Virtual Pillow Views: May 2011

Greetings!

Thank you for your interest in Virtual Pillow and welcome to this first issue of Virtual Pillow Views.

Virtual Pillow is off to a great start. With more than 10,000 videos viewed in just the first three days of Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive, it's clear that our online community is eager for the kind of material we are now able to share. We are so pleased to see people learning, playing, and engaging with dance and one another.

Our Director of Preservation, Norton Owen, has done an extraordinary job curating the fantastic resource of Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive. Beginning with the items below, you'll be hearing breaking news and the inside story from Norton and others at the Pillow through Virtual Pillow Views. We hope you will visit often and continue to discover new online offerings as we grow. Just like making a trip to the Pillow in person, you'll get more out of each successive experience.

Best wishes,

ella's signature

Ella Baff

Artistic and Executive Director

Matteo

Known as Matteo Marcellus Vittucci when he first came to the Pillow as a student of La Meri's in 1951, he was recognized by a single name when he died at 92 in late March. Matteo performed and taught often at the Pillow in the 1950s and 60s, usually with longtime partner Carola Goya, whom he married in 1974. One of their 1963 performances was recorded as part of a Pillow documentary, and an excerpt of this may be seen here. Just a few weeks before his death, Matteo was told that this vintage clip of his dancing would soon be available around the world via the new Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive. No other footage of him is available online, so we are pleased to offer a last dance in memoriam.

Camille A. Brown

Here's one of our most timely additions to Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactives. It represents one more step towards having each each and every 2010 artist included, a comprehensive approach which we hope to continue throughout future seasons. We are also preparing to welcome Camille back to the Pillow for a Creative Development Residency, when she'll be working onsite with Kyle Abraham to develop new repertory for their performances here this August. Most importantly, here's a chance to get a close-up view at the dynamic solo that Camille presented on the 2010 Gala program as well as in her own company's appearances last season.

Doug Varone

This new excerpt is a welcome demonstration of how we have been working with artists to present a balanced cross-section of the Pillow's rich performance history. Although Doug was already represented by an excerpt from his classic Bench Quartet, he suggested some additional works that might be more representative of his company's current repertory. We were glad for an excuse to revisit some of his recent performances, and chose this excerpt from Castles as performed in 2009.

Savion Glover

We have a wealth of tap footage in the Pillow Archives, and plan to broaden the offerings already available through Dance Interactive. This clip represents Savion Glover's first appearance at the Pillow as part of the Gala opening the 2002 season, our 70th anniversary. Of course, any brief excerpt like this only whets the appetite for more - and we promise that more tap is yet to come!

Header Photo Credits (left to right): Ted Shawn, photo Shapiro Studios; Drew Jacoby, photo Liza Voll; Cynthia Gregory, photo ©Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos; Savion Glover, photo Len Irish; Shantala Shivalingappa, photo C.P. Satyajit