INSPIRIT
This performance took place on July 19, 2024.
Pillow Lab Artist | Live Music
The outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage hosted INSPIRIT, a dance company for a special one-night-only performance on July 19. This performance included a “Choose What You Pay” ticketing option, with a suggested ticket price of $25.
Choreographer Christal Brown’s newest project, What We Ask of Flesh, was developed in a 2021 Pillow Lab, and combines soundscapes, installation art, and the dancers’ physicality to explore the stories that we carry in our bodies, and the capacity of human life. By harnessing the transcendent power of dance, INSPIRIT strives to create and sustain social change. Originally founded as a platform for female artists and choreographers, it now champions collaborative creativity and community engagement. Evolving from a performance ensemble to a collaborative methodology, INSPIRIT embodies the fusion of artistry and executive innovation, making dance a medium for unity and artistic growth.
Founding Artistic Director Christal Brown has an extensive history as a performer, appearing with Chuck Davis’ African-American Dance Ensemble, Andrea E. Woods/Souloworks, Gesel Mason Performance Projects, the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and Urban Bush Women.
Shawn L. Stevens and Friends
This performance took place on June 26, 2024.
The outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage hosted musician, dancer, and storyteller Shawn L. Stevens (Red Eagle), enrolled member of the Stockbridge Munsee band of Mohicans and Friends, for a special opening performance of Festival 2024. Jacob’s Pillow is sited on the ancestral homelands of the Muh-he-con-ne-ok or Mohican people. This performance included a “Choose What You Pay” ticketing option, with a suggested ticket price of $25.
A spiritualist, musician, dancer, storyteller, historian, and sharer of knowledge, Shawn has been fulfilling his path journey for the past few decades by doing a variety of sharing in his people’s ancestral lands as well as the Midwest. Shawn describes himself as a “helper” to not only his people but to all. He explains that his spiritual path is to share the many things given to him for spiritual direction and purpose.
Shawn has recently presented work at Waldorf School, Berkshire Pulse, Austin Riggs Center, Kripalu Yoga Center, Williams College, Stockbridge Library, Darrow School, and Alliance for a Viable Future where he is now Co-Director.
Joining Shawn onstage was Chris Stevens, Raiden Stevens, Wanona Spencer, Gracie Spencer, Madalyn Romero, Riley Mohawk, Jeremy Mohawk, and Waylon Welch.
Generous support for the presentation of Shawn L. Stevens and Friends was provided by an anonymous donor.
House of Jit & A Lady in the House Dance Company
This performance took place on August 2, 2024.
Pillow Debut
The outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage hosted dancers from Detroit’s House of Jit and A Lady In The House Dance Company’s Nubian Néné for a special one-night-only performance on August 2. This performance included a “Choose What You Pay” ticketing option, with a suggested ticket price of $25.
This shared program offered a thrilling peek into the world of Jit, a regional social dance from Detroit marked by acrobatic flips and kicks, drops and spins, and feet that hit the air at high speed. House of Jit is a collective whose founder, Mike Manson, was featured on the television show So You Think You Can Dance, and who has performed around the world. For New England audiences, this was a rare opportunity to enjoy House of Jit’s unmatched style live, as the group works to spread the Detroit Jit culture into the mainstream.
Ticket buyers also saw a program by A Lady In The House’s founder Nubian Néné, a legendary dancer in waacking and house dance styles. Born in Montréal, Nubian Néné is a powerful artist who wears many hats: host, judge, performer, director, choreographer, community builder, and more. She teaches, judges and performs nationally and internationally, and has appeared on stages including the New Victory Theater, Gramercy Theater, and at Lincoln Center. She is the founder of Waack Bazaar Festival as well as A Lady In The House Dance Co., and was a CUNY Dance Initiative 2022-23 Artist in Residence. At Jacob’s Pillow, she hosted last summer’s All Styles Dance Battle, and also performed on the Leir Stage with Passion Fruit in 2022 as well as with the collective Nefer Global Movement in 2023.
