Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the celebrated international dance organization and National Historic Landmark, presents Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre as part of its Inside/Out series on Friday, July 8, 2011 at 6:15pm. Described by The New Yorker as "a breathtaking outdoor stage overlooking the lush Berkshire hills," Inside/Out performances have become a tradition for audiences from around the world. This season marks the opening of the new Henry J. Leir stage: Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre will be one of the first dance companies to perform on this new stage.
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, recent recipient of a prestigious National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama, presents both renowned and emerging dance companies and is considered one of the world's premier arts festivals. The free Inside/Out series showcases a different dance company every day and features a panoramic view of the Berkshire hills as a backdrop for performances. Inside/Out performances take place at 6:15pm Wednesdays-Saturdays during the Festival and are free and open to the public. This performance series is part of the Pillow's extensive audience engagement programming, which offers more than 200 free performances, events, talks, historic tours, and more.
"Our audiences love to see a wide variety of dance companies and styles and Inside/Out gives them the opportunity to see a multitude of very talented artists, without cost," says Ella Baff, Jacob's Pillow Executive and Artistic Director. "The companies that perform are carefully chosen for their artistic excellence and are an important part of the Pillow experience."
In their second engagement as part of the Inside/Out performance series at Jacob's Pillow, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre will perform Selwyn's new piece, Five Minutes. An evening-length work, Five Minutes takes audiences through a series of contrasting emotional and physical paradigms set in five minute intervals. The piece asks: What does it mean to wait for five minutes? To fill five minutes? How is time measured differently by our experiences and expectations? Five Minutes will receive its world premiere at Dance Theater Workshop, June 23-25, 2011.
Ms. Selwyn, an alumna of The School at Jacob's Pillow 2008 Choreographer's Lab, said "We are thrilled to continue our relationship with the Pillow and return for our second performance as part of the Inside/Out performance series. From my first experience in 2008 as a member of the Choreographer's Lab to our performance in 2009, the Pillow has held a special place in my heart - its magical setting and true celebration of the art form of dance created lasting impressions on me and the company."
In 2010, with support from the general public, Jacob's Pillow raised enough funding to rebuild the stage at Inside/Out. Updates and improvements include the expanded stage with improved entrances and exits for artists, expanded artist dressing areas, a musician's platform, new benches, and a public seating area re-graded for improved sightlines. Jacob's Pillow will host the grand re-opening of the Marcia and Seymour Simon Performance Space and new Henry J. Leir Stage on June 22 at 5:45pm.
The 2011 Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival includes 53 companies on three stages spanning the multifaceted genres of contemporary, tap, hip-hop, tango, ballet, traditional Korean dance, flamenco, samba, dance-theatre, Afro-Caribbean and more, with companies from Argentina, Cuba, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, and across the United States. The 2011 Festival runs June 18 through August 28, and features more than 110 ticketed events and 200 free events, including moderated interviews, film screenings and book signings with artists and celebrities such as composer
David Lang and choreographer and artistic director
Mark Morris; art and photography exhibits, including an exclusive Annie Leibovitz: DANCE photography exhibit; observations of The School at Jacob's Pillow, one of the most prestigious professional advancement dance centers in the U.S.; special events, such as the Season Opening Gala; guided historical tours of the 163-acre National Historic Landmark; access to the videos, books, and dance treasures of the rare and extensive dance Archives; over 75 community dance classes designed to engage and educate dance audiences of all ages; and Festival performances for the whole family to enjoy.
For Festival ticket prices, Berkshires lodging information, and complete details about Jacob's Pillow, visit
jacobspillow.org.
Jacob's Pillow, celebrating its 79th anniversary in 2011, is home to a renowned international dance Festival that presents and commissions works of artists and companies from throughout the world. The School at Jacob's Pillow encompasses a professional training program in the diverse disciplines of Ballet, Cultural Traditions, Contemporary, and Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance, as well as an Intern Program in arts administration and production. The Pillow's extensive Archives, open year-round to the public free of charge, chronicle more than a century of the often ephemeral art form of dance in photos, print, video, and more. The year-round Community Programs of Jacob's Pillow enrich the lives of children and adults, and include programs such as Jacob's Pillow Curriculum-in-Motion®, a nationally-recognized program for educational settings. Additionally, Creative Development Residency and commissioning programs support artists as they create work. In 2003, Jacob's Pillow was declared a National Historic Landmark, the first and only dance entity in the U.S. to achieve this honor. On March 2, 2011, Jacob's Pillow was honored with a 2010 National Medal of Arts. For more information, visit jacobspillow.org.
About Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre: Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre productions engage audiences in original and dynamic dance theatre that raises questions, challenges social norms and values, and magnifies humanity through dance. Productions pivot around core themes and through interplay between athletic and pedestrian motion, activate emotional expression, character, and narrative in a rich and abstract collage. Amanda Selwyn's collaborative choreographic process nurtures our own network of artists while actively engaging the community at large.
"Choreographically, Amanda's point of departure is not an image or a gesture, but a theatrical imperative felt in her insistence on expression." - Jacob's Pillow's Pillow Pages
Funding provided by the Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Development Fund.
For more information, visit www.amandaselwyndance.org.
