From January 29 – February 9, dani tirrell will use Pillow Lab residency to develop a new piece titled The Children Were Never Promised a Home on Your Plantation. The work will delve into the experiences of queer, trans, and femme individuals within family structures, utilizing improvisational techniques rooted in African diasporic practices and drawing inspiration from line dancing on the proscenium stage. Examining the roles of women in family history, the movement score will focus on matriarchy, the transition into elderhood, and the impact of traditional notions of femininity on family dynamics. In the lead up to the Pillow Lab residency, tirrell shared a bit about tirrell’s artistic practice and the inspiration behind the new work.
What’s inspiring you right now?
Family structures as it relates to queer, trans, and femme individuals, Black social dances (particularly line dances), as well as cooking and meal sharing.
What can audiences expect from your time in the Pillow Lab?
We are exploring how we navigate our roles within our families while embracing our multiple identities. Some of us identify as trans, some as cis, and some as femme. I am curious about what this all means as I navigate my place in my family, especially now that my mother has passed away. How does being queer, on the trans spectrum, and femme impact my place in my biological family? Furthermore, how does line dancing play a role in the changing dynamics of our family? Who knows the steps? Who takes the lead? Who follows? How simple or complex is it? What happens when the steps become intricate and challenging? We want this experience to be more like a casual family gathering, focusing on food, conversation, and social dance, rather than a formal presentation.
I want the dance to focus on joy, community, and releasing the burden of trying to be an important artist. I want to be important to the people I am with every day.
Is there a piece of advice or wisdom that has stuck with you as an artist?
Currently, I keep reminding myself to have fun with it. I want the dance to focus on joy, community, and releasing the burden of trying to be an important artist. I want to be important to the people I am with every day. I want them to see themselves in the work. That is the wisdom I remind myself of every day.
What’s one challenge you’re excited to tackle in your current project?
Learning more than 20 line dances, and blending them while preserving their authenticity and honoring their origins. Introducing line dance to the “concert stage” will pose a challenge.
How has your cultural background or heritage influenced your work?
I learned dance from my family and community before there was even talk of a dance studio, especially learning from the Black women in my life. I learned to hit the one/two because of them. This new work is actually about honoring them and what they birthed into me.
What’s one thing you always have with you in the studio?
A cute house music playlist, laughter, and a concluding question mark the end of our rehearsal for the day. This time, the concluding question will be something like “What is birthing you right now?” or “What are you birthing right now?” This may change as we go along.
Can you describe your artistic journey in three words?
Fear, growth, joy.
Is there something you’re currently reading, watching, or listening to that’s influencing your work?
The Deep by Rivers Solomon and the song “The Deep” by clipping (thank you Akoiya Harris for the recommendation).
What’s next for you after your residency at the Pillow Lab?
I am doing part two of my latest work Elysium: Leviticus or Love and to walk amongst HUMANS! Book II. in Seattle, WA the end of May 2025. I am going to develop this new work more and see where it goes.
What do you hope to take away from your time at Jacob’s Pillow?
I want to understand more. Why am I still doing this? Why has it shifted since I first started? Why do I still think that dance is important? I want to take with me the history of Black dance artists who have been in this space and hold that close to my heart.
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.