Contemporary Ballet

Contemporary Ballet | June 10–23

Alexandra Damiani and Matthew Neenan, Program Directors

Matthew Neenan, Gala Choreographer | John Sauer, Accompanist | Artist Faculty: Jonathan Alsberry for Aszure Barton, Alicia Graf Mack, Edwaard Liang, Emily Molnar, Acacia Schachte, and other artists to be announced. Read more about Artist Faculty.
For 22 advanced pre-professional or early-career professional ballet dancers, age 16 and up.

The Contemporary Ballet Program is directed by Alexandra Damiani, former artistic director of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and Matthew Neenan, co-founder of Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet company BalletX. They will lead an esteemed artist faculty in coaching classically trained dancers to successfully approach multiple contemporary movement vocabularies integral to the repertoire of today’s leading ballet companies.

Dancers will work with choreographers who will both create, and set, work on them. They will perform a world premiere by Matthew Neenan for the Festival Opening Gala on June 15 and be coached in the choreography of Aszure Barton, which they will present on June 22 during the opening week of the Festival.

This truly dance-immersive experience includes living onsite and having exclusive Festival artist interactions each week such as Master Classes led by company artistic directors and career-building discussions with company members. Dancers see five Festival companies on three stages, attend Festival events such as artist and scholar-led talks, and research dance interests and assignments in the Jacob’s Pillow Archives. These experiences are integral to the development of a unique artistic point of view. Check out companies performing in Festival 2019.