‘Still/Here’ keeps powerful stories alive—and it’s back

In his groundbreaking “Still/Here” stage production, renowned director and choreographer Bill T. Jones creates beauty from the pain and struggle of terminal illness. The gestures of real-life survivors are transformed into graceful dances. Their words are captured in heartrending song lyrics and spoken-word segments. Their images are seen on videos.

Among them is a karate master who demonstrates his skill while expressing his desire to have a family in the future. But he died before realizing that dream.

“He now exists in about three minutes of footage,” says Jones, the New York co-founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. “Is that underlining how unfair life is, or is it underlining the mystery of life and death? The mystery of life and death is what I’m going for in ‘Still/Here.’”

More than 30 years after its showing at the Wexner Center for the Arts, the production will return to Mershon Auditorium on April 17. Back in the 1990s, the piece pushed boundaries with its multidisciplinary format and subject matter, especially because it highlighted the experiences of those with HIV/AIDS. As a co-commissioning partner, the Wex played a key role in its development, setting industry standards with its combination of technical assistance, artistic support and community outreach. Celebrated for humanizing and destigmatizing survivors, the piece was first remounted in 2024, demonstrating its continued resonance with audiences.

Jones, 74, says he never imagined that the show would have such an impact.

“You will never know the validity of what you do until you do it and put it out in the world,” Jones says. “The Wexner was the jumping-off point.”

As a dancer and choreographer, Jones garnered attention for social and political works, including pieces with his creative and life partner, Arnie Zane. Jones was inspired to create “Still/Here” following his HIV diagnosis and Arnie’s death in 1988 from AIDS-related lymphoma.

To shape the material, Jones filmed people across the country grappling with several forms of life-threatening conditions. Columbus participants were identified by the Wex with help from the King Arts Complex and The James. Jones used the Wex’s video lab as part of an August 1994 four-week residency. His collaborator, Gretchen Bender, created the multiscreen video montage as he worked on the choreography.  Having the resources to offer artists both a stage and a video studio was unusual then, says Charles Helm, former Wex director of performing arts.

But the Wex wanted to set a new bar for residencies, including community engagement. That approach “built reputational capital” that also brought in prestigious grant funding, Helm says.

Following its premiere in Lyon, France, “Still/Here” was performed before a packed house at the Wex on Feb. 18, 1995. During its tour, the piece drew attendees who were grieving loved ones or battling illnesses themselves, Jones says. “It was remarkable,” he says. “We had very profound discussions after the performances.”

The show was also criticized, notably by The New Yorker’s Arlene Croce, who dismissed it as “victim art” without seeing a performance. Her article became a burden to Jones, who was repeatedly asked to respond to it. For that reason, he was initially hesitant to remount the production: “I regret having to unpack it again and again, but I think the work is splendid. Its design is beautiful. The execution is beautiful.”

It’s also timely, he says, because society is still learning how to treat survivors with dignity. “There’s still a stigma, there’s still fear, and there’s still othering,” he says.

Though the show may bring up painful feelings, there are uplifting moments, says Elena Perantoni, senior producer for performing arts at the Wex. “It’s such a lovely service to the people who helped create the content, that they can continue to live through this. It gives you this sense of happiness and joy that you can still celebrate with these people, even though they are no longer with us.”