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. 

The open call for performing artists is now live—click here to apply and learn more.
Applications are due by Friday, May 30 at 11:59pm ET. Eligibility is limited to dancers or companies based in the Berkshires and nearby counties in MA, NY, and CT.

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Lead support for Community Day is provided by Berkshire Health Systems.

 

Indigenous Enterprise

Thursday, July 10 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage
Live Music

Indigenous Enterprise, a premier group of champion powwow dancers and cultural ambassadors, has brought the beauty and power of Indigenous traditions to audiences since 2015. Known for their dynamic performances blending dance, film, and fashion, the group has captivated audiences worldwide, with appearances at the Sydney Opera House and Lincoln Center. In 2022, they were featured in promotion by the NBA Phoenix Suns, which drew attention to all 22 Native tribes in Arizona. In February 2023, they became the first Indigenous dance troupe to perform at the Super Bowl.

Representing a diverse range of Native tribes and nations, Indigenous Enterprise showcases the vibrancy of the powwow way of life, with dancers and singers who embody cultural pride and excellence. Celebrated by outlets like Vogue and The New York Times, their innovative and inspiring performances continue to elevate and celebrate Indigenous culture, empowering audiences with every show.

Prehistoric Body Theater

Wednesday and Thursday, June 25-26 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage
Pillow Debut

In a special kick-off to Festival 2025, Prehistoric Body Theater—an experimental dance theater collective from Indonesia—channel dinosaurs as they explore themes of mass extinction, climate crisis, and evolutionary ancestry through movement. The group creates “deep-time animal dance” by fusing paleontology with traditional dance and experimental Javanese percussion. Prehistoric makes its U.S. debut in association with New York’s Asia Society with Ghosts of Hell Creek: Stone Garuda, a mesmerizing work that eulogizes the raptors who perished in the Chicxulub asteroid impact 66 million years ago, while celebrating the survival of our earliest primate ancestors in a world born anew.

Praised as “an innovative form of global public outreach for paleontology” (Oxford University Press), Prehistoric Body Theater collaborates with Indigenous Indonesian performing artists as well as international scientists—uniting art, science, and a deep commitment to nature conservation.

Yusha-Marie Sorzano

Wednesday, August 20 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage 
Pillow Debut

Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Yusha-Marie Sorzano is a dynamic dancer, choreographer, and educator. As a YoungArts alumni and graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, she performed principal roles with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and toured nationally and internationally with companies such as Complexions Contemporary Ballet, BODYTRAFFIC, and Camille A. Brown & Dancers. She has performed the works of choreographers including Dianne McIntyre, Kyle Abraham, Jermaine Spivey, and Spenser Theberge. Yusha is the choreographer of A Ballet Through Mud, a collaboration of music and dance by Wu-Tang Clan founder RZA.

For her Pillow debut, her collective Sorzano Dance Works will showcase works from her repertoire including To All Our Ends, Two Women, “Girl” (an excerpt from THREAT), and This World Anew. This World Anew was commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art on the occasion of their groundbreaking exhibition Edges of Ailey in fall 2024. Her engagement at Jacob’s Pillow complements the week-long run of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in the Ted Shawn Theatre, as Ailey’s legacy resonates during this final week of Festival 2025. Tickets to indoor performances are sold separately.

Pua Ali’i ‘Ilima o Nūioka

Saturday, August 2 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage 
Live Music

Pua Ali’i ‘Ilima o Nūioka returns to the Henry J. Leir Stage for the first time since 2012. The mission of this hālau hula (school of Hawaiian dance) is to preserve and perpetuate Native Hawaiian arts and cultural traditions for future generations. At the core of this mission is the sharing of hula, which has been instrumental in the preservation and perpetuation of Native Hawaiian language, art, and cultural practices.

The hālau provides training for children, teens, and adults, as well as introductory hula workshops and classes, under the direction of Nā Kumu Hula Vicky Holt Takamine and Jeffrey Kānekaiwilani Takamine. The hālau hula is based in Honolulu, with extensions in Nuioka (New York City) and Kauaʻi. This performance on the Leir Stage will feature haumāna (students) from the New York extension.

