Performances Archives

This performance took place July 5, 2023.

Internationally acclaimed, award-winning ice skaters bring Berkshire audiences a rare opportunity to enjoy ice skating in the summer, performing on ice skates atop a special flooring. With a professional company of figure skaters and choreographers including World, Olympic and National champions, Ice Dance International showcases skating as a performing art for communities across the United States. Founded in 2014 and based in Maine, the organization has built its local, national, and global image through live and virtual performances, including the company’s recent 18 city U.S. tour of GRACE; the creation of two hour-long public television specials that aired nationally on PBS; and its educational and engagement programs.

Watch Ice Dance International on Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive:

In Flight from 2014

The presentation of Ice Dance International was funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

This performance took place June 30, 2023.

SOLE Defined is the Washington, D.C. metro area’s leading arts organization specializing in percussive dance, using the body as an instrument creating sonic and kinetic embodied storytelling. Advancing styles such as Tap, Body Percussion, Sand Dance, and Vocal Percussion, this BIPOC-led company infuses powerful skills to delight and inspire audiences. Founded in 2011, the company produces immersive performance experience promoting an understanding and appreciation for African-American percussive dance forms rooted in the African Diaspora.

This performance took place June 29, 2023.

Te Ao Mana expands the presence of Indigenous Polynesian culture worldwide through creative projects, dance classes, workshops, and community gathering and sharing. The dance company began in New York City among a group of friends with a passion for the cultural arts of the Polynesian Islands. Led by directors Anthony Aiu and Kaina Quenga—lifelong practitioners of Hula and Ori Tahiti—the intergenerational group shares an appreciation of Mana, “the heart of Polynesia and the very genesis of everything in existence,” and to identify more deeply with nature and each other, “living in a place of constant creation and discovery of oneself and one’s connection to the natural world.”

This performance took place June 28, 2023.

A New York City-based contemporary dance company founded in 2014, Kyle Marshall Choreography sees the dancing body as a container of history, an igniter of social reform, and a site of celebration. Expressing “a choreographic voice like no one else’s” (The New York Times), Kyle Marshall Choreography believes in the creation, sharing, and teaching of dance as a way to deepen our knowledge of who we are as individuals, how we develop relationships, and ultimately societies. At Jacob’s Pillow, the company performed the work Onyx, a work that dug into the origins of Rock and Roll, revealing the Black and Brown people whose sounds, performances and personalities created this revolutionary genre.

This performance took place August 9-13, 2023.

Making their Jacob’s Pillow debut this summer, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD) is a 38-year-old jazz company from Calgary, Canada, dedicated to the rich traditions and boundless future of jazz dance. DJD is a crowd-pleasing favorite with a style that has been described as ‘music for the eyes.’ They are known for exceptional musicality and a rhythmic, percussive aesthetic, and will perform with live music.

DJD dances in the spirit of jazz, recognizing themselves as guests in a form born out of Black American culture and the African American experience. Championing jazz in a time when not many dance companies are, the company was also featured in the documentary Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance. The full company comes to the Pillow this summer accompanied by the six-piece Rubim de Toledo Ensemble with vocalist Karimah.

All performances by Decidedly Jazz Danceworks were preceded by a free 15-minute Pre-Show Talk led by Pillow Scholars-in-Residence, held in Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before showtime.

This performance took place July 14-16, 2023.

Led by Artistic Director Nadia Adame and Managing Director Danae Rees, AXIS Dance Company is one of the nation’s most acclaimed ensembles of disabled, non-disabled, and neurodiverse performers. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company has toured to over 100 cities in the U.S. over the past 35 years, as well as London, Dubai, Frankfurt, The Hague, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Novosibirsk, Siberia. They will make their Jacob’s Pillow debut this summer performing Desiderata by Asun Noales, Flutter by Robin Dekkers, and Historias Rotas by Nadia Adame.

In addition to their extensive touring and performances, AXIS provides integrated dance education and outreach programs, building paths to dance education for disabled and non-disabled people of all ages and experiences. “AXIS’s work instructs the viewer in how to appreciate it, and the lesson is delivered with cogent force.” – The New York Times

Accessibility

Do you have any accessibility needs that we should be aware of? When purchasing your ticket, please call our Box Office at 413.243.0745 or email us at [email protected] so that we can do our best to accommodate you during your visit.

