Dance Professor connects dance to September 11 tragedy

She remembers taking care of a fellow dancers cat. She remembers hearing the phone
ring. She remembers turning on the television and seeing the first attack before the TV went
black. She remembers going into shock.
At 8:40 a.m. on September 11, 2001, when terrorists struck New York City, Kim Jones
sat alone in a house located about 70 blocks and 3 miles away. She remembers the days,
weeks and months that followed one of the most tragic events in US history. Leaving to get
groceries, she saw 100s of 1000s of people who had been near the Towers walking uptown
covered in soot, dirt, and debri, soiled on the outside, and forever changed on the inside. She
remembers St. Vincents doctors and nurses waiting for suffering victims to arrive; but none
came. She remembers a memorial. What began as a missing person wall soon transformed into
a memorial for those lost in the horrifying, putrid rubble; flowers and candles surrounded and
illuminated the smiling faces of the deceased.
For days, Jones couldnt get in touch with anyone, many of her friends couldnt get
home, and the borders closed.
For six weeks the intoxicating smell of burning electricity and rubble lingered in the city.
For three to six months processionals of fire trucks accompanied with solemn bagpipes
proceeded through the city, honoring another proclaimed deceased hero. As they did, the usually
bustling city of NY stopped their business to show respect.
At the time, Jones danced with the Metropolitan Opera House as a contracted modern
dancer, and a year later she started dancing with the renowned Martha Graham Dance Company,

based in NYC. The Graham choreography examines heavy issues such as womens rights,
poverty and war, and in 2002, Jones performed in the masterwork, Chronicle. Choreographed
in 1936, during the threat of Nazi Germany and height of the Great Depression, the middle
section, Steps in the Streets conveys the destruction and desolation of war. Wallingford
Riggers intense percussive score matches the dancers clenched fists and sharp movements,
together revealing the wretchedness and grief that is the heart of war.
Dancing in Martha Grahams meaningful repertoire only a year after witnessing the
attacks allowed Jones to delve into deep emotions that had taken root. It connected dance to
historical tragedies, current disasters, and repressed emotions, both responding to the horrors of
the world and allowing the dancer to tap into the subconscious and explore otherwise ignored
feelings.
In 2011, Jones and dance partner Duane Cyrus choreographed a dance about the terrorist
attack. Although the event was painful to revisit with both their minds and bodies, they wanted
to show students what happened. Dance is not only a way to respond to and show the terrors and
the horrors of this world, but it also allows the victim to tap into the subconscious and explore
otherwise ignored deep emotions.
On September 9, 2001 Jones admired the Twin Towers from a ferry. Two days later,
terrorists took the Twin Towers, and with it 3000 innocent lives.