Gearing up for an exciting first week of the Festival, our Week 1 artists performing on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage gave us a glimpse into their worlds as they prepare for their performances at the Pillow.
Shawn L. Stevens (Red Eagle), an enrolled member of the Stockbridge Munsee band of Mohicans and Friends, will take the Leir Stage in a special performance to kick off the Festival. A spiritualist, musician, dancer, storyteller, historian, and sharer of knowledge, Shawn has spent the past few decades sharing his people’s ancestral lands as well as the Midwest.
Joining Shawn L. Stevens and Friends on the Leir Stage in Week 1 is Chicago-based M.A.D.D. (Making a Difference Dancing) Rhythms. Featuring dancers with wide-ranging backgrounds from all over Chicago, this multi-generational tap dance collective spreads the love and joy of tap, drawing in audiences of all ages.
Read more in the artists’ own words below.
Shawn L. Stevens and Friends
June 26 at 6pm | Get Tickets!
How do you feel about performing in Festival 2024?
Honored.
Tell us a bit about the work you’ll be presenting this week.
I will be giving examples and descriptions of Native American music, dance, and regalia.
Have you been preparing for this show in any way in particular?
It is a way of life for me!
What are you most excited about for this performance on the Leir Stage?
It is in a more natural setting.
What do you want audiences to think about when watching this performance?
I don’t want them to think, I want them to feel.
M.A.D.D. Rhythms founder Bril Barrett
June 27–28 at 6pm | Get Tickets!
How does it feel to make your Pillow debut?
We are excited and humbled! We are excited because this opportunity has been on our mental vision board for many years! We are humbled because we overstand the shoulders we stand on!
Tell us a bit about the work you’ll be presenting this week.
“A M.A.D.D. Mixtape” is a showcase of African Diasporic lineage and the rhythmic connections of Tap, Chicago Footwork and African Dance. Some of Hip-hop and R&B’s top hits provide the musical backdrop as DJ D9-3 spins live on stage. This Jacob’s Pillow premiere takes the party including guest performers Creation Chicago Footwork, Imania Detry, and Naomi Kinslow from the club to the stage; Merging and celebrating Black entertainment across multiple eras.
How have you prepared for this performance?
We have been in the lab working on this performance for months.
What are you most excited about for this performance on the Leir Stage?
We are most excited to bring a taste of Chicago to the Pillow!
What do you want audiences to think about when watching this performance?
The focus on aesthetic and thematic connection in my work is important because of the lineage of these disciplines. Tap dance was born as African dance and rhythms set to jazz music. Chicago footwork is descended from tap dance, with the added influences of breakdancing, house dancing, juke music, and of course African dance as well. When I create work where we tap dance to juke tracks and incorporate footwork and African dance, I keep those connections alive in my art. This builds not just an aesthetic, but a truly creative community where artists from different backgrounds can grow and learn together, even in diaspora.
This Pillow Pick was written by Lucy Kudlinski and published on June 20, 2024.