A Day at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Many Free Dance Events in the Berkshires
By: Larry Murray - Jul 01, 2008
Let the chores wait. It's summer in the Berkshires and life to be lived. Shepherd your family or friends into the car and set off for Becket and Jacob's Pillow. It can be a bit of a drive, so why not make a full day of it, one in which art, history and nature blend together for a timeless Berkshire experience. It's amazing how much happens every day at the Pillow. It's mostly free. Buying a ticket to a formal performance is optional. But then agan, who can resist, and it makes the experience complete.
Founded by Ted Shawn, this dance institution is the first and only one to be named a National Historic Landmark. Pretty amazing considering that Shawn started the Pillow and his original company of male dancers which was a daring statement at that time. Today the battle to make dance more widely accepted is won and the Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival now shows the world that dance is no precious 18th Century artifact. It is alive! And growing by leaps and bounds, pardon the pun. Today's Pillow welcomes a consistent stream of international dance companies making their American debut, as well as, the finest dance America produces.
One such company was performing during our recent visit, Compagnie Heddy Maalem. Bill T. Jones and his company is currently in residence, as is New York's magnificent Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. In fact there are usually two and sometimes three companies working at the Pillow all through the summer, changing weekly.
Many of these companies hold open classes and free performances inside the studios and on the Pillow's Inside/Out stage. Beyond this summer's 110 ticketed performances, there are 140 free talks, plus 40 different free performances including hip-hop, ballet, hula, flamenco, Afro-Caribbean and contemporary dance. Most utilize the beautiful tree framed Inside/Out stage where the audience sits on hewn logs to view the dancers up close as birds swoop and twitter, and Berkshire breezes provide energy efficient air conditioning. Visitors say that the beauty of the setting matches that of the dancers on stage.
For children, there are $10 youth tickets available for some Saturday matinees, including this week's Lar Lubovitch. They include:
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
T.P.O. (Teatro di Piazza o d'Occasione) - all performances
Alonzo King's Lines Ballet
Conny Janssen Danst
Shantala Shivalingappa
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
Families with children should also mark their calendars for July 20th when Community Day welcomes youngsters to a freewheeling Dance Party on the Great Lawn with giveaways and tours of the grounds. These particular activities are from 10 AM to 1 PM on July 20 only.
On any other day a typical visit can start as early as 10:30 when there is often an open class or rehearsal to visit. (Very young children may not have the attention span for this - classes must not under any circumstances be disrupted by unruly children.) If you have a child taking dance classes, you may be able to arrange entry to an even earlier open class, check with the Pillow registrar first.
On the Saturday chosen for our small group, we watched renowned flamenco dancer Soledad Barrio and artistic director Martin Santangelo, founders of Spain's acclaimed Noche Flamenca conduct a class . They were also learning combinations for a later performance during their first week of residency. We were able to talk with principal dancer Alejandro Granados, one of the company's stars, for a few minutes as well. Dancers seem to enjoy the Pillow just as much as the visitors.
Completing the circle, the company performed later that day on the outside stage, and there is nothing quite as stimulating as two dozen flamenco artists pounding the stage in unison with ferocious energy.
All this dance watching can make one hungry, and there are a number of excellent possibilities. Pack your own cooler and head for a tree shaded glen. There you will find picnic tables for a lunch among the Pines, surrounded by dozens of gorgeous dancers having their own pre-performance carb fest. There is a snack stand on the premises, and the Pillow Pub for a brew, as well as a large tent where you can be served a proper meal on white tablecloths with real silver. Whatever the choice, the weathered wood buildings and natural beauty are part of the experience.
History of the Pillow
The name Jacob's Pillow was given to the original farm by the Carter family who settled the land in 1790. Their property was reached by a switchback stagecoach route called Jacob's Ladder, referring to the Biblical story of Jacob, laying his head upon a bed of stones and dreaming of angels ascending to heaven. A pillow-shaped boulder behind their farmhouse inspired the Carters to name the farm Jacob's Pillow.
The three central buildings on the Pillow campus were built by the Carter family and date to the 1790s. Additional structures, some of them still in use today by interns, staff, scholars, and visiting companies, were built by Ted Shawn's Men Dancers in the early days of the Festival.
In the mid-1800s, in the barn that now houses the Pillow Store, Stephen Carter ran a station on the Underground Railroad, harboring slaves escaping to Canada.
Compagnie Heddy Maalem
While there Compagnie Heddy Maalem performed. There was a free Pillow Talk prior to the performance which helped the audience prepare itself for what they were about to see on stage. This French contemporary dance company of fourteen distinctive dancers from Mali, Bénin, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, and Mozambique, made its exhilarating Jacob's Pillow debut June 25 – 29, 2008. Artistic director and choreographer Heddy Maalem presented his provocative re-imagination of Igor Stravinsky's masterpiece The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps), inspired by Maalem's time in Lagos, Nigeria.
