Jacob Pillow’s 2008 season schedule has a decidedly international flavor with dance companies from England, Japan, and dancers from Mali, Benin, Nigeria, and Senegal on the roster at one of the Berkshires’ favorite summer performance venue in Becket, MA.
Dance companies performing during the 2008 season at Jacob’s Pillow will include:
- Aspen Santa Fe Ballet;
- Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet;
- Ballet Boyz;
- Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company;
- Compagnie Heddy Maalem;
- Conny Janssen Danst;
- David Michalek’s Slow Dancing;
- Garth Fagan Dance;
- Hofesh Shechter Company;
- Kate Weare Company;
- Keigwin + Company;
- Ko & Edge Company;
- Lar Lubovitch Dance Company;
- Maureen Fleming;
- Mimulus; Natural Dance Theatre;
- Shantala Shivalingappa;
- Stockholm 59° North;
- T.P.O. (Teatro d’Piazza d’Occasione);
- and Trey McIntyre Project.
Ella Baff, Jacob’s Pillow Executive Director, had this to say about the 2008 Jacob’s Pillow schedule, “This season is an intensely colorful kaleidoscope of extraordinary artists and dance forms from ancient classical traditions to state of the art visual media and technology. The Pillow’s additional offerings such as talks with artists, community classes, exhibits, film showings, and the ability to watch dancers take class are all meant to engage people with the art and deliver a creative experience for everyone both on stage and off.”
Inside/Out Stage at Jacob’s Pillow
Approximately twenty more companies performing on the Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Stage (Inside/Out performances are free and open to the public) will be announced at a later date, along with additional free events, exhibits, talks, and classes.
The 2008 season runs June 14 through August 24, and features more than 100 ticketed events and 200 free events, including performances on three stages, moderated interviews with artists, talks by experts, film showings, exhibits, receptions, tours, and over 75 community dance classes and master classes. This year Jacob’s Pillow presents 20 companies from four continents and nine countries, including a company world debut, two United States company debuts, and at least three world premieres and eight American premieres.
Five of the programs are performed to live music, and five engagements offer special “Pillow Exclusive” programs which will not be performed anywhere else. The visual arts are a motif of this year’s Festival: elements of film, set design by visual artists, and latest in visual technology appear throughout the season.
2008 Season Opening Gala at Jacob’s Pillow
The season kicks off with a gala on Saturday, June 14, featuring Garth Fagan Dance, which opens the season a few days after the gala, as well as an exclusive solo appearance by eminent choreographer and dancer Bill T. Jones. Additionally, Ballet Austin Artistic Director Stephen Mills presents a world premiere performed by the dancers of the Ballet Program of The School at Jacob’s Pillow, and a special montage of film clips from the Pillow Archives will be screened.
The evening includes cocktails, dinner, a live auction, and dancing to live music on the Pillow’s Great Lawn. Additional performers and personalities to be announced. Call 413.243.9919 ext. 24 for more information and to purchase tickets.
Garth Fagan Dance at Jacob’s Pillow, Ted Shawn Theatre, June 18 – 22
Garth Fagan Dance returns to Jacob’s Pillow with Griot New York, an eight-part evening-length work rarely seen in its entirety. With music composed by jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and sets by noted sculptor Martin Puryear, Griot New York is often cited as choreographer Garth Fagan’s greatest creation. The term “griot” refers to honored West African storytellers, poets, or musicians, and this work explores contemporary urban life as well as human anguish, exaltation, and triumph. Jamaican-born Fagan, widely known for his Tony Award-winning choreography for Broadway’s The Lion King, marries African, Caribbean, modern, and ballet movement in a dance language that is recognizably unique. (This program includes brief partial nudity.)
* Tickets are $58; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered at Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Thursday, June 19, artistic personnel from Garth Fagan Dance participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
Compagnie Heddy Maalem, June 25 – 29, France/Africa, Ted Shawn Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow
Choreographer Heddy Maalem’s precise yet unrestrained movement style delivers a new and contemporary interpretation of Stravinsky’s timeless score, The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps). Created for fourteen dancers from the African continent, including Mali, Benin, Nigeria, and Senegal, with striking imagery from award-winning French filmmaker Benoit Dervaux, Maalem’s contemporary take on this classic re-imagines the danger and celebration of nature’s rebirth.
