Just Do It

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company


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Published: Jan 23, 2008

Tue.-Wed., Jan. 29-30, 7:30 p.m., $32-$46, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-3900, pennpresents.org

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

On any given day, scan a newspaper or turn on the local TV news and you'll likely be confronted with an item relating to murder here in the City of Brotherly Love. The words of the journalists tell one version of the story, but what if you could get closer to the events: Say you could see the killing occur, or hear the person responsible for a crime discuss his heinous acts?

That's the concept behind Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company's Chapel/Chapter. The dancework revolves around three true-life events, two of which are clearly criminal and one that's ambiguous. The 70-minute production features video, live music, song, text (including actual court depositions) and, of course, Jones' powerful choreography. The setting is such that the audience is there to "bear witness" up-close and personal. As noted on the company Web site: "Chapel/Chapter proceeds from the assumption that we always live in the court of public opinion, transgression and judgment. The piece strives to invite that reading of the 'real world' to come into the intimacy of a freely imagined contemplative space."