Virtual Pillow Views
September 2012

Greetings!

World premieres communicate a special kind of excitement all their own, as audiences experience a brand-new dance that may be fresh out of the studio.  The Pillow's 80th Anniversary Season featured noteworthy premieres on each of our three stages, and a few of them are highlighted here.

After sampling some of what was new this summer, you might enjoy looking back over premieres from decades past - also linked below.  And, as always with Dance Interactive, you may find yourself drawn into exploring well beyond what's new. 

Enjoy! 

Norton Owen, Director of Preservation signature
Norton Owen  

Director of Preservation  

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Recent Additions
Trey McIntyre Project
    

Audiences at Jacob's Pillow have developed a close relationship with Trey McIntyre and his dancers ever since their first appearance here in 2005, with four subsequent seasons in the Ted Shawn Theatre.  His latest premiere was inspired by the groundbreaking Marlo Thomas project known as Free to Be...You and Me, and Thomas herself was present for one of the first Pillow performances. 

 

Jessica Lang Dance 
Not only was this the world premiere of Jessica Lang's Lines Cubed, but her company made its official debut at the Pillow this July.  It's easy to see the influence of Piet Mondrian in the visual look of this work, and equally apparent is Lang's sense of compositional rigor, nurtured through her studies with Bessie Sch�nberg and her performances with Twyla Tharp.
 
Morphoses
The moment seen in this thumbnail image provides some indication of the dance's innovative aspects, with actions onstage mirroring what was onscreen and vice versa.  One of the most talked-about premieres of the season, WITHIN (Labyrinth Within) featured several prominent ballet dancers onstage - including choreographer Pontus Lidberg - and the iconic Wendy Whelan onscreen.
 
More World Premieres
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
One of the most prominent Pillow premieres in recent seasons, the 2009 Orbo Novo brought together red-hot European choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Polish composer Szymon Brz�ska for a full-evening work performed with live music.  Inspired by Jill Bolte Taylor's book about the experience of having a stroke, Orbo Novo also boasted a remarkable set by award-winning theatrical designer Alexander Dodge.

 

Liz Lerman Dance Exchange

The wistfully powerful text in this commissioned work was drawn directly from the diary of Esther Miller, who spent the summer of 1942 as the Pillow's cook.  Hearing her words brought to life decades later reminds us of the importance of documentation and how it can be used to thrilling effect in the creation of new work.  This piece was part of Liz Lerman's far-reaching performance series known as the Hallelujah project.
 
Jacob's Pillow Dancers
Two of Mark Morris's first assignments at Jacob's Pillow were commissions to create new works for ballet and jazz students, each presented for a full week of performances in the Ted Shawn Theatre in 1983 and 1984.  The excerpt seen here is from his second Pillow commission, a jazz work called Come On Home which has never been revived or restaged.  The fact that you can see a bit of it here is one more reason to be thankful for video documentation!
 
Virtual Pillow Views represents the monthly culmination of many hours of research, curatorial selection, video editing, and writing. If you enjoy this publication, please consider making a donation to help us continue sharing the latest additions to Dance Interactive with you. Donate Now
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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