Dancers all over the globe come to the Pillow seeking an artistic retreat, a generative atmosphere where choreographic ideas can flow freely in collaboration with other artists. The Pillow Lab residency program, which utilizes the Pillow’s state-of-the-art studio spaces during a ten-day residency throughout the year, allows artists to incubate the development, research, and technical stages of new works.
For the first Pillow Lab of the 2024-2025 season, from October 16-27, Montréal and NYC-based Hélène Simoneau Danse plans to develop a new work titled Late Bloomer. A French-Canadian choreographer whose work explores themes of intimacy, agency, identity, sexuality, and power, Hélène’s Late Bloomer will examine themes of power in the context of belonging. Read more about the artist below to discover her current inspirations, goals, and what lies in her future.
What’s inspiring you right now?
At the moment, I am inspired by a theme that has been part of my work for some time: the relationship of an individual within a group. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a family with eight siblings; I find myself fascinated by group dynamics and the way each person is unique within their community. For this project, I am particularly interested in how we belong. How is belonging connected to survival? What is belonging versus fitting in?
Is there a piece of advice or wisdom that has stuck with you as an artist?
One thing a fellow artist said to me early in my career was that you cannot wait to be chosen. It has stayed with me and guided a lot of my decision making. As a dancer, I was trained to aim for excellence as a technician and wait for someone to see it through an audition or chance. But I did not have the agency to direct the path of my own career or to think of a path that has multiple branches. I was often waiting for others to choose me, waiting for others to decide that I am an artist. Once I decided for myself, yes, I am an artist and I have something to offer, only then was I really able to take initiative to fulfill my goals and follow my ambition as a dancer and maker.
What do you hope to take away from your time at Jacob’s Pillow?
I am really looking forward to the uninterrupted time to create. To show up each day at the same time to the same place with no commute is a balm for my nervous system. A calm environment I know will allow me to stay in an intuitive place. Like many people, I am very sensitive to sound and can find myself distracted by the chaos that can be a city commute or a city rehearsal schedule. It takes me a moment to shed that before I can delve into making. Creative decisions for me flow with ease when I can stay in a playful place, if I can reduce stressors for myself and my team, I know we can all bring our curiosities to the room unburdened by distractions. Even though we will still be entering and exiting the actual studio practice, I know that I’ll be able to let my mind stay active creatively, I’ll be able to let my mind wander and that’s always when I can fully digest the events of the day and form a plan for the next. This environment is not only a luxury for any artist, it is a necessity for exploration, collaboration, and discovery.
What’s next for you after your residency at the Pillow Lab?
Next, we head to Dance Cleveland to share Late Bloomer as a work-in-progress. It is a gift to be able to share mid-process with an audience. So much can be gathered in terms of research by putting something out that isn’t finished. Yes, it’s super vulnerable, but I feel very supported by this residency at the Pillow, a previous residency at NCCAkron, and by Dance Cleveland in getting the work to a place that will elicit some useful feedback. I’m also trusting the dancers and the whole artistic team. It is always a group effort and everyone here is highly capable.
Our next creation residency will be at Banff Centre in February where we will develop the work into an evening-length piece over three weeks of creation, with a technical residency, and performance. I’ve never had a technical residency before and am so excited to experience this level of support for the work and for the people working with me. It is thrilling.
This Pillow Pick was written by Lucy Kudlinski and published on October 3, 2024.
Inside the Pillow Lab is an intimate film series that captures works in process and behind-the-scenes moments of what it’s like for artists to live, work, and rehearse together in residencies on the Pillow’s retreat-like campus.
A year-round incubator of new work, the Pillow Lab hosts ten artist residencies this fall, winter, and spring. Learn more about the dance artists who will be joining the Pillow during crucial development, research, and technical stages of choreography-driven projects.