Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Announces Full Schedule For 92nd Season

Jacob's Pillow has announced that tickets are now on sale to the general public for the full schedule of programming at this summer's Dance Festival, which will offer nine weeks of performances by world-class artists, live music, and free and paid family-friendly events, on indoor and outdoor stages. In addition to featuring local and regional artists, the festival will include dance companies traveling from across the United States, Canada, England, Switzerland, Italy, Argentina, Spain, and beyond. 

Events will be held at Jacob's Pillow's National Historic Landmark site in Becket—located ten minutes from the Mass Turnpike, with free parking and onsite dining and picnicking options—and across the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. Visitors to Jacob's Pillow are also invited to take morning classes, participate in community arts events and workshops led by festival artists, learn from dance discussions led by Pillow scholars, and explore exciting new intersections between dance and technology. Visitors also enjoy free entry to the multimedia Archives and exhibition spaces. Unless marked otherwise, all free and paid offerings at Jacob's Pillow are family-friendly and open to all ages.

“Week by week, this summer unfolds with a truly extraordinary array of artists from all over the world who will bring their best work to Jacob's Pillow," said Pamela Tatge, Executive and Artistic Director. “This is a place of joy, a refuge for artists and audiences during these uncertain times. A place where history, live performance, and nature combine to create an unmistakable alchemy that has fueled the Pillow for 92 years. I hope audiences will come as often as possible not only to our world-class performances but also to visit our Archives and exhibitions, attend our talks, classes, workshops, observation hours in The School, and all we do to bring audiences closer to this remarkable artform.”

In an exciting first, the world-renowned Company of The Royal Ballet of the United Kingdom will make their Pillow debut by staging a “takeover” of Festival Week 2 (July 3-7), with daily performances on two stages. Audiences will be able to enjoy The Royal Ballet program on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, then continue the experience by moving into the historic indoor Ted Shawn Theatre to see a completely different program. The indoor and outdoor portions of the “takeover” will be ticketed separately. This will mark the first time in the Festival's history that a single company will perform on both the indoor and outdoor stages with separate programs on the same day. This engagement will be The Royal Ballet's exclusive appearance in the United States in 2024.

The nine companies to perform for one week each in the Ted Shawn Theatre are, in chronological order: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, The Royal Ballet of the United Kingdom, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Social Tango Project, MOMIX, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Parsons Dance, Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. 

On the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, companies performing multi-night runs are: M.A.D.D. Rhythms, Pathways to Performance (a project of Theresa Ruth Howard's MoBBallet), Dancers of Damelahamid, David Dorfman Dance, and Gibney Company. This year's one-night-only programs on the Leir Stage are: Shawn L. Stevens and Friends; Merce Cunningham, Liz Gerring, Kyle Abraham: Three Duets; The MasterZ at Work Dance Family; Miguel Gutierrez; Annie Hanauer; INSPIRIT; USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance; Sekou McMiller & Friends; Emma Cianchi; Acrobuffos; House of Jit & A Lady in the House Dance Co.; KanKouran West African Dance Company; kNonAme Artist / Roderick George; Christopher Unpezverde Núñez; South Chicago Dance Theatre; DaEun Jung; Princess Lockerooo & The Fabulous Waack Dancers; local and regional artists performing on the Pillow's annual Community Day; and performance ensembles from The School at Jacob's Pillow summer programs in Contemporary Ballet, Contemporary, and Musical Theatre. Event descriptions and a full festival daily schedule are listed below.

Following a successful launch of the Choose What You Pay ticket program last year, Jacob's Pillow will once again offer flexible pricing for the one-night-only performances on the Henry J. Leir Stage. The Choose What You Pay program is designed to increase the accessibility of tickets by allowing individuals to determine the amount they would like to pay to attend each performance.

Jacob's Pillow is also launching a Rain or Shine ticket program this year. When purchasing tickets for the Henry J. Leir Stage, ticket buyers may purchase a Rain or Shine ticket (at a flat rate) to ensure access to the performance's indoor venue in the event of inclement weather. A limited number of Rain or Shine tickets will be available for each outdoor performance, and may sell out sooner than other ticket types. Only ticket holders who have purchased a Rain or Shine ticket will be guaranteed access to the indoor venue, regardless of Membership level. 

