Bill Chats: Reginald Dwayne Betts Program

BILL T. JONES

REGINALD DWAYNE BETTS

Photo by Maria Baranova

Photo by Mamadi Doumbouya

Bill Chats: Reginald Dwayne Betts

Presented in partnership with The New School

FEB 28, 7PM

Bill T. Jones in conversation with with American poet, legal scholar, educator and prison reform advocate, Reginald Dwayne Betts.

ASL interpretation provided by Kathleen Taylor & Candace Davider

The New School’s Presidential Visiting Scholars program brings major thinkers of the highest standing to the university to teach unique courses, collaborate on creative or research initiatives, deliver lectures, and participate in public programming and other special projects. As part of this prestigious appointment, Live Arts and The New School are collaborating on a series of events including public conversations, performances, classes, etc, that explore urgent and intersectional questions in these unsettling times, including identity, artist/citizen, community, climate justice.

UPCOMING BILL CHATS

JACQUELINE WOODSON, MAR 21, 6:30PM

HOWARD W. FRENCH, APRIL 17, 7PM

FUNDING

Bill Chats is supported in part by Partners for New Performance

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BIOGRAPHIES

Bill T. Jones (Artistic Director/ Co-Founder/Choreographer: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company; Artistic Director: New York Live Arts) is recipient of the 2022 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for Black No More;

2014 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award; 2013 National Medal of Arts; 2010 Kennedy Center Honors; a 2010 Tony Award for Best Choreography of the critically acclaimed Fela!; a 2007 Tony Award,

2007 Obie Award, and 2006 Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Callaway Award for his choreography for Spring Awakening; the 2010 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award; 2007 USA

Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship;

2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Seven; 2005 Wexner Prize; the

2005 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement; 2005 Harlem Renaissance Award; 2003 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize; and a 1994 MacArthur “Genius” Award. In 2010,

Jones was recognized as Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and in 2000, The Dance Heritage Coalition named Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure.” Bill has been nominated for the 2022 Tony Awards for his work on Paradise Square.

Jones choreographed and performed worldwide with his late partner, Arnie Zane, before forming the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982. He has created more than 140 works for his company. Jones is Artistic Director of New York Live Arts, an organization that strives to create a robust framework in support of the nation’s dance and movement-based artists through new approaches to producing, presenting, and educating.

In October 2018, The New York Times Magazine published Reginald Dwayne Betts’ long essay “Getting Out.” Several months

later, the piece was awarded a National Magazine Award. The publication was another example of Betts entering into a new genre and bringing the same depth and richness of self-reflection and exploration of the central problem on this generation: incarceration and its effects on families and communities.

Betts transformed himself from a sixteen-year old kid sentenced to nine-years in prison to a critically acclaimed writer and graduate of the Yale Law School. He has written two collections of poetry, the recently published and critically acclaimed Bastards of the Reagan Era and Shahid Reads His Own Palm. When he was awarded the PEN New England Award for poetry for his collection, Bastards of the Reagan Era, judge Mark Doty said: “Betts has written an indelible lament for a generation, a necessary book for this American moment.” His memoir, A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison, is the story of a young man confined in the worst prisons in the state of Virginia, where solitary confinement, horrific conditions, and the constant violence threatened to break his humanity. Instead, Betts used the time to turn

himself into a poet, a scholar, and an advocate for the reform of the criminal justice system.

Betts’ latest collection of poetry, Felon, interrogates and challenges our notions of justice. Longtime New York Times critic, Michiko Kukatani calls Betts’ work both “haunting and harrowing.” A recent collaboration with visual artist Titus Kaphar lead to The Redaction, an exhibition of prints at MoMA PS1. Drawing inspiration and source material from lawsuits filed by the Civil Rights Corps on behalf of people incarcerated because of an inability to pay court fines and fees, The Redaction features poetry by Betts in combination with Kaphar’s etched portraits of incarcerated individuals. Together, Betts’ poems and Kaphar’s printed portraits blend the voices of poet and artist with those of the plaintiffs and prosecutors, reclaiming these lost narratives and drawing attention to some of the many individuals whose lives have been impacted by mass incarceration.

A widely requested speaker, Betts often gives talks about his own experience, detailing his trek from incarceration to Yale Law School and the role that grit, perseverance, and literature played in his success.

In addition, he has given lectures on topics ranging from mass incarceration to contemporary poetry and the intersection of literature and advocacy. Betts has given commencement speeches at Quinnipiac University and Warren Wilson College and has lectured widely at universities and conferences, including Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, the University of Maryland, the Beyond the Bench conference, and a wide range of organizations across the country.