* Tickets are $58; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered at Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Thursday, June 26, artistic personnel from Compagnie Heddy Maalem will participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company at Jacob’s Pillow, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, June 26 – 29 and July 3 – 6
Tony Award-winning Bill T. Jones presents Chapel/Chapter, an exploration of society’s negotiation with the news of the world and everyday life. This acclaimed production, which won a 2007 Bessie Award, is performed in-the-round, as it was originally conceived, transporting the audience into an intimate and affecting theatrical experience. This unusual two-week engagement features a live ensemble of two classically trained singers, a cellist, and a “voicestrumentalist,” with a score composed and arranged by Daniel Bernard Roumain, Christopher Antonio William Lancaster, Alicia Hall Moran, and Lawrence “Lipbone” Redding. (This program includes adult content.)
* Tickets are $45; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered on the Doris Duke Studio Theatre Porch 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Friday, June 27 and Friday, July 4, artistic personnel from Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.billtjones.org.
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company at Jacob’s Pillow, Ted Shawn Theatre, July 2 – 6
The great American contemporary dancemaker Lar Lubovitch celebrates his company’s 40th anniversary with a special program that includes Concerto 622, Little Rhapsodies, and Dvorak Serenade. The company has significant history at the Pillow, having been championed in 1971 by Pillow founder Ted Shawn himself and since then appearing here in 1980, 1981, 1991, and 2004. Rasta Thomas, formerly of the Kirov Ballet, Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out on Broadway, and known for launching the Bad Boys of Dance last season at the Pillow, performs with the company.
* Tickets are $58; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts. $10 Youth matinée tickets.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered at Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Thursday, July 3, artistic personnel from Lar Lubovitch Dance Company will participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.lubovitch.org.
Hofesh Shechter Company at Jacob’s Pillow, Ted Shawn Theatre, July 9 – 13
Jacob’s Pillow presents Israeli-born Hofesh Shechter, one of London’s most dynamic young contemporary choreographers, in his company’s U.S. debut with Uprising, a work that addresses themes of power and rebellion, and In your rooms, a recent new work co-produced by prestigious London venues The Place, South Bank Centre, and Sadler’s Wells. These two energy-charged dances connect with audiences with their dramatic and physical intensity. Called “the most important new dance work to be created in Britain since the millennium” by The Observer, In your rooms features an original music score composed by Shechter himself, performed live.
* Tickets are $58; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered at Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Thursday, July 10, Hofesh Shechter Company artistic personnel participate in a Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.hofesh.co.uk.
Natural Dance Theatre and Ko & Edge Company at Jacob’s Pillow, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, July 10 – 13
The range, diversity and inventiveness of Japanese contemporary dance-theatre is celebrated in this double bill program. First, Natural Dance Theatre makes its U.S. debut with Alice, transporting audiences to a strange and humorous wonderland, and exploring the differences between imagination and reality. Then, choreographer Ko Murobushi, one of the most prominent names in Japan’s iconoclastic Butoh art form, presents Ko & Edge Company in the U.S. premiere of Dead 1, a journey into the strange, intense, and beautiful world of Butoh. (This program includes partial nudity.)
* Tickets are $29; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered on the Doris Duke Studio Theatre Porch 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Friday, July 11, artistic personnel from Natural Dance Theatre and Ko & Edge Company will participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org.
Ballet Boyz at Jacob’s Pillow, Ted Shawn Theatre, July 16 – 20
Former stars of The Royal Ballet, Ballet Boyz founders Michael Nunn and William Trevitt have swiftly established themselves as leaders in innovative contemporary dance. They come to the Pillow with a cast of both male and female dancers and a diverse repertory showcasing some of today’s most adventurous European choreographers including three U.S. premieres; award-winning Russell Maliphant’s Broken Fall, Raphael Bonachela’s Amox, and Craig Revel Horwood’s Yumba vs Nonino, a brand new tango work with music by Astor Piazzolla. Nunn and Trevitt are well-known for short films that pepper their performances, adding life and humor to the show and demystifying the art of ballet.
* Tickets are $58; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered at Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Thursday, July 17, Ballet Boyz artistic personnel participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.balletboyz.com.
T.P.O. (Teatro d’Piazza d’Occasione) at Jacob’s Pillow, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, July 17 – 20
T.P.O. (Teatro d’Piazza d’Occasione), a visual theatre dance company from Tuscany, takes interactivity to a new level with two different programs, The Japanese Garden and The Painted Garden. Dancers perform on an elaborate, technologically sensored ‘carpet,’ and each body contact activates a new and different light, sound or image. Through narration and movement, this interactive program invites audiences, seated close to the action, to explore the relationship among dance, animated images, perception of space and the dynamics of childhood play.
