STEP SHOW: THE MUSICAL | December 9, 2023
Maxine Lyle

Co-Presented with MASS MoCA

Initially developed at MASS MoCA in 2021, Maxine Lyle’s new work STEP SHOW: THE MUSICAL is a two-act theatrical production, currently in progress, that showcases African American step dance and its role in Black college life. Infusing body percussion with hip-hop, R&B, and soul, this intergenerational coming-of-age story takes a riveting ride through the world of step dance and its imprint on Black culture. The characters usher the audience into the atmosphere of a traditional step show, inviting them to join in raucous verbal and rhythmic call and responses and tune their ears to heavy, bass-driven beats. STEP SHOW considers the stakes for self and community when the transference of a powerful oral and physical lineage is lost or interrupted in Black bodies and Black spaces. See this new work while still in development this fall.

This performance took place Saturday, August 5.

With Love from The School at Jacob’s Pillow Alumni and Artist Faculty

Join us to celebrate Chet Walker (1954-2022). On Broadway from the age of 6, Chet went on to become a multi-award-winning director/choreographer. He dedicated 20 years to mentor and support performers of The School at Jacob’s Pillow as Program Director of the Musical Theatre Program; and continually offered his artistic, emotional, and financial support to them right up until the day he passed on October 21, 2022. He loved being on stage and helping performers find a place for themselves there, too. This heartfelt tribute performance features Alumni and Artist Faculty of The School at Jacob’s Pillow.

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CHET WALKER TED SHAWN THEATRE SEAT U101

We are deeply grateful to all those who contributed toward the Ted Shawn Theatre seat named  for Chet Walker. Your commitment honor’s Chet’s extraordinary 20 years of mentorship to performers and his tremendous artistic leadership as The School’s Musical Theatre Program Director. We hope that you feel a sense of connection and pride when you visit the Ted Shawn Theatre in the future and see Chet’s name on seat U101.

Rachel Altemose*
Beth Anderson-Song
Anonymous (11)
Lipe Arena*
Ella Baff and John Badanes
Jabari Braham*
Johnson Brock*
Emily Burrus*
Naomi Rusalka Cernota*
Catherine and David Chapman
Kathleen Chrisman
Jenny Cobuzzi*
Douglas J. Cohen**
Mary and Robert Cohen
Linda Colvin
Vibecke Dahle Dellapolla*
Timothy Eidman*
Madison Embrey*
Fern Epstein
Hannah Fein
Andrew Fitch*
Erica Frankel*
Corey Friedlander
Stephanie Gittleman
“J.R.” Glover
Lisa Glover
MaryAnn* and Scott Goodell
DJ Gray*
Natalie Greene*
Katarina Gromilic*
Rachael Britton Hart*
Barbara and Gerald Hayden
Stephanie Heroux*
Joan and James Hunter
Daniel Idzik and Kathleen Osborne
Nancy Kalodner
Jack and Paula Kaminer
Bernee Kapili
Ioannis Karounis*
Joan Derricks Kraft
Deirdre Labarre
Kathleen Laituri*
Marie Leahy
Richard Lessey*
Michael Lubbers*
Ivan Markovic*
Elizabeth Mazza
Jeanne McConnell and Liz Reynolds
Rodney McDaniel
Leslie Miller*
Theresa Murray*
Marlo Mysliwiec*
Kristen O’Neil
Mark and Dianne Orenstein
Claudia Palta*
Kelli Rabke**
Teri Ralston**
Katie Rayle*
Sydney Richards*
Peter Rombult and Sean Murphy
Rebecca Ross*
Milton Rubin
Harold Rudin
Janine Shahinian
Danielle Froelich Siegel*
Stephanie Simpson*
Jon Sloven*
Brian and Lorraine Smith
Camila Taleisnik*
Charlotte Tiencken and Bill West
Ariel Triunfo*
Lee Venolia and Jay Thoman
Barbara Walker
Marcia Walker
Fukuyo Watanabe*
Angela Weigel*
Sarinda Parsons Wilson and Jonathan Wilson
Elaine and Irving Wolbrom

*denotes The School at Jacob’s Pillow Alum
** denotes former Artist Faculty of The School at Jacob’s Pillow

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Rhythm Is Life | April 8
Dormeshia Tap Collective

Co-Presented with MASS MoCA

Joined by a smoking hot jazz trio and an ensemble of fellow hoofers, tap queen Dormeshia brings her critically acclaimed, classic-style tap concert to North Adams for an evening of thrilling percussive dance and music co-presented by Mass MoCA. Dormeshia—a recipient of two Bessie Awards, a Princess Grace Award, an Astaire Award, the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, as well as the Doris Duke Artist Award—is “so deeply versed in tap tradition and technique that she has the whole of it at her command” (The New York Times). Rhythm Is Life explores the grooves, breath, and pulse of life. Through a series of rhythmic explorations, Dormeshia creates a kaleidoscope of choreography that both moves with the universal pulse of life and invites others to find their own groove. Performed by a group of magnetic dancers and live musicians, the piece is a meditation, a voyage, and above all, a celebration of life.

Dormeshia will return to Jacob’s Pillow this Summer to lead the Tap Dance Program at The School at Jacob’s Pillow as Program Director alongside Michelle Dorrance and Derick Grant. Learn more here.

This performance took place July 29, 2023.

The outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage celebrated the artistry of Katherine Dunham, and the anniversary of The School at Jacob’s Pillow’s 2002 Dunham Legacy program. This program featured works by alumni from the program: Paloma McGregor Founding Artistic Director of Angela’s Pulse; Michelle Grant-Murray Artistic Director of Olujimi Dance Theatre; and Stephanie McKee, Executive Artistic Director of Junebug Productions.