Between his work in public defense, his years of advocacy, and Betts’ own experiences as a teenager in maximum security prisons, he is uniquely positioned to speak to the failures of the current criminal justice system and presents encouraging ideas for change. As a result of that work, President Barack Obama appointed Betts to the Coordinating Council of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and, more recently, Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut appointed him to the Criminal Justice Commission, the state body responsible for hiring prosecutors in Connecticut.

poetry has long been praised. His writing has generated national attention and earned him a Soros Justice Fellowship, a Radcliffe Fellowship, a Ruth Lily Fellowship, an NAACP Image Award, and New America Fellowship. Betts has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post, as well as being interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air, The Travis Smiley Show and several other national shows. He holds a B.A. from the University of Maryland; an M.F.A. from Warren Wilson College, where he was a Holden Fellow; and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was awarded the Israel H. Perez Prize for best student note or comment appearing in the Yale Law Journal. He is a Ph. D. in Law candidate at Yale and, as a Liman Fellow, he spent a year representing clients in the New Haven Public Defender’s Office. Betts was also one of 25 selected for the 2021 MacArthur Fellowship—a prestigious honor, also known as a genius grant, that awards exceptionally talented and creative individuals with a significant, unrestricted grant.

Named a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow and a 2018 NEA Fellow, Betts’

LIVE ARTS CONTRIBUTORS

New York Live Arts is deeply grateful to all the individuals listed below for their vital gifts to New York Live Arts over the last year:

$1MM and higher

Slobodan Randjelović & Jon Stryker

$500,000-$999,999

Anonymous

$100,000-$499,999

Anonymous

Eleanor Friedman

Ruth & Stephen Hendel

Alex Katz Foundation

Ellen M. Poss

Jane Bovingdon Semel & Terry Semel | Semel Charitable Foundation

$50,000 - $99,999

Jody & John Arnhold | Arnhold Foundation

Lorraine Gallard & Richard Levy

Helen & Peter Haje

Suzanne Karpas

Barbara & Alan D. Marks

Matthew Putman

$25,000 - $49,999

Ylva Cavalli-Björkman & Willard Ahdritz

David Dechman & Michel Mercure

Zoe Eskin

Adam Flatto

Agnes Gund

Michael P.N.A. Hormel in memory of Linda Grass Shapiro

Charla Jones

Colleen Keegan

Darnell L. Moore

Amy Newman & Bud Shulman

Alanna Rutherford

Jennifer & Jonathan Soros

Starry Night Fund at The Chicago Community Foundation

Diana Wege | Wege Foundation

$10,000 - $24,999

Caroline & Paul Cronson

Claire Danes & Hugh Dancy

Alexes Hazen

Julie Orlando

Andrea Rosen

Nina & Gabriel Stricker

Pat Stryker

$5,000 - $9,999

Patricia Blanchet | Ed Bradley Family Foundation

Paula Cooper & Jack Macrae

Joan Davidson

Anne Delaney

Laura & Richard Hunt

Glenn Ligon

Jeffrey B. & Wendy Liszt

Robert Longo

Margaret Morton

Jeffrey Schneider

Melissa Schiff Soros

Cindy Sherman

Catharine R. Stimpson

Kristalina & Jack Taylor

Billie Tsien & Tod Williams

Steve Wilson

$1,000 - $4,999

Derrick Adams

Rosio Alvarez & Jennifer Brody

Anonymous

Alberta Arthurs

The Brant Foundation, Inc.

Jill Brienza

Catherine & Paul Buttenwieser

Reggie Browne

Carmine Boccuzzi

Rose C. Cali in Memory of John J. Cali

Jeannie Colbert

Joan Davidson

Lil & Jim DeMarse

Beth Rudin DeWoody

Dobkin Family Foundation

Margaret Doyle

Terence Dougherty & Pierre Duleyrie

Gina Duncan

Nancy & Stephen Gabriel

Mimi Garrard

Michael & Deborah Goldberg

Thomas & Barbara Gottschalk

Deborah Hellman & Derek Brown

Tom Hennes

Jenny Holzer

Scott Hudziak

Joanie Johnson

Judy Johnson

The Joyce Theater Foundation

Emil Kang

Amir Karby

Hedy Klineman

Oscar Mack

Nancy Meyer & Marc Weiss

Susan Micari

Linda Murray

Wangechi Mutu

Samira Nasr

Richard Plepler

Randy Polumbo | Plant Construction

Margaret Selby

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Céline Semaan & Colin Vernon

