Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

Presentation and artist support: the Pillow's 90th anniversary Festival in 2022 featured 10-weeks of programming in the newly renovated ted shawn theatre and on the outdoor henry j. leir stage. We welcomed 10 companies to the ted shawn theatre, 31 companies to the outdoor henry j. leir stage, 21 companies making their Pillow debut, 3 on the road performances across berkshire county, 3 pop-up performances, 5 programs from the school at Jacob's Pillow featuring 116 artists, the return to Festival parties, and one epic Dance battle. In all, 514 artists came to Jacob's Pillow this past summer to perform and present. Highlights from the Festival include sw!ng out which brought the best of the swing Dance world to Jacob's Pillow along with live music from the 12-piece eyal vilner big band; music from the sole presenting i didn't come to stay, a work developed through a Pillow lab residency; and miami city ballet closed the season with a diverse program including two historic works that were new to the Pillow: george balanchine's serenade, and jerome robbins' antique epigraphs. Both of these pieces were performed with a live orchestra, made possible by the expansion of the ted shawn theatre, and our brand new orchestra pit.along with week-long performances in the ted shawn theatre and on the henry j. leir stage, Jacob's Pillow presented 20 one-night performances including indigenous enterprise; collage Dance collective; les ballet afrik; yue yin Dance company; and ladies of hip-hop Dance collective, among others. The Festival featured works performed throughout our campus including michelle n. gibson, a cultural ambassador of the diasporic Dance traditions of the black community in new orleans, performing with nojo 7, a dynamic ensemble drawn from the full new orleans jazz orchestra.pillow lab: Pillow lab residencies continue to meet a critical need in the Dance field, providing choreographers with essential resources to further develop their creative process. Our 90th anniversary Festival featured a total of 10 projects developed in part through a Pillow lab residency. In 2022 we hosted 12 labs with the following artists: deborah goffe, kayla hamilton, ladies of hip hop, gesel mason, taylor stanley, ananya chatterjae, emma cianci, sonya tayeh, michael sakamoto, faye driscoll, and mythili prakash. Digital programming: in october 2022, Jacob's Pillow launched "jacob's Pillow on demand," featuring an array of new digital offerings that will premiered between october 2022 - may 2023. The Pillow broadcast six digital productions from the 90th anniversary Festival and released them on a regular timed and promoted schedule. We also broadcast encore presentations of films produced during our 2021 Festival season. "jacob's Pillow on demand" kicked off with the release of america(na) to me, the first performance engagement of the Pillow's 90th anniversary season, and was followed by online presentations of sw!ng out, limon Dance company, black grace, and seminal works by other artists who have graced the stages on our historic campus.

Community engagement: in 2022 Jacob's Pillow kicked off the Festival with the return of community day, a family-friendly afternoon celebrating berkshire culture with classes, workshops, tours, and performances, all free and open to anyone. We also resumed the beloved community class series, offering morning classes in ballet, yoga, contemporary Dance, and pilates, four days a week with 752 participants attending. Additionally, workshops with Festival artists held on the Jacob's Pillow campus provided over 400 community members with an opportunity to experience Dance with the artists who graced our stages this summer. Participants ranged from ages 5 to 60 years old and included couples as well as families with young children. A series of community workshops in pittsfield gathered people into public spaces with the idea that everybody is included in shared learning, inclusive movement experiences, and community conversations with artists. In 2021 the Pillow launched on the road, a new free series that brings Dance programming of the highest caliber to the wider berkshire community, and features the work of local artists. This summer's performances took place in four towns - north adams, pittsfield, great barrington, and becket - and welcomed over 880 community members. This series has been an important addition to our community engagement programs.

Education: over the last three years, the school has responded to unprecedented circumstances while continuing to guide dancers in evolving distinctive artistic voices, building the skills and relationships necessary to become exceptional performers and creative collaborators; and asking them to consider their roles as Dance artist citizens, in their companies and communities. In 2022, the school at Jacob's Pillow resumed all five programs in person, welcoming 116 students to our historic grounds. In the performance ensemble programs, which includes the contemporary ballet, contemporary, musical theatre and Dance theatre, 52 students received scholarship support.