Jacob's Pillow will hold its Season Opening Gala on Saturday, June 22, which will feature the presentation of the 2024 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award to American choreographer Pam Tanowitz(whose work Secret Things, commissioned and performed by The Royal Ballet, will appear in the festival's second week of programming). Onstage performances at this year's Gala will include Rhapsody in Blue with Caleb Teicher and Conrad Tao, and The School at Jacob's Pillow Contemporary Ballet Program in a world premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Further program announcements for the Gala will be made online as the event approaches. 

Community Day will also return this year, providing free, all-ages daytime performances by regional dance artists, as well as activities around the Pillow's campus, on Friday, August 16. 

To supplement this year's in-person programming, Jacob's Pillow will once again offer an array of dance livestreams, films, and virtual events for dance fans around the world. Digital offerings this year will include a free one-night-only livestream of the Season Opening Gala on June 22, as well as a series of free livestreams of select performances throughout the summer, to be announced later this spring. Details about additional year-round offerings, such as on-demand video premieres and the 2024-25 Pillow Lab residency series, will be announced in late summer.

Jacob's Pillow continues to be a home for presentations of world-premiere works. This year will feature several world premieres, including The Royal Ballet performing a world premiere by Wayne McGregor, Camille A. Brown & Dancers performing the world premiere of I AM, Emma Cianchi performing the world premiere of Il mare che ci unisce (translation: the sea that unites us), and a special immersive media project by Black Grace titled The Art of Black Grace 3/5.

Festival 2024 artists who have previously participated in the Pillow Lab—Jacob's Pillow's year-round residency program for research and development of new works—are Theresa Ruth Howard (founder and curator of MoBBallet), Miguel Gutierrez, INSPIRIT, Sekou McMiller, and Emma Cianchi.

Artists and companies making their Jacob's Pillow debuts this season include The Royal Ballet, Social Tango Project, M.A.D.D. Rhythms, Annie Hanauer, USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, Sekou McMiller, Dancers of Damelahamid, Emma Cianchi, Acrobuffos, Gibney Company, KanKouran West African Dance Company, kNonAme Artist / Roderick George, Christopher Unpezverde Núñez, South Chicago Dance Theatre, and DaEun Jung.

Jacob's Pillow will further its commitment to exploring the intersection of dance and technology with two special programs this summer, both designed as immersive experiences for the whole family in Sommers Studio. The Art of Black Grace 3/5 (running July 10-13) combines dance, music, art, and video recordings that bring small groups of visitors face-to-face with the dancers of Black Grace, one of New Zealand's leading contemporary dance companies. And Snakehips in our DNA (running July 31 through August 4) is a free, open-gallery experience—presented in partnership with the Apollo Theater in New York City—where visitors can explore the trajectory of dance from the Harlem Renaissance to the present through a stunning video installation of a choreographic media collage of Black movement artists responding to the soul and spirit of legendary dancer Earl “Snakehips” Tucker.

MORE INFORMATION

All performances in the Ted Shawn Theatre are preceded by a free 15-minute Pre-Show Talk led by Pillow Scholars-in-Residence, held in Blake's Barn 30 minutes before showtime. Pre-Show Talks will also be given in Blake's Barn for the outdoor program by The Royal Ballet (July 3-7) and for Gibney Company (August 7-11). Additionally, a free Post-Show Talk with the artists will follow each Friday matinee performance in the Ted Shawn Theatre as well as the Thursday evening performances on the Leir Stage with The Royal Ballet and Gibney Company.

The Festival is curated by Tatge and Associate Curators Melanie George and Ali Rosa-Salas. Also on the Jacob's Pillow curatorial team is International Advisor Cathy Levy.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Jacob's Pillow is committed to creating a safe and healthy environment as we come together for the annual Festival. Before visiting Jacob's Pillow, please refer to jacobspillow.org/health and to Jacob's Pillow email communications for the most up-to-date guidance and policies.

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