The School at Jacob’s Pillow: Tap Dance Performance Ensemble

Saturday, August 16 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage 
World Premiere | Live Music

Performances by The School at Jacob’s Pillow Performance Ensembles showcase the work of the next generation of dance artists. This performance is the culmination of a three-week Tap Dance Program, featuring original repertoire by leading choreographers who serve as Artist Faculty: Program Directors Derick K. Grant and Dormeshia.

Dancers of The School at Jacob’s Pillow are apprentices, trainees, pre-professionals, and early-career professionals from around the world. The School’s professional advancement programs are held onsite during the Festival to nurture the artistic voices and growth of the dancers.

This performance took place August 17, 2023.

Performance ensembles from University of South Florida, University of the Arts, University of Oklahoma, Modesto Junior College, and University of New Mexico, all selected from their American College Dance Association regional conference, performed on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage for one performance only.

The American College Dance Association (ACDA) supports and promotes a wealth of talent and creativity from college and university dance departments. Each spring, ACDA hosts regional conferences around the country with performances, workshops, panels, and classes. At each conference, a panel of expert adjudicators selects works in an anonymous process to be performed at a gala performance which concludes the conference. The dances are choreographed by undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and guest artists. Selected works from each region are identified by regional adjudicators before highlights are selected for this performance at Jacob’s Pillow.

This performance took place August 16, 2023.

Âs Nupumukômun (We Still Dance) is a theatrical composition created in close collaboration between Danza Orgánica and members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe. Adhering to Indigenous storytelling, dance, song, and installation, Âs Nupumukômun explores what it means to be Native today by highlighting traditional and contemporary stories of the Aquinnah Wampanoag People. This collaboration, which started in Winter 2018, was made possible through a partnership between the Aquinnah Cultural Center, The Yard, and Danza Orgánica.

About Danza Orgánica
Founded in 2007 by Taíno Afroboricua artist Mar Parrilla, Danza Orgánica is a Boston-based dance theater company whose work is centered around equity, social justice, and decolonization. With dancers from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Spain, Danza Orgánica brings forth a multiplicity of experiences with the common themes of migration, decolonization, and the embodiment of a liberated future. The company’s programming includes performance, education (Dance for Social Justice™), and the annual We Create Festival. Members of Danza Orgánica “honor our right to express our BIPOC experience, joyfully reimagine ourselves in liberated BIPOC bodies, and leave a legacy that sheds light upon an untold side of history.” This year, Danza Orgánica celebrates its 16th anniversary, and 10 years of the We Create Festival.

This performance took place August 4, 2023.

KR3TS Dance Company (Keep Rising to the Top), based in New York City, and The Hood Lockers, based in Philadelphia, performed on the Henry J. Leir Stage for one night only, as part of our “Hip Hop Across the Pillow” week-long mini-festival celebrating 50 years of hip hop. 

KR3TS Dance Company strives to broaden the notion of what a dancer is, and to promote the preservation of ethnic and cultural dances based in Spanish Harlem. The dance company provides a positive alternative to social and street pressures among children and young adults in lower and middle-income families in Latino communities of New York City, mainly by providing dance classes and support programs in a non-discriminating atmosphere. KR3TS Dance Company also carries out its mission through its core-performance group that fosters pre-professional dancers. 

The Hood Lockers formed in 2005 as a “group of brothers united in funk” who have devoted their lives to the cultural preservation and progression of Locking. Although the group’s members perform a variety of styles of street dance, their common purpose is an enthusiasm for the iconic early 1970s street dance created by Don “Campbellock” Campbell. Inspired by Don and the Lockers—the pioneers of this style—The Hood Lockers serve as educators and influencers of this culture, always inspired by the hunger for a deeper understanding of “the true essence of getting down.”

This performance took place August 3, 2023.

This wide-ranging collective of empowering female dancers lit up the Henry J. Leir Stage for one night only, as part of our “Hip Hop Across the Pillow” week-long mini-festival celebrating 50 years of hip hop. The members of Nefer gather to build meaningful relationships and sisterhood through connection and collaboration, creating a passionate shared platform to empower and celebrate women and girls of color within dance, music, art, and fashion. “Nefer,” which means “beautiful on the inside and out” in ancient Kemet (Egypt), marks the group’s commitment to sharing histories and opening up opportunities for expression.

This performance took place August 2, 2023.

In this evening of dance with live music, tap dancer and choreographer Brinae Ali put her “invigorating, inspirational, progressive” imaginings into a performance alongside her band members. A tap dancer and a vocalist, Ali led the audience on a journey through the rich sound textures of jazz and tap culture. Born and raised in Flint, Mich., she is an interdisciplinary artist who believes in using the power of the arts to transform the conditions of the human spirit. Among her many roles as an educator and grassroots organizer, Ali has worked as the artistic director of Tapology, Inc., a youth based outreach program in Flint that believes in preserving the art of tap and jazz culture through education and performance. 

Among her many roles as an educator and grassroots organizer, Ali is currently touring a show in collaboration with trumpeter Sean Jones called Dizzy Spellz while scaffolding a new work in progress supported by NEFA National Dance Projects and Johns Hopkins University Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts called the Baby Laurence Legacy Project, which is an archival/performative process to create an integrated work of jazz tap dance and jazz music that investigates and celebrates the artistic and social influences that “Baby Laurence” Donald Jackson had on the culture of Tap Dance and Jazz Music.