In 1994, at the peak of the AIDS crisis, The New Yorker’s formidable dance critic, Arlene Croce, hammered out why she wouldn’t be reviewing, or even viewing, Bill T. Jones’s Still/Here. Many essays for and against her position ensued. The basic issue was how close art could come to life and still remain art. Croce insisted: not very close. Most everyone else, beyond “art for art’s sake” stalwarts, thought it could come as close as it wanted. The majority had the future on its side. What added fuel to the nationwide fire, though, was that the “life” in question consisted of video testimonials of AIDS patients. Hence, Croce’s coinage “victim art.” Whatever else it is, Still/Here is as much artifact as art: those in the videos who did survive will not be returning to their terrifying state of limbo; and the dead will not revive. —Apollinaire Scherr

Cities on the tour include: Tempe, AZ (October 25); College Park, MD (February 4–5); Seattle, WA (February 26–28); Los Angeles, CA (March 5); Madison, WI (March 18); Lawrence, KS (March 31); Hanover, NH (April 10–11); and Columbus, OH (April 17).