* Tickets are $29; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts. Youth tickets are $10 for ALL performances.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered on the Doris Duke Studio Theatre Porch 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Friday, July 18, artistic personnel from T.P.O. participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.tpo.it.
Jacob’s Pillow Community Day, Sunday, July 20
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 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.
Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet at Jacob’s Pillow, Ted Shawn Theatre, July 23 – 27
Called “one of the few bona fide visionaries in the ballet world today” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Alonzo King brings his aptly named company to the Pillow. The program includes Migration: The hierarchical migration of birds and mammals, a work that investigates awakenings of numerous varieties, with music by jazz innovator, Pharoah Sanders; and RASA, with music by the renowned tabla master Zakir Hussain, which premiered in November of 2007. After 25 years of dance-making, King continues to create work that takes the exacting rigor and beauty of classical ballet to an utterly contemporary place.
* Tickets are $58; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts. $10 Youth matinée tickets.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered at Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Thursday, July 24, LINES Ballet artistic personnel participate in a Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.linesballet.org.
Conny Janssen Danst at Jacob’s Pillow, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, July 24 – 27
Conny Janssen Danst’s Rebound makes its East Coast premiere at the Pillow. This unusual and witty contemporary work explores what happens when six men are trapped by three, ten-foot tall padded white walls. As they interact, Janssen’s dancers are athletic, technically impressive, funny, and real, tackling intricate contemporary movement with the grace and precision of ballet dancers. Janssen creates a dance language that is supple, virtuosic and surprising, and has been recognized as an important artist in The Netherlands and throughout Europe.
* Tickets are $29; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts. $10 Youth matinée tickets.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered on the Doris Duke Studio Theatre Porch 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Friday, July 25, artistic personnel from Conny Janssen Danst participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.connyjanssendanst.nl.
Mimulus at Jacob’s Pillow, Ted Shawn Theatre, July 30 – August 3
After making its American debut at the Pillow in 2007, Mimulus, the Brazilian dance troupe whose vernacular is Latin social dance, returns by popular demand to the Ted Shawn Theatre. Described by The New York Times as offering “infectious wit and energy as well as intriguing dance invention,” Mimulus presents the U.S. premiere of Dolores. Inspired by the films of director Pedro Almodóvar, Dolores is a life-affirming work about absurdity, desire, elegance and kitsch, and life’s big and little pleasures and pains.
* Tickets are $58; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered at Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Thursday, July 31, Mimulus artistic personnel participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org.
David Michalek’s Slow Dancing at Jacob’s Pillow, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, July 31 – August 3
The New York Times calls filmmaker and photographer David Michalek’s Slow Dancing “…an unforgettable dance-meets-film-technology evening.” Seen in the U.S. as a giant outdoor installation at the Lincoln Center Festival, Jacob’s Pillow presents an exclusive theatrical version of Slow Dancing, demonstrating the beauty of dance, dancers, and the body in motion. The dancers’ short movement phrases are captured at 1,000 frames per second in hyper-slow-motion video portraits and contrasted with live performances of the portraits, in real time. Jill Johnson of The Forsythe Company (William Forsythe, artistic director), and classical Indian dancer Shantala Shivalingappa are among the artists who appear live and on screen. The program includes commentary with Michalek and the artists on stage.
* Tickets are $29; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered on the Doris Duke Studio Theatre Porch 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Friday, July 25, Slow Dancing artistic personnel participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.slowdancingfilms.com.
Stockholm 59° North at Jacob’s Pillow, Ted Shawn Theatre, August 6 – 10
The dancers of Stockholm 59° North are soloists of the Royal Swedish Ballet, one of the oldest dance companies in the world, who created their own troupe in order to perform new and contemporary works, predominantly choreographed by Swedish dancemakers. Stockholm 59° North made its American debut at the Pillow in 1997, the company returns in a rare U.S. appearance with this exclusive program that includes the world premiere of Cicada by choreographer Christina Caprioli; The Apartment and Pointless Pastures, both by the iconic Mats Ek; and the powerful Castrati by Nacho Duato, of Spain.
* Tickets are $58; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered at Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Thursday, August 7, artistic personnel from Stockholm 59° North participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.stockholm59north.com.
Shantala Shivalingappa at Jacob’s Pillow, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, August 7 – 10
The beauty of classical Indian dance and music in the quicksilver Kuchipudi tradition is embodied in Shantala Shivalingappa and her ensemble of master musicians. The Pillow presents Gamaka, a landscape of imagination, story-telling, dance and music in harmony. Shivalingappa’s talent is recognized by some of the greatest artists of her time, and she has performed with the likes of Peter Brook, Bartabas, Maurice Béjart, and Pina Bausch. The Village Voice comments, “she’s a wonder, accomplished in every aspect of this demanding form.”
