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SATURDAY
Bill T. Jones’ decision to create the evening-length solo performance “The Breathing Show” was as much a financial move as an artistic choice. You can live on love, but love don’t pay no bills. Neither does acclaim. With this production, Jones returns to his early days as a dancer, when he performed conceptual solos and duets with his late partner, Arnie Zane. And Jones is traveling lightly. Set designer Bjorn Amelan’s task, to create something that could be transported as hand-held luggage with only a $1,000 budget, has resulted in a beautifully simple tree made of suspended silver shards and silky white backdrops that serve as projection screens for the work’s slides and experimental films. In this space, Jones creates his garden. He sings of “building paradise” in a resonant baritone. He improvises to music chosen randomly by the audience. And with composer/violinist Daniel Roumain onstage, Jones transforms his solo show into a cagey duet. “The Breathing Show” is very European—but by that I do not mean “white.” Rather, I mean it might be difficult for American audiences—who always want to know what something means—to comprehend. In “The Breathing Show,” there is structure, but no narrative. With his articulate arms, agile shoulders, and lean, fluid back, Jones tells no story, but creates an intimacy with his audience—a place where we can all breathe together. Jones performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Warner Theatre, 513 13th St. NW. $15-$45. (202) 783-4000. (Holly Bass)