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December 2012
Greetings!
It's customary to look back over recent successes at this time of year, and we are pleased to share some 2012 season highlights - especially those which reflected the Pillow's landmark 80th Anniversary in some way. We also look ahead with two memorable Dance Interactive entries that point to emerging plans for the 2013 season. And, as always, we urge you to explore beyond the tidbits mentioned here so that you'll find much more! 
Norton Owen
Director of Preservation
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
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Doug Elkins' Fräulein Maria
A special feature of the 80th Anniversary Season was the inclusion of several favorite productions from past seasons "by popular demand," including Doug Elkins' witty and wise take on The Sound of Music. Coming at the end of what the company billed as this production's "So Long, Farewell Tour," the Pillow performances offered one final look at this beloved work from 2006.
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The Joffrey Ballet Returns
Even with such a long wait since the Joffrey's last engagement - 47 years to be exact - there has been an unusually close Pillow relationship from the time Robert Joffrey's first choreographic works were shown here in 1952. Now under the inspired direction of Ashley Wheater, the company chose this occasion to premiere a brand-new work by Stanton Welch which you can sample here.
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 Compagnie K äfig on Running
Although they had only appeared once before at the Pillow and that debut was more than a decade ago, Compagnie Käfig's memorable brand of hip hop is dynamic and enticing enough to cause long lines at the box office. The two works presented in 2012 showcased eleven extraordinary Brazilian dancers, seen here in Correria, which considers the act of running in various speeds, levels, and planes.
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Special Anniversary Features
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 80th Anniversary Exhibit Tour The Pillow creates web-based programming aside from the Dance Interactive site, and here's a chance to sample the offerings on a YouTube channel called PillowTV. This is a detailed guided tour through the Decades of Dance exhibit that we presented in Blake's Barn throughout the 80th Anniversary Season. Rare dance photos from throughout the Pillow's history were grouped according to theme, and all are seen here.
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 New Film Now Widely Available
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 Partnering Wendy Whelan
New York City Ballet's reigning ballerina returns in 2013 with four different choreographer-partners, each creating a brand new duet which they will perform with her. The clip seen here shows her with another significant partner, Peter Boal, dancing a William Forsythe duet in 2004. Whelan's initial Pillow appearances occurred more than 25 years ago when she participated in an ambitious and experimental Choreography Project in 1986 and 1987. Stay tuned for more details and contemplate what's to come!
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 Dance Theatre of Harlem
The 2013 season opens with a reborn Dance Theatre of Harlem, returning to the site of the company's first professional performances in 1970 under founder Arthur Mitchell. In the intervening years, the company performed here twice more, and soon after Virginia Johnson took over the directorship in 2009, she brought the Pillow a revitalized junior company, Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, which you can see here.
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In Case You Missed It... (selected Dance Interactive videos added in 2012)
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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. 
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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
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