Vicky Holt Takamine is recognized as a native Hawaiian leader for her artistry and advocacy on social justice issues, the protection of native Hawaiian rights, and the natural and cultural resources of Hawaii. She is the recipient of the 2024 Gish Prize.

Sydnie L. Mosley Dances

Saturday, July 12 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage
Pillow Debut

Jacob’s Pillow welcomes Sydnie L. Mosley Dances (SLMDances), a dance-theatre collective making their Pillow debut this summer. SLMDances explores the real-life experiences of women and the Black community through experiential dance performances that blend modern technique, verbal performance, and the movement traditions of the African diaspora. They will present a program spanning years of work, in celebration of the company’s 15th anniversary.

The company creates works designed to provoke a visceral response and spark dialogue around gender and racial justice. SLMDances works nationally, with deep relationships in Harlem, New York City, and Baltimore. SLMDances actively partners with local artists and organizations driving community-based initiatives that amplify their mission for social change through dance theater and Black feminist performance art.

Orlando Hernández

Thursday, July 24 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage 
Pillow Debut | Live Music

Lauded as “a onetime tap prodigy who’s grown into a history-mining experimentalist” (The New Yorker), Orlando Hernández is a performer, choreographer, theater-maker, musician, and writer who came up in the tap dance community in New York. He now presents a variety of stories and performances that thrillingly blend live music, tap dance, theater and storytelling, and embodied rhythm. His play La Broa’ (Broad Street), composed of real-life stories from Latino communities in Rhode Island, was recently produced at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, in a run The Boston Globe called “heartwarming and magical.”

As a member of the New York-based tap dance and live music company Music From the Sole, Hernández has performed at Jacob’s Pillow, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, The Joyce Theater, Fall For Dance at New York City Center, and Vail Dance Festival. He is also a member of the Boston-based tap dance company Subject:Matter, directed by Ian Berg, and dances with Michela Marino Lerman’s Love Movement.

Red Clay Dance Company

Friday, July 18 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage
Pillow Debut

Chicago’s top Afro-Contemporary dance company lives to awaken “glocal” Artivism through creating, performing, and teaching dances of the African diaspora. This Black female-led company is an award-winning ensemble of versatile and dynamic dancers that tour and perform locally, nationally, and internationally, including at the National Theater of Uganda.

Now in its 16th year, the company is committed to taking their signature “Artivism in Motion” from the stage into learning environments, and sees community engagement as a vital part of the creative process and village-building work. In December, the company’s founder Vershawn Sanders-Ward was named Chicagoan of the Year in Dance by the Chicago Tribune.

Benjamin Akio Kimitch

Wednesday, August 13 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage 
Pillow Debut

Jacob’s Pillow welcomes Brooklyn-based artist and producer Benjamin Akio Kimitch for his Pillow debut with Tiger Hands. Inspired by his varied training in Chinese dance and intimate encounters with Peking opera, Kimitch crafts a vivid, world-building performance that honors his late mother, a Japanese American folk dancer and taiko drummer.

In Tiger Hands, Peking opera technique becomes a channel for reconnection, transformation, and personal expression. In this cosmic work, Kimitch and his collaborators—including Jeffrey Gan, Pareena Lim, Lai Yi Ohlsen, and Carlos Soto—draw on the experimental energy that birthed this artform, simultaneously preserving and expanding tradition. A 2024 Asian Cultural Council Fellow and 2023 Bessie Award winner, Kimitch has premiered his works at The Shed, The Noguchi Museum, Danspace Project, and more.

Almanac Dance Circus Theatre

Wednesday, July 2 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage
Live Music

This summer, the award-winning Almanac Dance Circus Theatre returns to the outdoor stage (where they performed in 2023) with a signature blend of acrobatics, dance, and storytelling. Known for pushing artistic boundaries, the company creates genre-defying performances that fuse circus arts with narrative stories, inviting audiences into thrilling, immersive experiences.

With a diverse ensemble of dancers, acrobats, and theater artists, Almanac has premiered 11 full-length works, touring the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Their daring, improvisational performances have captivated audiences at New York Live Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and beyond. Also renowned for community-driven events like the acclaimed Cannonball Festival, Almanac continues to expand the possibilities of contemporary circus and dance.