Miguel Gutierrez
This performance took place on July 17, 2024.
Pillow Lab Artist | Live Music
The outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage hosted Miguel Gutierrez for a special one-night-only performance on July 17. This performance included a “Choose What You Pay” ticketing option, with a suggested ticket price of $25.
A living legend of contemporary dance-making in the downtown New York scene, Miguel Gutierrez is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Lenapehoking/Brooklyn, NY and Tovaangar/Los Angeles, CA. He creates empathetic and irreverent spaces for queer and trans people of color to dream. While at the Pillow, Gutierrez will perform sueño, a new music project that “incorporates dancers and live musicians, offering the audience a heightened world of fantastical drama” (The Highline).
His work has been presented internationally in venues such as Festival d’Automne/Paris, the Walker Art Center, and in the 2014 Whitney Biennial. He is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, United States Artists Fellowship, Foundation for Contemporary Arts Award, four NY Dance and Performance Bessie Awards, and a 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award. He is an Associate Professor of Choreography at UCLA in the department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance.
ASL interpretation will be available for this performance.
Please note: adult themes will be referenced in this performance.
Find Gutierrez’s music projects on the following platforms:
M.A.D.D. Rhythms
This performance took place on June 27-28, 2024.
Based in Chicago, M.A.D.D. (Making A Difference Dancing) Rhythms is a multi-generational tap dance collective with one passion: to spread the love and joy of tap worldwide. Featuring dancers with wide-ranging backgrounds from all over Chicago, the company’s versatility and sense of play is a potent draw for all ages. Pillow audiences will see the full-length work A M.A.D.D. Mixtape, created by Donnetta Jackson, which combines the rhythmic connection of Tap and Footwork into an inspiring onstage party, featuring a live DJ spinning some of hip hop and R&B’s most treasured musical gems.
M.A.D.D. Rhythms has performed widely across Chicago and neighboring cities, as well as at conferences, festivals, and community events. Through live shows as well as their Tap Academy—which has educated hundreds of students—the company is committed to bringing tap history and culture front-and-center for youth in underserved communities and unexpected places. In their words: access to tap dance “gives a child a greater chance at a positive life… Therefore, we will spread the joy, love, discipline, and expression of tap to as many children as we humanly can!”
M.A.D.D. Rhythms’ founder, Bril Barrett has recently been named a National Endowment of the Arts Heritage Fellow. Read more about this honor and Bril’s work to found M.A.D.D. Rhythms here.
The Royal Ballet of the United Kingdom
This performance took place on July 3-7, 2024.
From England | Pillow Debut | World Premiere | U.S. Premiere | Live Music | Only U.S. Appearance in 2024
One of the most famous and celebrated companies in the world, The Royal Ballet appeared at Jacob’s Pillow for the first time, as the company’s sole stop in the U.S. in 2024. To celebrate this milestone, the festival featured daily back-to-back performances from The Royal Ballet in multiple venues.
The program featured a series of solos and duets from classical repertoire and works by Frederick Ashton, Wayne McGregor, and Christopher Wheeldon. Principal dancer Natalia Osipova performed on opening night (Wednesday, July 3). Other select Royal Ballet Principals performed in this engagement along with a vibrant array of the company’s dancers. See below for the full program.
Based in London, England, The Royal Ballet has been in residence at The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden since 1946. The company was founded by Dame Ninette de Valois in 1931. The company’s celebrated repertory is drawn from 19th-century ballet classics as well as the distinctive English works of its Founder Choreographer Frederick Ashton and Principal Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan, and continues to resonate with audiences strongly today through the striking contemporary sensibility of Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon.
*NOTE: The School at Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Performance Ensemble opened the outdoor evening program on Saturday, July 6 with a performance beginning at 5:15pm. Ticket holders were invited to arrive early to enjoy this additional performance as part of their ticket purchase.