Following the performance, there was a screening of Black Spring which Maalem himself introduced, then answered questions immediately following through an interpreter. In 2002, Maalem collaborated with Benoît Dervaux to create this acclaimed film which has been screened and awarded prizes at film festivals around the world. The screening and Q/A session were free.
Future Free Events
The BFA monthly previews contain an overview of upcoming performances. You can use our Arts Links feature at the top of the page to go to the Jacob's Pillow website at any time, or the link below will take you to their visitors page.
Jacob's Pillow Visitor Information
To help you plan, here's a brief guide to free performances from now to July 20, Community Day. Most events take place on the Inside/Out Stage.
Wednesday 7/2/08 at 6:30
New York Theatre Ballet
Hailed as "a discreet little pearl in the oyster of New York dance," NY Theatre Ballet celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the births of legendary choreographers Antony Tudor and José Limón in a program featuring Tudor's Jardin aux Lilas and Little Improvisations and Limón's Mazurkas - the perfect complement to Wednesday's PillowTalk.
Thursday 7/3/08 at 6:30
Donna Scro Gentile/Freespace Dance
Called "acrobatic entanglements" by The New York Times, this contemporary dance company's athletic and adventurous signature style explores relationships, emotions and reactions in Donna Scro Gentile's choreography. The program includes Namaste, a duet for women inspired by yoga postures.
Friday 7/4/08 at 6:30
Feet of Rhythm
The trademark dynamic energy of Feet of Rhythm's Afro-Haitian dancers and drummers can be found in every 'choreo-drama' they perform. These stunning productions encompass traditional Voodoo dance, artistic director Nadia Dieudonné's contemporary movement, song, chant, and vibrant costumes and props.
Sat 7/5/08 at 6:30
The School at Jacob's Pillow: Cultural Traditions
Culminating two weeks of intensive study with renowned flamenco dancer Soledad Barrio and artistic director MartÃn Santangelo, founders of Spain's acclaimed Noche Flamenca, dancers of The School share the dances, songs, and rhythms of this indigenous Spanish art form.
Wednesday 7/9/08 at 6:30
Natural Dance Theatre and Ko & Edge Company
Japanese contemporary dance-theatre's range, diversity and inventiveness are celebrated in this Doris Duke Studio Theatre preview. Alice transports audiences to a strange and humorous wonderland while Ko & Edge Company brings the world of Butoh dance to Inside/Out.
Thursday 7/10/08 at 6:30
Lane & Company
Lane Gifford explores the relationship between movement, words, art, and music through her contemporary company of six dancers. NYC-based Lane & Co. presents Contretemps, a work that examines the complexities of traditional court dancing as a metaphor for self-image in today's society.
Friday 7/11/08 at 6:30
Nicholas Andre Dance Theater
According to The New York Times, "Nick Seligson-Ross is one of those choreographers who are fully immersed in dance." His choreographic prowess is embodied by his company of dancers as athleticism, beauty and energy intersect in his original works
Saturday 7/12/08 at 6:30
The School at Jacob's Pillow: Contemporary Traditions
Following their first week of intensive professional study of contemporary dance at the Pillow under the direction of master teacher Milton Myers, dancers move from the studio to the stage and present work by freelance choreographer, actress, and writer Helen Pickett.
Wednesday 7/16/08 at 6:30
CorbinDances
After making its Inside/Out debut last season, CorbinDances, led by Patrick Corbin formerly of Paul Taylor Dance Company, returns to the Pillow. This dynamic company performs Partly Cloudy, a ballet with "pump-it-up physicality" (The New York Times) and other dances.
Thursday 7/17/08 at 6:30
Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Muna Tseng Dance Projects presents Water Water and Post-Revolutionary Girl. Known for melding the timeless imagery of her Chinese heritage with her contemporary American vision, Tseng's movement has been called "one gorgeous moment after another," by The Village Voice.
Friday 7/18/08 at 6:30
Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble
As a performance, education, and community outreach arm of Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH), this troupe introduces thousands of young people to the art and discipline of dance each year, using arts to ignite the mind. The Ensemble will present excerpts from repertoire of the senior company in an informal performance on the art and science of dance.
Saturday 7/19/08 at 6:30
The School at Jacob's Pillow: Contemporary Traditions
Following their second week of intensive professional study at the Pillow under the direction of master teacher Milton Myers, dancers move from the studio to the stage and present work by Edgar Zendejas, artistic director of ezDanza.
Jacob's Pillow Community Day
Sunday, July 20
10am – 1pm
Jacob's Pillow hosts its twelfth annual Community Day, with free performances, dance workshops, crafts, family friendly games and activities, giveaways, and an Archives bazaar with unique dance items. This event invites all ages to appreciate dance in many forms as the entire Pillow site becomes an "open campus," in a community-wide celebration of dance.
Quick Link to Jacobs Pillow website