Caroline Shapiro & Peter Frey

Shinique Smith

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The Susan Stein Shiva Foundation

Mickalene Thomas

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JP Versace

James J. Williams, III

Jacqueline Woodson

Timothy Wu & Eric Murphy

$500 - $999

Stewart Adelson

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Arthur Aviles

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William Floyd

Jeremy Henderson

Karen B. Hopkins

Brinton T. & Francis C. Parson, Jr

Robert Ross

John Sansone

Ellynne Skove

Deborah Swiderski

Wade Turnbull

Gilbert Williams

Gifts and commitments between 7/1/2021-6/30/2022

Support for New York Live Arts is provided by the Arnhold Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ed Bradley Family Foundation, The Brant Foundation, Inc., Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, Dance/ NYC, Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Marta Heflin Foundation, Alex Katz Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Alice Lawrence Foundation, Samuel M. Levy Family Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, National Performance Network, New England Foundation for the Arts, NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund in the New York Community Trust, One World Fund, The Poss Family Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, San Francisco Foundation The Semel Charitable Foundation, Scherman Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Tides Foundation

Corporate support for New York Live Arts includes Con Edison, Google, Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Public support for New York Live Arts is from Humanities New York, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Correction, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts.

STAFF & BOARD

Artistic Leadership

Bill T. Jones

Artistic Director

Janet Wong

Associate Artistic Director

Programming, Producing & Engagement

Kyle Maude

Producing Director

Hannah Emerson Producer

Jessica Prince

Producing Associate

Production

Chanel Pinnock

Production Manager

Megan Dechaine

Production Stage Manager

Leo Janks

Lighting Manager

Alexander Roberts

Interim Technical Director

Tricia Navigato

Interim Assistant Production Manager

Creative Director

Bjorn G. Amelan

Community Engagement & Education

Bianca Bailey

Community Engagement & Education Manager

Communications

Tyler Ashley Director of Communications

Augustus Cook

Digital Marketing Manager

Hannah Seiden

Communications Manager

Taylor Adams

Front of House Assistant

Liliana Dirks-Goodman

Graphic Designer

Pentagram

Pro-Bono Branding

Randjelović/Stryker Resident

Commissioned Artist

Faye Driscoll

Executive Leadership

Kim Cullen Executive Director & CEO

Ali Burke

Chief of Staff

Development

Dave Archuletta Chief Development Officer

John Jahnke Institutional Giving Manager

Rodney West Development Manager

Zykeya McLeod Development Assistant

Finance

Nupur Dey Director of Finance

Manathus Dey Finance Associate

Operations

Gregory English Operations Manager

Marcus Retegues Facilities Coordinator

Adalid Nunez-Mendoza Custodial Assistant

Human Resources

ADP TotalSource

Legal Services

Lowenstein Sandler, PC Pro-Bono Counsel

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

Barrington Hinds, Jada Jenai, Shane Larson, s. Lumbert, Danielle Marshall, Nayaa Opong, Marie Paspe, Jacoby Pruitt, Huiwang Zhang

Front of House Staff

Julia Antinozzi, Paulina Meneses, Johnny Mathews, Hannah Nii, Cristina Moya-Palacios, Salma Kiuhan, Alondra Balbuena, Rafaela Oliviera, Makenna Finch, Anna Ticknor, Jingjing Han, Jessy Crist, Marlon Santana, Mieke Matteson, Demetris Charalambous

Board of Directors

Stephen Hendel

Co-Chair

Richard H. Levy

Co-Chair

Helen Haje Vice Chair

Slobodan RandjeloviĆ Vice Chair

Alan Marks Treasurer

Bill T. Jones

Artistic Director Ex-Officio

Kim Cullen

Chief Executive Officer Ex-Officio

Bjorn Amelan

Willard Ahdritz

Sarah Arison

Aimee Meredith Cox

LaToya Ruby Frazier

Charla Jones

Colleen Keegan

Darnell L. Moore

Amy Newman

Randy Polumbo

Ellen M. Poss

Matthew Putman

Jane Bovingdon Semel

Ruby Shang

Catharine R. Stimpson

Board Emeritus

Derek Brown

Terence Dougherty

Eleanor Friedman Advisory Council

Margaret Doyle, Chair

Alberta Arthurs

Beverly D’Anne

Lisa Frigand

Jenette Kahn

Susan Micari

Alton Murray

Lorraine Gallard

Lois Greenfield

Martha Sherman