dance company as
well as a new production by the
students at Loyola Marymount
University in Los Angeles. Their
teacher, Rosalynde LeBlanc (the
fi lm’s co-director), was a former
member of the Jones/Zane company,
and considers the work to be
Jones’ most successful dance. (An
end credit indicates the piece has
been performed by more than two
dozen schools since 2010).
The fi lm focuses mainly on
mounting the student show, from
the casting and rehearsals to a
fascinating session where Jones
talks with the young dancers after
seeing them practice. There is
a real somberness as Jones, with
his deep, authoritative voice, describes
what inspired him to create
this cautionary tale. He references
his ancestors and slavery
and the tragedies that he and his
fellow dancers shared during the
height of the AIDS crisis, as well as
the stigma of what Jones calls “the
guilty disease.” What comes across
in the fi lm is how this work helped
Bill T. Jones with students in “Can You Bring It.”
Jones and his company members
process their overwhelming emotions
of love and grief and loss.
After watching the students rehearse,
Jones makes a suggestion
to swap two dancers’ roles, which
prompts LeBlanc to overhaul the
production. The scenes of LeBlanc
working with her student, Mateo,
emphasize his commitment. In a
dramatic moment, he shares a story
about his transgender father.
“Can You Bring It” shows how
LeBlanc tries to get her students
to connect with the work and why
“D-Man in the Waters,” still resonates.
She has discussions with
them about issues ranging from
social media and gun violence. She
illustrates “connectivity” through
a dance exercise that involves each
performer holding hands and moving
or sitting. The impact of the activity
is to demonstrate the sense
of community that is critical for
the company to excel in its work.
However, it is an impassioned
speech during a rehearsal just before
opening that really motivates
her students.
Her efforts are laudatory. LeBlanc
is paying tribute here to Jones, her
mentor. It may seem like a vanity
production at times, but this feeling
is offset by the other half of the fi lm,
which concentrates on the Jones/
Zane company members refl ecting
on the original production.
The most moving passages of
this documentary are when Jones
and other dancers recall Demian
Acquavella, whose impish spirit
and devilish charms were infectious.
Jones talks eloquently about
the importance of having Acquavella
on stage on opening night,
even though the dancer’s body was
ravaged by AIDS. Footage from this
moment is quietly powerful.
Likewise, Dancer Seán Curran
explains how he initially felt
threatened when Demian joined
the company, but when Jones
made them partners for a duet
that involved them touching foreheads
(and never breaking) the
dancers bonded. Moreover, Curran
recounts some of the more amusing
antics he and Acquavella got
up to off stage, such as a time in a
bar where they danced in kilts and
accidentally on purpose exposed
themselves. He also remembers
the painful moment when he realized
D-Man, as he was known, had
AIDS. In contrast, Gregg Hubbard
describes the bittersweet feeling of
getting his fi rst company job at the
KINO LORBER
expense of Acquavella’s health issues,
implying a sense of the continuing
on as well as legacy.
But what may be the greatest
strength of this memory piece
is how it provides a glimpse into
Jones’ artistic process. There are
some fabulous archival scenes
of “D-Man in the Waters” being
performed that are echoed in the
scenes of LeBlanc’s class recreating
them. Watching the dancers
moving in a line is poetry in motion,
and a particular leap that
scared Heidi Latsky in the original
production is no less diffi cult for
the Loyola Marymount students.
LeBlanc’s work with her students
and with this fi lm shows
Jones’ impact and infl uence, and
how much she has learned from
him. “Can You Bring It” is a fi tting
homage to the extraordinary
choreographer in general and the
impact of “D-Man in the Waters” in
particular. This celebratory documentary
testifi es to Jones’ singular
contribution to dance.
CAN YOU BRING IT: BILL T.
JONES AND D-MAN IN THE WATERS
| Directed by Tom Hurwitz
and Rosalynde LeBlanc | Opening
July 16 at Film Forum | Distributed
by Kino Lorber.
JULY 15 - JULY 28, 2 18 021 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
