Pillow Pride

Inside/Out: Ebony Williams Choreography & Dancers
Aug 2, 6:15pm

For a special Pillow Pride Inside/Out performance, Ebony Williams and dancers premiere Title XI, a piece that focuses on supporting and celebrating the LGBTQIAPD community #respectmypronoun, alongside the work Victoria that brings attention to the concerns of the heroin crisis that affects large communities without discrimination. Learn more | FREE

PillowTalk: Dance We Must: Another Look | Aug 3, 4PM

Changing attitudes about world cultures and gender roles are brought into focus by the current exhibit of costumes and artifacts, discussed here from various angles. Speakers include exhibit curators Norton Owen and Patsy Gay, Shawn biographer Paul Scolieri, and choreographer/performer Lionel Popkin. | FREE

Pillow Pride Dance Party
Aug 3, after evening performances

Jacob’s Pillow’s annual LGBTQIA+ party is the most popular dance party of the summer with performances by Host Tyler Ashley, The Dauphine of Bushwick, music by Berkshire-beloved DJ BFG, unforgettable moments captured in Berkshire Photo Booth, and yummy bites by Braise Worthy. Learn more | $15 or included with your ticket to A.I.M by Kyle Abraham or THE DAY
Sponsored by Berkshire Photo Booth.

Historic Tour | Aug 4, 11am

Ted Shawn’s company of men dancers literally built Jacob’s Pillow decades before Stonewall, fighting for a man’s right to dance in a society that frowned on such a career choice. Director of Preservation Norton Owen will lead a special historical tour of the Jacob’s Pillow grounds, focusing on the pivotal events of the 1930s and our role in gay history. | FREE

Meet at the Bell in front of the Ted Shawn Theatre!

Brunch at Inside/Out | Aug 4, Noon

Join us for a picnic brunch at Inside/Out before The Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus (HGMC) performs at 1pm in celebration of our annual Pillow Pride weekend. Come enjoy refreshments, mingle with staff and peers, and celebrate our diverse LGBTQIA+ community in the Berkshires. | $10

Co-hosted by:
Kyle Abraham (Artistic Director, A.I.M)
Ian Spencer Bell (Dancer, Choreographer & Poet)
Drew Herzig (Indivisible Pittsfield)
Dawn Lane (Artistic Director, Community Access to the Arts (CATA))
Kenneth Mercure (Rainbow Seniors of Berkshire County)
Robert Reader (Executive Director, Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus)
Gabby Squailia (DJ BFG)
Adam H. Weinert (Co-founder, Hudson Dance Collective & Alum of
The School at Jacob’s Pillow)

Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus | Aug 4, 1pm

In a special Sunday Pillow Pride performance, The Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus (HGMC) brings live choir to the Inside/Out stage. Celebrating their seventh season, the 60+ voice ensemble is celebrated for its musicianship, creative programming, and community outreach. HGMC sings a wide range of music as a catalyst for enriching and educating both participants and audiences by demonstrating to individuals the many ways that beautiful music positively impacts our world. | FREE

Film: Hot to Trot | Aug 4, 4:30pm

This award-winning documentary film goes inside the fascinating but little-known world of same-sex competitive ballroom dance and follows a small international cast of four magnetic men and women, on and off the dance floor, over a four-year period. An immersive character study–and an idiosyncratic attack on bigotry–this rousing, powerful story unfurls with the rhythms and energy of dramatic cinema. Learn more.