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Campus
Life
The
Setting
Pillow
Campus Life
The
Festival
A
Community of Artists
Daily
Life in The School
Photo
Tour
The
Setting
Jacob's
Pillow is located in the town of Becket in the Berkshire Hills
of Western Massachusetts (3 hours from New York City and 2½
hours from Boston). Historic Berkshire County is noted for its
beautiful natural environment and outstanding cultural institutions,
including Tanglewood, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Shakespeare
& Company, Clark Art Institute, Norman Rockwell Museum, Hancock
Shaker Village, and MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary
Art).
The 163-acre Pillow campus includes two theaters, an outdoor
stage, four dance studios,
Archives
with rare holdings encompassing 90 years
of dance, video-viewing stations, a library, and exhibition
galleries, a campus
store, food venues, a health
center, a student center, resident lodging, gardens, and woodlands.
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The School studio.
“I
traveled so many miles to come to Jacob’s Pillow and
yet when I set foot in
The
School I felt like I was coming home.”
–Effrossyni
Dimopoulu, Jazz 2002 and
Contemporary
Traditions 2003,
National Greek Opera Ballet company member
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Pillow
Campus Life
Nestled
away from public pathways are rustic wood-framed cabins, where
artists, faculty, students, interns, and Festival staff live.
Cabin walls are lined with archival photographs and mementos of
dancers who studied and performed at the Pillow. Students are
housed two to a room and share three meals a day in the Stone
Dining Room, hand-built in 1937 by Shawn’s Men Dancers. Registered
nurses are on campus daily to assist with body maintenance and
coordinate care with area physicians as needed. Pillow drivers
fill requests for sundry supplies from town and shuttle dancers
to the laundromat. The centrally located Campus Center provides
a place for students and interns to relax during time off.
When Ted
Shawn’s students and company
members lived on site in the 1930s, they built housing and studios
and maintained the property, from roads to wells. This spirit
continues today with everyone accepting responsibility for the
total campus environment—from cleanliness of private residences
to working together to preserve the beauty of our studio and public
spaces.
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Participants celebrate a birthday.
Photo: Jessica Thelen
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The
Festival
Jacob’s Pillow augments studio learning by ensuring that all School
participants attend Festival performances and campus events free
of charge. The Festival provides an unparalleled opportunity to
see a wide range of movement styles, choreographic approaches,
world traditions, classics of the dance canon, and new work from
all over the world. Few schools immerse their students in such
a diverse and comprehensive international dance environment. Such
exposure is critical to artistic development and pivotal to
career decision making. In the course of the 10-week Festival,
150 performances
are presented on three stages by companies from around the world
representing contemporary, modern, ballet, dance theater, jazz,
hip-hop, tap, and culturally-specific dance. More than 200 free
events—open rehearsals, outdoor performances, open studios, daily
talks by Scholars-in-Residence, exhibits, film and video showings,
and panel discussions—deepen understanding of the art form, the
Pillow’s history, and its past and current artists. Books, videos,
programs, photographs, and other materials are readily available
for study in the Archives. Program participants may take or observe
public master classes and community classes free of charge.
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“It
was really helpful to see the company
perform
the same work we are learning.
It
solidified the movement for me. Now, in
the
studio, we can make choices based off
the
performance. It changed the way I
personally
approached the movement.”
–Marc
Macaranas,
Contemporary Traditions 2004
Lakshmi Vishwanathan teaches a Master Class in bharata
natyam Indian dance to the Pillow community.
Photo:
Márta Fodor |
A
Community of Artists
Major
dance figures from around the world have come to the Pillow every
year since the 1930s. Encounters with dance celebrities, artistic
directors, choreographers, critics, scholars, artistic collaborators,
and dedicated dance supporters abound. You might find yourself
browsing in the bookstore beside Desmond Richardson, having lunch
with Susan Jaffe, mingling with Mark Morris at a cast party, or
chatting with Shen Wei after a Q&A session. The School’s student
body is known for its international mix of professionals and
pre-professionals. Many have already earned recognition in the
field as Grand Prix finalists, Presidential Scholars in the Arts,
company members, and apprentices. Pillow alumni include
well-known artists Linda Kent, Nikolaj Hübbe, Meredith Monk,
Mia Michaels, and alumni currently perform with Batsheva Ensemble,
Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Garth Fagan Dance, Alonzo King's
LINES, Mark Morris Dance Group, Paul Taylor Dance Group, Twyla
Tharp, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Broadway shows,
and many other choreographers and companies.
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A student with choreographers Roger C. Jeffrey
and
Robert Battle at a Cast Party.
Photo: Márta Fodor
“In
the past week, the wonderful faculty
and
staff have already opened my eyes to
many opportunities that I did not know
existed in dance and also in life.”
–Xiaolin
Fan, Ballet Program 2005
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Daily
Life in The School
Expect
to work with faculty in the studio 9:00am to 5:00pm six days a
week, in addition to performing weekly for Pillow audiences, studying
in the Archives, and attending Festival performances, master classes,
artist discussions, cast parties, and more. Daily schedules vary
to meet the professional standards and curricular needs of each
program, but generally run as follows:
8:00-9:00am
Breakfast and Community Pilates/Modern/Ballet class (varies daily,
M-Thu)
9:00-10:30am
Technique Class with Program Director
10:45-12:15pm
Repertory Class with Program Director
12:15-1:15pm
Lunch with all campus residents (artists, faculty, staff, and
interns)
1:15-1:30pm
Weekly Executive Director’s Welcome: meet performers, faculty,
and visiting VIPs
1:30-2:00pm
Seminars, lectures, or Archives study to learn about faculty,
related program topics, Pillow history, and Festival artists
2:15-5:00pm
Repertory preparation and rehearsal with Guest Faculty Artist
of the week
6:00-7:00pm
Dinner in the dining room, or picnic at the outdoor stage
6:30-7:20pm
Attend outdoor performances by Festival artists Wednesday through
Friday; on Saturdays, the stage features work from The School
7:30–8:00pm
Pre-Performance Talk: Pillow Scholars-in-Residence share background
about artists performing in the Ted Shawn Theatre and Doris Duke
Studio Theatre
8:00pm
Usher for and see one of the performances or Archives study/free
time
10:00pm
Post-Performance Talk: hear choreographers, collaborators, and
performing artists speak about their work, travels, and the dance
field
Later
…Rehearse or hold dance jams (studios open 24/7), gather for
informal chats, or retire for much-needed rest before another
equally full day.
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