March 28, 2017 – (Becket, MA) – The 2017 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, a prestigious honor that carries a $25,000 cash prize, will be presented to choreographer, performer, writer, educator, and speaker Liz Lerman in acknowledgement of her vision and outstanding contributions to the dance field. Long ago dubbed the “Democrat of Dance” by Alan M. Kriegsman of The Washington Post, Lerman’s extraordinary career of the past four decades includes a wide range of groundbreaking work. Established in 2007, the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award’s previous recipients include the legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham; MacArthur Fellows Michelle Dorrance and Kyle Abraham; and choreographer, performer, and artistic director Camille A. Brown, among others.
“Liz is a creative visionary,” says Jacob’s Pillow Director Pamela Tatge. “Since the 1970s, she has built bridges to other domains and expanded where dance lives in our society. She has paved the way for a whole generation of dance makers to discover the power of social change through community engagement and by, as she puts it, ‘rattling around in other people’s universes.’ Her vision, artistry and her spirit of inquiry continue to dramatically shape the field. As the Pillow embarks on its next evolution of research and development, we find it particularly important to honor one of the seminal forces of this work in our country.”
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