Read a recent feature on our Royal Ballet engagement in The Boston Globe:
- From Covent Garden to the Berkshires: London’s Royal Ballet visits Jacob’s Pillow for the first time
“One of the supreme treasures of the international dance world … The company’s five days of performances at Jacob’s Pillow, its only US engagement this year, are selling out fast.”
The Royal Ballet of the United Kingdom – Outdoor Program
Les Rendezvous – solo
Choreography Frederick Ashton
Music Daniel François Esprit Auber
Musical arrangement Constant Lambert
Les Biches – solo
Choreography Bronislava Nijinska
Music Francis Poulenc
After the Rain – pas de deux
Choreography Christopher Wheeldon
Music Arvo Pärt
Swan Lake – pas de deux from Act II
Choreography Lev Ivanov
Music Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Dance of the Blessed Spirits
Choreography Frederick Ashton
Music Christoph Willibald Gluck
Us – duet
Choreography Christopher Wheeldon
Music Keaton Henson
Carbon Life – I Love You So
Choreography Wayne McGregor
Music Marik Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
Orchestration Jay Wadley
The Dying Swan*
Choreography Mikhail Fokine
Music Camille Saint-Saëns
Le Corsaire – pas de deux
Choreography after Marius Petipa
Music Riccardo Drigo
*The Dying Swan will only be performed on Wednesday, July 3.
Lead underwriting support is provided by Len and Emily Blavatnik.
Major underwriting support is provided by Jeff Davis and Michael Miller and the Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation.
Underwriting support provided by Charles and Deborah Adelman, Carole and Dan Burack, Wendy McCain, Naoimi Seligman and Erni von Simson, and Denise Sobel.
Additional support provided by Ed Grossman.
This program is supported in part by the Neil Chrisman Fund for International Dance.
Public Tours
Saturdays, 5pm
Learn about the history and legends of Jacob’s Pillow on a free 30-minute guided tour of the National Historic Landmark grounds. Guided walking tours, led by Jacob’s Pillow staff and interns, start at the Welcome Center.
Start at the Welcome Center
Tours are free and no registration is required.
For questions, please email [email protected].
This performance took place July 29, 2023.
The outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage celebrated the artistry of Katherine Dunham, and the anniversary of The School at Jacob’s Pillow’s 2002 Dunham Legacy program. This program featured works by alumni from the program: Paloma McGregor Founding Artistic Director of Angela’s Pulse; Michelle Grant-Murray Artistic Director of Olujimi Dance Theatre; and Stephanie McKee, Executive Artistic Director of Junebug Productions.
This performance has passed.
The School at Jacob’s Pillow: Tap Dance Performance Ensemble
Saturday, August 16 at 5:30pm | Henry J. Leir Stage
World Premiere | Live Music
Performances by The School at Jacob’s Pillow Performance Ensembles showcase the work of the next generation of dance artists. This performance is the culmination of a three-week Tap Dance Program, featuring original repertoire by leading choreographers who serve as Artist Faculty: Program Directors Derick K. Grant and Dormeshia.
Dancers of The School at Jacob’s Pillow are apprentices, trainees, pre-professionals, and early-career professionals from around the world. The School’s professional advancement programs are held onsite during the Festival to nurture the artistic voices and growth of the dancers.
Choose What You Pay | Rain or Shine tickets from $40
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Discover the past and present of Festival 2025 artists! Watch historical performances and recent works in our “Coming Attractions” playlist on Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive.
This performance took place August 17, 2023.
Performance ensembles from University of South Florida, University of the Arts, University of Oklahoma, Modesto Junior College, and University of New Mexico, all selected from their American College Dance Association regional conference, performed on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage for one performance only.
The American College Dance Association (ACDA) supports and promotes a wealth of talent and creativity from college and university dance departments. Each spring, ACDA hosts regional conferences around the country with performances, workshops, panels, and classes. At each conference, a panel of expert adjudicators selects works in an anonymous process to be performed at a gala performance which concludes the conference. The dances are choreographed by undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and guest artists. Selected works from each region are identified by regional adjudicators before highlights are selected for this performance at Jacob’s Pillow.
This performance has passed.