Pillow Lab:
Theresa Ruth Howard

Pillow Lab:
Theresa Ruth Howard

Residency: March 13-24, 2024
Showing: March 23, 2024

Theresa Ruth Howard and The Pathways to Performance (PTP) Choreographic Program return to Jacob’s Pillow for their second Pillow Lab as a part of the collaboration between the Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow, and Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet (MoBBallet), founded by Theresa Ruth Howard. MoBBallet’s PTP Choreographic Program cultivates and mentors Black choreographers (and those of color) who are working specifically within the ballet idiom, as well as contemporary choreographers interested in investigating ballet vocabulary. PTP aids established, though unknown and overlooked, dance makers in breaking the glass ceilings of the dance industry by providing concrete opportunities to create and present work while working to codify a studio culture that supports and reflects the shift in the ballet world related to equity, dancer agency and communication. PTP’s second Pillow Lab will focus on the development of works, which are set to be presented at both the Kennedy Center and the Pillow in July 2024. 

About Theresa Ruth Howard

Hailed by The New York Times as “A Force for Change,” Howard is a writer, diversity strategist, and former ballet dancer who has been a frequent Scholar-in-Residence at Jacob’s Pillow. She is the visionary founder and curator of MoBBallet (MoBBallet.org), which has been a pioneer in the efforts to create cultural reform supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in the field of ballet and the classical arts through robust education and advocacy. MoBBallet has expanded the perception of ballet (who it is for and who participates) through its dynamic digital archive, illuminating the history of Blacks in ballet. Its captivating offerings include an Animated Timeline, Roll Call, Constellation Project, and digital installations. Alongside this archive in MoBBallet’s efforts is a series of educational and professional development initiatives, prominently represented by the annual MoBBallet Symposium. 

Howard’s impact transcends the ballet industry, and extends outside of MoBBallet. Howard is an internationally-recognized diversity strategist, speaker, consultant, and curator who has worked with The Royal Opera, Dutch National Ballet, and American Guild of Musical Artists. Howard is also a notable dance writer, praised by former New York Times lead dance critic Alastair Macaulay as “one of the most valuable writers on dance today.” Through her work, Howard’s life motto resounds powerfully: “The only way to make the world a better place is to be better people in it!”