Please note:

Geography: Jacob’s Pillow is situated in the Berkshire mountains in a rural location. The campus contains several hills, with changes to elevation on the path from the Main Parking Lot to the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, and on George Carter Road between the Overlook Parking Lot and the Henry J. Leir Stage. Both the Main Parking Lot and Overlook Parking Lot are dirt / gravel. Parking attendants will be present to assist with parking and drop-off.
Ticketed Entry: Printed tickets are available to pick up at the Box Office, which is located near the Main Parking Lot, approximately 500 feet from the Leir Stage along a gravel path. If you cannot visit the Box Office, Jacob’s Pillow staff are available to assist you at the entrance to the outdoor stage.
Seating: The Leir Stage is general admission; visitors may sit where they choose. Seating is on wooden benches with backs, placed in rows. If you would like to reserve seats that are accessible for wheelchair users and those with mobility needs, and/or seats closer to ASL interpreters, please call our Box Office at 413.243.0745 or email us at [email protected] when purchasing your tickets.
Wheelchair access: The Leir Stage is wheelchair accessible, and has been recently renovated to feature pathways that include MobiMats, stairs with handrails covering rough terrain, and paved pathways to our ADA seating. All seating is accessible by a ramp, and while there is a significant slope/uneven ground in sections, there are no stairs.
Golf cart transportation between the parking lots and the Leir Stage is available on request before and after performances. (Campus pathways and parking lots at Jacob’s Pillow are paved with gravel.) If you expect to use golf cart transportation, we encourage you to notify us in advance, at the above phone number or email address. However, no advance reservation of golf carts is required.
ASL interpretation is offered at all performances by AXIS Dance Company, including for the Pre-Show Talk, with seating near the interpreter reserved for D/deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors.
Audio description is not available for these performances.
ADA-compliant public restrooms are located on the main path across from Hunter House, and in the pavilion outside the Ted Shawn Theatre near the Welcome Center. Bathrooms across from Hunter House are public and gender-neutral, but differ in facilities, with one including just private stalls and the other including both private stalls and public urinals. Gender diversity is welcome at Jacob’s Pillow; please use the restroom that best fits your gender identity or expression. Additionally, fully private gender-neutral restrooms are available in the lobby of the Ted Shawn Theatre.
Animal policy: Only service animals are permitted inside buildings at Jacob’s Pillow including the Ted Shawn Theatre, the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, and in our restaurant and dining areas. Under titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. More generally: Jacob’s Pillow allows leashed dogs and pets in outdoor spaces on our campus.
Health policy: At this time, COVID-19 vaccination is recommended, but not required, for visitors to Jacob’s Pillow. Masking is encouraged. Masking or vaccination may be required for specific events or areas of campus. Please visit jacobspillow.org/health for the most updated policies.

This performance took place August 23-27, 2023.

Tulsa Ballet made its Jacob’s Pillow debut this summer as the first company from Oklahoma to perform at the festival. Tulsa Ballet was founded by Moscelyne Larkin, one of five Native American ballet dancers termed the American Indian ballerinas of Oklahoma (all of whom boasted Pillow connections), who performed in and helped organize the Oklahoma Indian Ballerina Festival in 1957 and 1967. At Jacob’s Pillow this summer, Tulsa Ballet, under the direction of Marcello Angelini for the past 28 years, performed Nicolo Fonte’s Divenire, Andrew McNicol’s Celestial Bodies, and the pas de deux from Katarzyna Kozielska’s Ode.

Tulsa Ballet was born out of a student troupe formed in 1956, one that that later expanded to be a national and international force, being named in 2007 The Official Cultural Ambassador for the state of Oklahoma. In June 2010, the established company made its debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., which received accolades in The Washington Post and Dance Magazine. Tulsa Ballet has also performed all over Europe and Asia, earning rave reviews from the international press wherever it performed. The company’s repertory includes 19th-century classical ballet pieces, as well as the most celebrated works of the 21st century. Tulsa Ballet is keen on creating new works, and is committed to creating at least three new dances each season.

This performance took place July 5-9, 2023.