* Tickets are $29; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts. $10 Youth matinée tickets.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered on the Doris Duke Studio Theatre Porch 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Friday, August 8, artistic personnel from Shantala Shivalingappa’s ensemble participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.shantalashivalingappa.com.
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet at Jacob’s Pillow, Ted Shawn Theatre, August 13 – 17
The grace and elegance of classical ballet coupled with a repertoire full of sharp new works makes Aspen Santa Fe Ballet one of the most eclectic contemporary ballet companies in the world today. Lauded by the Boston Herald as the “classically trained company of the future,” Aspen Santa Fe Ballet performs an exclusive East Coast program including Itzik Galili’s Chameleon with music by John Cage, William Forsythe’s Slingerland, and 1st Flash, by Jorma Elo.
* Tickets are $58; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts. $10 Youth matinée tickets.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered at Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Thursday, August 14, artistic personnel from Aspen Santa Fe Ballet participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.aspensantafeballet.com.
Kate Weare Company and Maureen Fleming at Jacob’s Pillow, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, August 14 – 17
The Pillow presents two very different and unusual artists from New York City in this exclusive double bill. Dubbed “wonderfully ingenious” by The Village Voice, Kate Weare presents the world premiere of Bridge of Sighs, created at Jacob’s Pillow during a recent Creative Development Residency. A quartet for two women and two men, Bridge of Sighs looks at the instincts that drive people toward love.
Performance artist Maureen Fleming’s world of “surreal movement poetry” transforms how audiences think of the human body and its communicative power. The Baltimore Sun calls her, “part dance, part sculpture, and part dream.” Fleming’s program includes The Stairs, with a score by Phillip Glass, performed live by Peter Phillips, Dialogue of Self and Soul and Sphere. (This program includes partial nudity.)
* Tickets are $29; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered on the Doris Duke Studio Theatre Porch 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Friday, August 15, Maureen Fleming and Kate Weare Company artistic personnel participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org, www.kateweare.com, or www.maureenfleming.com.
Special Benefit Event: A Jazz Happening at Jacob’s Pillow, August 17, 8pm
Chet Walker, who co-conceived the Tony Award-winning Fosse and serves as director of The School at Jacob’s Pillow’s Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance Program, brings a celebration of the art of Broadway jazz dance to the Pillow. This benefit for The School at Jacob’s Pillow showcases The School’s professional-level dancers performing side-by-side with renowned Broadway artists and faculty musicians. The event debuted in 2007 and was an instant sellout; this year’s performance features a brand new mix of stars and students, to be announced, and includes a reception with the artists. Tickets are $100.
Trey McIntyre Project at Jacob’s Pillow, Ted Shawn Theatre, August 20 – 24
Dubbed “one of ballet’s most surprising talents” by The New York Times, Trey McIntyre launches his full-time company with this engagement. With more than 70 ballets under his belt, and having brought his work to the Pillow’s Doris Duke Studio Theatre in 2005 and to the Ted Shawn Theatre in 2006, this au courant choreographer has decided to stake a permanent claim on the dance scene.
Formerly a temporary pick-up group, Trey McIntyre Project debuts as a fully employed company of performers with a program that includes a world premiere with music by renowned American folk artist, Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary. McIntyre’s winning, accessible ballets appeal to all audiences, from the dance connoisseur to the novice.
* Tickets are $58; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered at Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before every performance.*
* On Thursday, August 21, artistic personnel from Trey McIntyre Project participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.treymcintyre.com.
Keigwin + Company at Jacob’s Pillow, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, August 21 – 24
Dancer, choreographer, director, and Bessie Award-winner Larry Keigwin has performed his way from Broadway to cabaret to the Metropolitan Opera. His works, called “wonderful choreographic whirlwinds” by The New York Times, strike a note at the intersection of entertainment and insight. Keigwin’s craftsmanship, versatility and wit are fully revealed with his own company, which performs Love Songs and other winning dances at Jacob’s Pillow this season.
* Tickets are $29; Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive discounts.
* Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered on the Doris Duke Studio Theatre Porch 30 minutes before every performance.
* On Friday, August 22, artistic personnel from Keigwin + Company participate in a moderated Post-Show Talk directly following the evening performance.
* For additional information visit www.jacobspillow.org or www.larrykeigwin.com.
All casts and programs are subject to change.
