Afro Latin Jazz and Soul Experience – Community Residency with Sekou McMiller & Friends
June 12–15 | Free with registration encouraged
Jacob’s Pillow welcomes Sekou McMiller’s Afro Latin Jazz and Soul Experience to Pittsfield for a multi-day community residency. This dynamic series of movement workshops, listening sessions, and dance parties, led by Sekou and his collaborators Charlie Garcia, Khary Kamau, and Miriam Gallardo, will immerse participants in themes from his upcoming premiere Urban Love Suite, which will be performed during Week 6 of the Festival. The residency will explore the joy of celebration, parades, and rituals across cultures, from Mardi Gras in New Orleans to Carnival in Trinidad and other global festivities. Participants of all ages are invited to join in the fun, learn, and celebrate through movement and sound.
Schedule of Events
Thursday, June 12
Parading through Culture: A Community Gathering about Celebration, Ritual, and Movement
Common Room, Zion Lutheran Church | 7-8:30pm
This dynamic session invites participants to explore the many ways family, community, and culture express themselves through celebration, ritual, and parade. Rooted in conversation and celebration, this experience opens up space for sharing personal and collective traditions—those that shape our identities and connect us across generations and borders. Using the vibrant traditions of the African Diaspora as a focal point—including Uruguay’s candombe parades, Mardi Gras, Carnival, and Salsa dance parties—we’ll explore the power of parading as both a cultural expression and a form of joy, resistance, and unity. The session will culminate in a collaborative social dance space, where the stories and rhythms we’ve explored come to life through music and movement – a living parade of culture, creativity, and connection.
Friday, June 13
From Clave to Celebration: A Listening & Movement Experience
WANDER Berkshires | 7-8:30pm
Centering the sounds and rhythms that inspire the dance traditions, this listening and movement session takes a rhythmical journey through African American, Afro Latino and other African Diasporic cultures. Based in community, movement and sound fusing dance and music that stem from the African Diaspora that were cultivated throughout the Americas, celebrating and exploring new exciting fusion. We will explore rhythms like the “Clave” that have inspired dance and music like Salsa, Samba, Rumba, Rock and Roll, and so much more!
Saturday, June 14
Workshop: A Joyful Celebration of Rhythm, Culture, and Movement
Paterson Field House, Berkshire Community College | 1-2:30pm
Join us for an energizing, full-body experience that blends movement, music, and culture! Sekou’s Afro Latin Jazz and Soul Experience invites you on a rhythmic journey through African American, Afro Latino, and other African Diasporic cultures, highlighting the deep connections, shared histories, and vibrant fusions that continue to evolve today. Rooted in the rich traditions of Caribbean dance and music—like Salsa, Mambo, Cha-cha-cha, and Rumba—this class weaves in African American Jazz, West African social dances, and African modern dance to create a joyful, community-centered movement experience. Together, we’ll explore the fundamentals of social dance and Embodied Africanist Aesthetics in a welcoming space that celebrates connection, culture, and expression. Open to all levels and all ages—come ready to move, groove, and feel the soul!
Berkshires Salsa for Everyone! Dance Class & Party
WANDER Berkshires | 7-8pm (Dance Class) and 8-11pm (Dance Party)
Get ready to move, groove, and connect! Join us for a fun, high-energy Salsa dance class that introduces the basics of this vibrant social dance style. We’ll cover simple steps, footwork, and partner work – with a big focus on rhythm, music, and community. No experience needed and all ages are welcome! Born of community It’s a fun and energetic way to share culture, build social dance etiquette, and enjoy a lively atmosphere.
After the class, stick around for a DJ’d Salsa Dance Party where you can show off your new moves, dance with friends, and soak up the joyful vibes. Whether you come to dance, listen, or just enjoy the energy, it’s a celebration of culture, connection, and fun!
Sunday, June 15
NAACP Juneteenth Celebration with Sekou McMiller
Durant Park | 12-6pm
Celebrate Juneteenth with us! We’ll be joining the NAACP Berkshire Branch as a part of their Annual Juneteenth Celebration – a joyful day of community, culture, and connection for all ages! Join Sekou McMiller & Friends for a pop-up performance, movement workshop, and energizing dance party that celebrates freedom, resilience, and community. No registration required. Learn more about the NAACP Berkshires Juneteenth Celebration here.
Pittsfield Community Programs are made possible with generous support from the Mill Town Foundation, and the Pittsfield Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
This event is in partnership with NAACP Berkshires, WANDER Berkshires, Common Room at Zion Lutheran Church, and Berkshire Community College, with special thanks to Noel Staples-Freeman and Luana Dias David.