In a historic Jacob’s Pillow debut, Dutch National Ballet performed in the Ted Shawn Theatre in Festival 2023. Works included: Variations for Two Couples (Hans Van Manen); Two & Only (Wubkje Kuindersma); The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude (William Forsythe); Grand Pas Classique (Victor Gsovsky); and Five Tangos (Hans van Manen, music by Astor Piazzolla).

Over the past 60 years, Dutch National Ballet has evolved into one of the world’s most critically acclaimed ballet companies. With a unique and wide repertoire, a tradition of innovation, and around 80 dancers from all over the world, the company plays a leading role in Dutch cultural life and beyond.

All performances by Dutch National Ballet were preceded by a free 15-minute Pre-Show Talk led by Pillow Scholars-in-Residence, held in Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before showtime. A free Post-Show Talk with the artists followed the Friday matinee performance.

The presentation of Dutch National Ballet at Jacob’s Pillow is supported by the Dutch Culture USA program of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York.

This project has received funding through a grant from the Netherland-America Foundation.

Major underwriting support from Jeff Davis and Michael Miller.

This program is supported in part by the Neil Chrisman Fund for International Dance.

This performance took place August 2-6, 2023.

This summer, Jacob’s Pillow celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip hop—the dynamic culture and art movement catalyzed in the Bronx in August 1973—with a “festival within the Festival.” The one-of-a-kind program in the Ted Shawn Theatre featured dance artists including Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater, which returned to the Pillow after 13 years. Noted for coining the terms “street dance theater” and “hip hop concert dance,” Harris has been celebrated as a pioneer of hip hop dance theater. The London Times called Harris “the Basquiat of the U.S. contemporary dance scene” who “has literally embodied the history of hip-hop dance.” The company will perform Nuttin’ but a Word, described in a recent New York Times review as “fabulous” and “great fun.”

The program also featured the world premiere of two works commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow specifically for the Festival: a new duet by hip hop icons Rokafella and Kwikstep, and a work performed by Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary artists d. Sabela Grimes and the Ladies of Hip Hop. Conceived by Grimes, this piece is made by the Joan B. Hunter New Work Commission.

This week of campus-wide excitement also featured performances on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, an All Styles Dance Battle, and a PillowTalk celebrating the many culture-bearers of the form.

The Ted Shawn Theatre performances of Hip Hop Across the Pillow were preceded by a free 15-minute Pre-Show Talk led by Pillow Scholars-in-Residence, held in Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before showtime. A free Post-Show Talk with the artists followed the Friday matinee performance in the Ted Shawn Theatre.

This performance took place July 19-23, 2023.

Based in New York City, crowd-pleasing Pillow favorite Dorrance Dance was founded in 2011 by Artistic Director Michelle Dorrance—recipient of the 2013 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award—with the goal to engage with audiences on a musical and emotional level while sharing the complex history and powerful legacy of tap dance. This summer, the company performed SOUNDspace, one of the early works that brought Michelle Dorrance to prominence, on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, including never-before-seen elements created specifically for the Ted Shawn Theatre. The program also featured 45th & 8th, a new work featuring the original compositions of “breathtaking vocalist” Aaron Marcellus (The New York Times).

With a long history of performances at the Pillow, Dorrance Dance’s work challenges the audience’s preconceptions of tap dance. Dorrance Dance received a Bessie Award in 2011 for the inaugural performances of Remembering Jimmy and Three to One and in 2015 for The Blues Project, a collaboration with co-creators Dormeshia, Michelle Dorrance, Derick K. Grant, and musician Toshi Reagon alongside her band BIGLovely, which premiered at the Pillow in 2013. The company has performed to critical acclaim in many venues across the U.S. including The Joyce Theater, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, and Vail Dance Festival—and internationally in Canada, Spain, Germany, and Hong Kong. Michelle Dorrance breaks the mold of tap dance by experimenting with the emotional range of the form “while exposing its true nature: that it is music” (The New York Times).

All performances by Dorrance Dance were preceded by a free 15-minute Pre-Show Talk led by Pillow Scholars-in-Residence, held in Blake’s Barn 30 minutes before showtime. A free Post-Show Talk with the artists followed the Friday matinee performance.

Major underwriting support from Roger Tilles.