Active Years: 1952-today

Position: American postmodern dancer and choreographer.

Career Highlights: Jones is best known for his duets with choreographers Arnie Zane and Sheryl Sutton in the late 1970s and early 1980s. One of his most recent works, Still/Here,received significant critical acclaim when it premiered in 1994. The piece was a culmination of several workshops across the country with survivors and witnesses of “terminal” illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and cancer.

Career Totals: Jones choreographed one of his first pieces, Negroes for Sale, in 1973. He has been active ever since.

Scouting Report: Jones combines movement with speech in his productions, thus expanding the notion of traditional modern dance. He is currently one of the hot dancers on the scene.

Teammates and Contemporaries: Jones’ association with Arnie Zane ended in 1988 with the latter’s death. He also worked extensively with Sheryl Sutton. In 1989, Jones performed with his mother at UCLA’s annual Black Choreographers Festival.

Fun Statistic: Jones asked 40 men and women from around the Los Angeles area to appear naked onstage with dancers in his 1991 piece, Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land, introduced at UCLA.