Community Day
Featuring Artists of the Berkshires
Friday, August 15
2:30-5:30pm | Community Day | Pillow Grounds
Everyone is invited to this free, kid-friendly, all-ages Friday afternoon, featuring movement classes as well as dance-themed children’s activities and tours. Check back soon as events are confirmed.
5:30pm | Artists of the Berkshires | Henry J. Leir Stage
The outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage hosts selected Berkshire-region artists for a special one-day-only performance. Tickets to this performance and all Community Day programs are free.
Lead support for Community Day is provided by Berkshire Health Systems.
Eastern Woodlands Homesite
Saturday, August 2 from 11am-12:30pm
Free with registration encouraged
Join Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines Jr., Creative Director of No Loose Braids, with Tracy Ramos, William SmallEarCoyote Connors, Miguel WanderingTurtle Garate, and Nazario TallHairRedDeer Garate to learn about Eastern Woodlands culture, land use, and living presence through exploration of a traditional Nipmuc homesite, located outdoors next to Jacob’s Garden. Please wear sturdy shoes appropriate for dirt paths, grass, and uneven terrain. Meet at the Welcome Center before walking along George Carter Road.
About the Homesite
Built by Nipmuc citizens Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines Jr. and Nazario TallHairRedDeer Garate, this homesite brings Eastern Woodlands peoples and the public together to highlight urgent issues of access, health, and the sustainability of cedar swamps in the Eastern Woodlands.
The structures are crafted from cedar trees harvested from Douglas State Forest and are centered around the hearth, where Gaines led the burning of a miniature mishoon (an example of a dugout canoe) over three days in May 2022. The homesite includes a traditional fishnet station, a tripod and fish cookstation, fleshing and stretching poles used to process deer skin into hides, a deer hide rack, a large double tripod cooksite, and a miniature mishoon.
“Our people have kept a lot, but we’ve lost a lot as well,” says Gaines. “It’s really become our purpose, our mission, to have cultural revitalization and cultural preservation. One of those ways we do that is continuously building sites like this …. doing all these things that we did traditionally, so that these things don’t get lost.”
About No Loose Braids
No Loose Braids is a Nipmuc-led organization working to bring Eastern Woodland Tribal communities together in unity through cultural revitalization of traditional practices to revive community and culture. No Loose Braids aims to teach the original ways and create a space for Indigenous folks to step out of colonization, and the fractured ways of colonized thinking, to reconnect with ancestral knowledge, strengthen bonds of reciprocity, and bring balance back to our People and the Earth. No Loose Braids also works to build opportunities for future generations through changing structures of systemic marginalization and exclusion by advocating for Tribal rights and engaging in dialogue in colonial spaces.
Ride our FREE bus from Pittsfield to Jacob’s Pillow to experience family-friendly activities or see a matinee performance with specially priced tickets. Community groups, families, and passengers of all ages are welcome! Every Saturday, June 22-August 24 in Festival 2019.
Take the Pillow home with you!
From beautiful souvenirs and t-shirts to picnicking accessories and jewelry, you’ll find everything you need to complete your Pillow experience at the Jacob’s Pillow Store.
HOURS
Wednesday-Friday: 5pm – 15 minutes after final curtain
Saturday-Sunday: 12pm – 15 minutes after final curtain
Monday-Tuesday: CLOSED
Jacob’s Pillow Dance is lauded worldwide as a “hub and mecca of dancing” (TIME Magazine), “one of America’s most precious cultural assets” (Mikhail Baryshnikov), and “the dance center of the nation” (The New York Times).
“The Pillow” is a treasured 220-acre National Historic Landmark, a recipient of the prestigious National Medal of Arts, and home to America’s longest-running international dance festival.
Each year thousands of people from across the U.S. and around the globe visit the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts to experience the Festival with more than 50 dance companies and 200 free performances, talks, and events; train at The School at Jacob’s Pillow, one of the most prestigious professional dance training centers in the U.S.; explore the Pillow’s rare and extensive dance Archives; and take part in numerous Community Programs designed to educate and engage dance audiences of all ages.
Every Thursday & Saturday at 5:30pm
Learn about the history and legends of Jacob’s Pillow on a free 30-minute guided tour of the National Historic Landmark grounds. Guided walking tours, led by Jacob’s Pillow staff and interns, start from the Welcome Center, which is located next to the Ted Shawn Theatre.
Visitors may also pick up the National Historic Landmark Tour brochure and take a self-guided tour at any time.
To learn even more about dance history, visit the Norton Owen Reading Room to explore selections from the Pillow Archives.