When modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn purchased the farm that would become Jacob’s Pillow in 1931, he was seeking an artistic retreat, a haven where his choreographic ideas could flow freely among the Berkshire hills. Today, dancers from across the globe come to the Pillow seeking a similar experience as a part of the Pillow Lab residency program.
Created in 2017 as a reimagination of an ongoing tradition of artistic residencies, the Pillow Lab supports U.S.-based and international dance artists during the critical phases of their work, utilizing the Pillow’s retreat-like atmosphere, generative surroundings, and state-of-the-art studio spaces to incubate the development, research, and technical stages of new works. Stemming from Jacob’s Pillow’s mission to foster dance creation, presentation, education, and preservation, the Pillow Lab strengthens the artistic core of the Pillow while expanding opportunities to engage and deepen public appreciation and support for dance.
Pillow Lab residencies offer opportunities for movement development in all stages of the artistic process. Research residencies allow artists to embrace the early stages of a project without any expectation of an end result, granting the artist full investment in creative investigation. Developmental residencies conclude with an informal work-in-progress showing, giving artists the opportunity to consult with an “outside eye” as they advance their work, a crucial part of the development process.
“At a time when artists are still in recovery mode, space, time, and compensation are vital to their ability to advance their ideas,” said Pamela Tatge, Jacob’s Pillow Executive and Artistic Director. “We are thrilled to support them.”
Inside the Pillow Lab, a documentary series, offers an intimate look at the artistic process in the lab and behind-the-scenes moments of what it’s like for artists to live, work, and rehearse on the Pillow’s retreat-like campus. Artists discuss experiences of exploration and community that emerge from their 10-day residency on the Pillow’s campus.
“Jacob’s Pillow is really more like a temporary home,” said Gabe Brown, son of INSPIRIT’s choreographer and Artistic Director, Christal Brown, during their March 2021 residency. “It’s like a bowl, it’s tilted all of us towards the center and towards each other.”
Emma Cianchi, a Naples-based choreographer who came to the Pillow Lab in Spring 2022, emphasized the generative energy of being at the Pillow: “It’s magical, there’s a suspension of time here.”
In many cases, the works developed in the Pillow Lab go on to be performed on the Pillow’s stages. No. 1, created by Company Wang Ramirez in collaboration with New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns, grew out of a Pillow Lab residency and was performed in the Festival in 2017 and 2019. In Festival 2024, Camille A. Brown & Dancers danced the world-premiere of I AM, developed in part during Brown’s 2023 Pillow Lab. Explore how you can dive inside the Pillow Lab below!
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.
Several dance works supported by Pillow Lab residencies go on to be performed on the Pillow’s stages, such as this collection of pieces on Dance Interactive.
No. 1, Sara Mearns and Honji Wang
Being Future Being, Emily Johnson
Dime Quién Soy, Nélida Tirado
These Five, Taylor Stanley
Odeon, Ephrat Asherie Dance
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.