This performance took place July 7, 2023.

Tommie-Waheed Evans merges urban street dance and contemporary dance through movement propelled by gospel music and polyrhythmic sounds. He established waheedworks in Philadelphia in 2006 with a mission to create a radically collaborative body of work that speaks to human life through movement. At the Pillow, Evans and his company presented Bodies as Site of Faith and Protest, a work that explored the idea of bodies uniting in protest, moving alongside and within Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech “We Shall Overcome.” This performance directly followed a free onsite PillowTalk, presented with Great Barrington’s Du Bois Freedom Center and the Du Bois Forum, titled “Legacies of the Black Berkshires: An Evening with David Levering Lewis.”

This performance took place July 6, 2023.

Latin dance rounded out week two of the Festival as Boston salsa troupe Querencia Dance Company performed on the outdoor stage, with high-energy dances by performance teams as well as a duet by company leaders Michelle Garcia and Julian De Las Nieves. The performance included audience engagement and a mini social dance at the end of the performance, where audience members were invited to salsa dance together.

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 28-July 2, 2023

A longtime Pillow favorite, Mark Morris Dance Group opened Festival 2023 with the evening-length work The Look of Love, an homage to the music of Burt Bacharach that had its world premiere in 2022, A towering figure of popular music, Bacharach is known for his soaring melodies and unique orchestrations influenced by jazz, rock, and Brazilian music. The work features original choreography by Morris and new musical arrangements by Ethan Iverson, performed live by an ensemble of piano, trumpet, bass, and drums, with singer, actress, and Broadway star Marcy Harriell on lead vocals.

Called “the Mozart of Modern Dance” for his musicality, devotion to music, and movement versatility, Mark Morris has distinguished himself as a prolific ballet, modern dance, and opera choreographer and director. He made his Pillow debut in 1982 while his company first appeared here in 1986 and has returned for more than twenty seasons since, amassing one of the most extensive Pillow performance records of any artist.

Watch Mark Morris Dance Group on Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive:

• Sport from 2019
• V from 2011

Limón Dance Company

Available On Demand | January 9-February 19

Limón Dance Company was filmed live during Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2022.

Celebrated as one of the world’s greatest modern dance groups, the Limón Dance Company marked its 75th anniversary in 2022.

Founded in 1946, Limón Dance Company is a thriving legacy of José Limón and his mentors Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, whose innovative works revolutionized dance in America with their dramatic expression, technical mastery, and expansive yet nuanced movement. The celebratory program featured a new work by choreographer/dancer/musician Olivier Taparga, originally from Burkina Faso, commissioned by the Pillow for the 90th Anniversary thanks to the Joan B. Hunter New Work Commission.

Black Grace

Available On Demand | February 6-March 19

Black Grace was filmed live during Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2022.

Dedicated to the rich storytelling traditions of the South Pacific, New Zealand-based Black Grace masterfully blends contemporary and Samoan dance genres, expressing them with “phenomenal strength, stamina and spirit” (The New Zealand Herald). The company has been praised as “the most positive, living expression of any New Zealand art” (Sunday Star Times).

Founded by Neil Ieremia in 1995, the company masterfully blends contemporary and indigenous Samoan dance genres with a body of work “that crosses geographic and social boundaries, often with innovative flair and theatricality” (The Boston Globe). New York Times critic Brian Seibert said, “the dancers break into motion, and once they start, they barely ever stop. The distinguishing spirit of this troupe is incredible speed and stamina, an exhilarating, seemingly inexhaustible energy.”

This program included O Le Olaga – Life, a tribute to Ieremia’s parents and a celebration of life set to Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria in D Major, as well as Fatu, a new work inspired by the work of Samoan painter and sculptor Fatu Akelei Feu’u and set to an original soundtrack both live and recorded. The company also reprised Minoi, a high-energy virtuosic work featured in their first Pillow performance.

Encore: Dallas Black Dance Theatre

Available On Demand | May 8-June 18

Dallas Black Dance Theatre was filmed live during Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2021.

Founded in 1976 by Ann M. Williams and currently led by Artistic Director Melissa M. Young, Dallas Black Dance Theatre has captivated audiences in the Dallas Arts District and nationwide for over 45 years with contemporary modern dance by the nation’s leading choreographers. In a highly-anticipated Jacob’s Pillow debut, Dallas Black Dance Theatre performs a Pillow-commissioned world premiere by sought-after choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie, celebrated for his work with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Pillow-commissioned work for DBDT is made possible by the Joan B. Hunter New Work Commission.

Curriculum in Motion™ Institute Public Presentations

Saturday, July 26 and Sunday, July 27 from 10:30am-12:30pm | Free
Jameson Family Lobby, Doris Duke Theatre

In this public gathering, the 2025-25 Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion™ Institute participants will share inspiring stories of how dance fosters community building and creative dialogue. Visitors will hear how Curriculum in Motion™ Institute dance educators use dance to explore questions, challenges, and themes in partnership with K-12 classrooms, museums, after-school programs, medical providers, businesses, and civic and cultural organizations in Berkshire County and beyond. These projects demonstrate the power of dance-making as a tool for connection, reflection, and change. A Q&A will follow each presentation. Please join us for one or both events, as different artists will present each session.

About the Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion™ Institute

The Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion™ Institute is a 10-month professional development opportunity for choreographers and dance teaching artists looking to strengthen their choreographic skills with a community building focus. Participants work with community partners to investigate how dance can be used to honor a community’s questions and needs. This “dance-makers’ think tank” is facilitated by core faculty: Celeste Miller (Institute Director), Kimberli Boyd, and Michael Richter.

The School at Jacob’s Pillow: Contemporary Ballet Performance Ensemble

Saturday, June 28 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage 
World Premiere

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 two-week Contemporary Ballet Program, featuring original repertoire by leading choreographers who serve as Artist Faculty: Program Director Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Guest Choreographer Durante Verzola.

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.

The School at Jacob’s Pillow: Contemporary Performance Ensemble

Saturday, July 19 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage
World Premiere

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 Contemporary Program, featuring original repertoire by leading choreographers who serve as Artist Faculty: Program Director Milton Myers and Associate Program Director Francisco Martinez. The performance will feature work by guest choreographers Peter Chu, Andrea Miller, and Aszure Barton.

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.