American choreographer and dancer Bill T. Jones was BOTD in 1952. Born in Florida, his family relocated to New York when he was a child. He won a scholarship to Binghamton University, where he took classes in West African and Afro-Caribbean dance, as well as classical ballet and modern dance. After working in dance collectives in the 1970s, he co-founded a dance company with his then-partner Arnie Zane in 1982. Famous for recruiting dancers of diverse ethnicities and body types, he collaborated with New York celebrities including Keith Haring, Alvin Ailey, Jessye Norman and Toni Morrison. Many of his choreographed works expressly referenced the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land, D-Man in the Waters and Still/Here, raising media debates about the ethics of “victim art”. In 2006, he scored a major hit as choreographer for the original Broadway production of rock musical Spring Awakening, winning a Tony Award. He repeated his success, with the 2009 musical Feel!, inspired by the life of Nigerian musician and activist Fela Kuti, winning a second Tony. He has also choreographed for ballet and opera companies including Glyndebourne, the New York City Opera and the Lincoln Center. Jones and Zane remained together until Zane’s death from an AIDS-related illness in 1987. His friend and lover Patrick Kelly also died of AIDS in 1990. Amid many accolades, he was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2010 and was awarded the National Medal of Arts. In 1993, he married Björn Amelan, the former partner of Kelly, with whom he lives in upstate New York.