Gearing up for Week 6 of Festival 2024, the Pillow welcomes Emma Cianci, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, House of Jit & A Lady In The House Dance Co., and David Dorfman to the Henry J. Leir Outdoor Stage! Adding to this week’s excitement, several artists will be making their Pillow Debut, including Emma Cianchi, House of Jit, A Lady in the House Dance Company and Bindlestiff Family Cirkus. Read below to learn more about this incredible bill of artists, and gain some insight into what they have planned for the Leir Stage!
Emma Cianchi–World Premiere
Emma Cianchi is a 2022 Pillow Lab Artist based in Naples, Italy. Cianchi’s company will present its world premiere of Il mare che ci unisce (translation: the sea that unites us). The presentation at Jacob’s Pillow is supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture and American Dance Abroad. In support of wider a mission for collaboration between American Dance Abroad and Woman Made. Emma Cianchi will perform on Wednesday, July 21 on the Henry J. Leir Outdoor Stage.
How does it feel to return to the Pillow? What changes has the company gone through since your Pillow Lab?
Returning to the Pillow and bringing to the stage the final version of the creation which began right here in 2022 – thanks to the residency at the Pillow Lab – is an incredible thrill.
This place and this experience has allowed the company to reflect on the themes of distance and contact and the relationships that are created despite it. Il mare che ci unisce (The sea that unites us) is a creation for this place, for people who feel strong bonds despite geographic distances.
Tell us a bit about the work you’ll be presenting this week.
The choreographic work is based on body techniques that blend floor work, contact improvisation and some suggestions from Italian folk dances. Together with the music, also an original creation by Lino Cannavacciuolo, the suggestions that unite the choreographer’s homeland – the Campi Flegrei – and Becket, ancient Neapolitan references and the purest sensations of the American world are interwoven.
How have you prepared for this performance?
For this work, dancers who have worked extensively in Europe, with different choreographers, but who at the same time are united by a deep bond, even one of pure friendship, with the choreographer, come together. The preparation work includes everything that such a commitment requires: seriousness, sincerity, emotion.
What are you most excited about for this performance on the Leir Stage?
During the Pillow Lab (in March 2022) we saw the Leir Stage – beautiful even though the forest was not fully bloomed as it was still cold – and thought about how nice it would be to do the performance there. Two years later we are here. It is simply amazing.
What do you want audiences to think about when watching this performance?
I would like them to get involved in the suggestions. In fact, the choreography and the music do not tell a single story–there is no narrative dramaturgy–but propose a series of suggestions, it would be nice if everyone grasped their own and made it their own.
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus–Pillow Debut
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus will be presenting a combination of vaudeville and circus with addition of juggler, acrobats, and more. This one-night-only performance will offer an interactive experience for all ages to join in on! Bindlestiff Family Cirkus will perform on Thursday, August 1 on the Henry J. Leir Outdoor Stage, making their Pillow debut.
How does it feel to make your Pillow debut?
It is a delight to be bringing circus and variety arts onto one of the nation’s top dance stages. Movement of bodies and props is at the heart of the circus.
Tell us a bit about the work you’ll be presenting this week.
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus will be offering novelty and grace. One of the artists is a master vaudevillian and the other comes from the more contemporary world of circus artists. Together, the show offers a glimpse into the evolution of an art form.
How have you prepared for this performance?
We have been presenting circus acts on stages for 30 years. Nearly every day we are practicing and performing. I cannot think of a better way to prepare to wow audiences.
What are you most excited about for this performance on the Leir Stage?
We are excited to offer new spins on the different ways things move on a stage.
What do you want audiences to think about when watching this performance?
I want the audience to experience joy and wonder when watching the Cirkus at work. I also hope that there will be a few folks in the audience who decide to run away and join the Cirkus.
Nubian Néné/A Lady In The House Dance Company–Pillow Debut
House of Jit, founded by Mike Manson, and A Lady In The House Dance Company, founded by Nubian Néné, will present a shared program on the Leir Stage. Audiences will be thrilled by the world of Jit, a regional social dance from Detroit, and waacking and house dance styles in an exciting integration of social dances. House of Jit and A Lady In The House Dance Co. will both make their Pillow Debut on Friday, August 2 on the Leir Stage.
How does it feel to return to the Pillow? What changes has the company gone through since you last performed here?
I have performed with two different companies before, Passion Fruit Dance Company in 2022, and Nefer Global Movement in 2023. This year marks the first for my company, A Lady in the House Dance, and myself as a soloist. I am looking forward to experiencing the outdoor stage on my own, and sharing my work with the Pillow community.
Tell us a bit about the work you’ll be presenting this week.
I’ve been exploring mental health and its effect on creativity and dance. I will share a 25-minute excerpt of a soon-to-be 60-minute solo performance.
How have you prepared for this performance?
I’ve been in the lab for about two years, and I have had opportunities to be in residencies in both Canada and the U.S. End-of-residency presentations have helped greatly to overstand the process and creation.
What are you most excited about for this performance on the Leir Stage?
Presenting solo work, my work, is exciting.
What do you want audiences to think about when watching this performance?
This show usually has visual arts part of it, and that it is an excerpt, that more people we know have mental health issues, and Black Women are always forgotten.
Mike Manson/House of Jit–Pillow Debut
House of Jit, in the direction of Mike Manson, will be making their Pillow debut in collaboration with Nubian Néné, founder of A Lady in the House Dance Company. Michael Manson Jr. is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher in Detroit, Michigan. His practice surrounded the forms and developments of popping and Detroit Jit. His teachings have been reached across the country and internationally such as Arizona State University, Columbia College Chicago Dance Center, Broadway Dance Center, and Dorrance Dance production company in Ottawa, Canada. Michael was also a featured dancer on the television program So You Think You Can Dance, sharing his work in Jit. Their collaboration will be presented on the Leir Stage, Friday, August 2.
David Dorfman Dance
David Dorfman Dance, from New York, NY, will return after their Pillow Lab residency in 2017. The company will perform (A) Way Out of My Body, featuring live music by singer/songwriter Lizzy de Lise and music director/composer Sam Crawford. David Dorfman Dance will be present their work both Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4 on the Henry J. Leir Stage.
How does it feel to return to the Pillow? What changes has the company gone through since you last performed here?
It feels exhilarating to return to the Pillow! We were last there for research on Aroundtown back in 2017 and it totally spurred us on in super important ways. We have one company member, our key veteran, Nik Owens, who was with us then, and our sound team, Lizzy DeLise and Sam Crawford. Other than that, new wonderful humans, ready to share with the Pillow audiences.
Tell us a bit about the work you’ll be presenting this week.
(A)Way Out of My Body is a meditation on the sanctity of our bodies – when we feel present, when we feel disconnected. It’s about intimacy, empathy, resilience, joy and hope.
How have you prepared for this performance?
We have shortened a couple of sections of this work for the Leir Stage that relied on fully produced lighting effects, but are otherwise presenting it almost in its entirety. We also performed this version in New York City at Bryant Park, so we feel ready!
What are you most excited about for this performance on the Leir Stage?
I haven’t been on the Leir Stage since it’s been redone, and it looks gorgeous! I love outdoor shows and the audiences who attend. Dance is for all, and that makes me happy.
What do you want audiences to think about when watching this performance?
I want folx to think about people they care about, and whether they’ve told them that they love them recently. I want them to feel and experience their bodies, more than observe mere dancing. That’s our goal anyway – enjoy all!!!
This Pillow Pick was written by Mia Ortega and published on July 24, 2024.