Jacob’s Pillow 2008 Ticketing Information
Subscriptions: Jacob’s Pillow subscribers receive early ordering and early renewal privileges, free ticket exchange (up to seven days prior to performance) and ticket discounts. New this season, the Pillow offers three subscription packages including a Full Season Subscription, in which subscribers are guaranteed the same seat for all ten shows in the Ted Shawn Theatre and/or all eight shows in the Doris Duke Studio Theatre, upon renewal; a Flex 5+ Subscription, in which subscribers create their own schedule choosing five or more performances, any day, any time; and a Youth Matinée Series, in which subscribers select five shows from designated matinée performances that may be more accessible for the whole family (recommended for children ages 8 – 16). Jacob’s Pillow Members receive earliest ordering privileges as member subscriptions go on sale beginning February 11. Non-member subscription begins March 3. Mail and fax pre-orders accepted now, Box Office live phone lines open March 3; Monday-Friday, 10am – 6pm, with additional hours during the Festival. Box Office: 413.243.0745 (phone) or 413.243.0749 (fax). For additional ticket policies, visit
www.jacobspillow.org.
Single Ticketing: Jacob’s Pillow Member single ticketing begins March 31. Single ticket ordering opens to the public on April 7. Specially priced $10 youth matinée tickets (recommended for children ages 8 – 16) are available for Saturday matinees of Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Conny Janssen Danst, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Shantala Shivalingappa, and all ten T.P.O. (Teatro d’Piazza d’Occasione) performances (matinée and evening). Mail and fax pre-orders accepted now, online orders begin April 7, Box Office phone lines open March 3; Monday-Friday, 10am – 6pm, with additional hours during the Festival. Box Office: 413.243.0745 (phone) or 413.243.0749 (fax). For additional ticket policies, visit
www.jacobspillow.org.
Additional Offerings:
Inside/Out Series: In addition to the more than 100 ticketed performances it presents each year, Jacob’s Pillow offers numerous other free activities and opportunities to enjoy dance. Of the more than 40 dance companies to be presented at Jacob’s Pillow in 2008, more than half can be seen performing on the Inside/Out Stage, a unique outdoor performance space nestled in the bucolic hills of the Berkshires, for free. The curated Inside/Out series includes previews of Doris Duke Studio Theatre artists, presentations of emerging dance companies from all over the world, and showings by the professional-track students of The School at Jacob’s Pillow, Wednesdays through Saturdays during the season. Performers to be announced.
Exhibits and Archives: Annual curated exhibits in four venues across the Pillow’s National Historic Landmark grounds display photographs, video, artifacts and other engaging visual material that enrich the visitor’s experience of dance. The Archives, documenting dance and Pillow history from 1894 to the present, welcome both the general public and artistic and scholarly researchers to view videos of recent performances or historic films from years past, browse dance or related art and history books, and use the interactive kiosk with linked video clips spanning the Festival’s history.
Talks: More than 140 enlightening and informative talks range from in-depth hour-long PillowTalks, to brief Pre-Show Talks to orient audiences to the performance they are about to attend, and Post-Show Talks with the artists just after they step offstage, providing varied opportunities to gain insight from dancers, choreographers, musicians, filmmakers, visual designers, historians and other experts.
Tours, Classes, and More: During the season, guided tours of the 163-acre campus leave from the Welcome Center every Friday and Saturday at 5:30pm, and patrons can pick up a self-guided tour map anytime to explore the grounds on their own. Ted Shawn hosted the first Jacob’s Pillow patrons in the historic Tea Garden, adjoining the studio where his Men Dancers performed. The Tea Garden still welcomes visitors today; they can enjoy seasonal plantings and watch artist rehearsals through the doors of the adjacent Bakalar Studio. Community dance, Pilates and yoga classes are offered Mondays – Fridays at 8am and are open to all experience levels (minimal class fee required). Master Classes with artists of the Doris Duke Studio Theatre are offered every Sunday for intermediate to advanced dancers. For Festival Dance Class information call 413.243.9919, x10. Patrons are also welcome to visit The School at Jacob’s Pillow and observe renowned artist faculty working with emerging professional dancers, either on a drop-in basis or pre-arranged for groups larger than four.
Dining: Jacob’s Pillow offers many dining options including the Pillow Café, a full-service open air restaurant on The Great Lawn; the Pillow Pub, offering casual fare, ready-to-go picnics, and a full bar; and the Coffee & Ice Cream Bar. Many local visitors will bring a picnic lunch or dinner from home and dine on The Great Lawn or while taking in a performance on the Inside/Out stage.