As we look back on Festival 2022, we are filled with gratitude for the Berkshire County community and its support for Jacob’s Pillow. Here’s a look back at some of our community events in Festival 2022.
JUNE
Community Day
We began our 90th anniversary season by welcoming hundreds of community members to our campus for the Pillow’s first Community Day since 2019! This free pre-Festival, family-friendly afternoon featured performances by Berkshire County regional dance artists, movement classes, dance-themed children’s activities, tours and a special performance by Cuban flamenco dancer/choreographer, Irene Rodríguez. Also, the public was invited to take a first look at the newly-expanded backstage of the Ted Shawn Theatre.
Thank you to our artists, staff, fellows, interns, vendors, and to you, our community, for creating such a memorable and joyous day! And a special thank you to TG’s Clubhouse, who engaged the community with arts and crafts, including the creation of two communal murals.
See more community day photos here.
Tabling at Farmers Markets, Pride, and Juneteenth
Community Engagement staff teamed up with Marketing to be present in the community for Farmers Markets, Third Thursday celebrations in Pittsfield, Berkshire Pride, and Juneteenth. We loved engaging with many new and familiar faces across the county!
Morning Classes
At Jacob’s Pillow, when the sun rises, it’s time to dance! On weekday mornings, community members and staff came together at 8am for our morning class series, featuring a variety of in-person dance and movement classes open to participants of all experience levels. This summer’s classes included Pilates, Modern/Contemporary, Ballet, and Zumba.
Read more about the history of Pilates at the Pillow here.
Workshops with Festival Artists
Each Sunday of the festival, Workshops with Festival Artists offered community members and movers a chance to explore repertory, genres, and techniques from leading dance artists.
JULY
Lighting the Fire at the Eastern Woodlands Homesite
Built by Nipmuc citizens Andre Strongbearheart Gaines Jr. and Nazario TallHairRedDeer Garate, this homesite brings Eastern Woodlands peoples and the public together. Gaines led two 30-minute interactive talks highlighting urgent issues regarding the sustainability of cedar swamps in the Eastern Woodlands, as well as learning how to make a fire, cook food, and work on the fishnet.
Read more about the homesite and watch a video documentary here.
On the Road
This summer, we hosted our second year of free pop-up dance performances across Berkshire County. Audiences of all ages filled parks in Becket, Great Barrington, North Adams, and Pittsfield to see performances by Berkshire-based artists: Berkshire Dance Theatre, Berkshire Social Dancing BSKE, dysFUNKcrew, The Funk Box Studio, and Luana Dias David, as well as Versa-Style Dance Company from Los Angeles and LayeRhythm from New York City.
Thank you to our lead sponsor, MillTown Capital, our community partner Becket Arts Center, as well as the Berkshire Bank Foundation, the Feigenbaum Foundation, City of Pittsfield, the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire, and Pittsfield Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, and everyone else who made On The Road possible!
Read more about this year’s On the Road here.
Curriculum in Motion® Institute
The 2021-22 Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion® Institute artists spent time together on campus in residence before presenting two days of interactive presentations that lift up the power of dance beyond the stage. These dance artists shared how they apply the Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion® methods in sites from public schools to parks; hospitals to retreat centers.
Read more about the program here.
AUGUST
Dance for Social Justice™ Community Residency
Led by artists Mar Parrilla and Dey Hernández of Danza Orgánica, in partnership with Berkshire community members, the Dance for Social Justice™ Community Residency program shared a Work-In-Process presentation at On the Road, as well as on the Henry J. Leir Stage.
Over 4 workshop sessions, collaborators engaged in movement and conversation around the question “How do we work together toward liberation?” In their sharing, participants brought to life the collaborative work and artistic inquiry around community concerns in Pittsfield. We are grateful for participants’ commitment, time, and shared passion and presence throughout this process.
Tours of Jacob’s Garden
Jacob’s Pillow inaugurated Jacob’s Garden in 2021 in a pilot partnership with Adam Weinert of the Dancing Farmer, LLC. The 1.5-acre garden is a place to grow fruits and vegetables and connect to the land’s multiple histories, drawing direct inspiration from Ted Shawn’s original 1931 “friendship garden.”
On two summer Saturdays, visitors toured the garden beds, apiary, rainwater harvesting system, and pollinator meadow of Jacob’s Garden. Welcomed by our friendly neighborhood bees, participants drank sun tea made from garden-harvested leaves and connected with Adam over shared gardening interests, passing tips and tricks back and forth throughout each visit.
Read more about Jacob’s Garden here.
Community Workshops in Pittsfield
Community members of all ages were invited to explore the varied works of visiting artists Earl Mosley, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE Dance, Michelle Gibson and NOJO 7, and Abdiel Jacobsen through movement and conversation in a series of free workshops held in Pittsfield throughout Festival 2022. We are deeply grateful to our Pittsfield community for joining us and fostering these opportunities to build relationships and to share space and discoveries.
Community Workshops presented in partnership with the NAACP Berkshire County Branch, Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield’s Public Library, and Common Room at Zion Lutheran Church.
To learn more about our community events, please visit this page or sign up for our email list here.
Written by Gillian Ebersole. Published August 2022.