Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Presents Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca

Week 8 of this summer's Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival will feature beloved New York-based flamenco artists Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca, who will perform at the Festival for the first time since 2002.

Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca will appear for five days in the historic Ted Shawn Theatre, from Wednesday, August 14 through Sunday, August 18. The program is a showcase for the work of Martín Santangelo and Bessie-award winning dancer and choreographer Soledad Barrio, and will feature their newest work, Searching for Goya (2023), which is inspired by the transformative art of Spanish romantic painter Francisco de Goya, as it references the prolific Spanish artist's response to the turbulent social and political changes occurring in the world around him.

Week 8 of the Festival will also include powerful performances on the Henry J. Leir Stage. KanKouran West African Dance Company from Washington, D.C. will perform on Wednesday, August 14, sharing uplifting dances that blend U.S. and West African traditions and practices.

On Thursday, August 15, Jacob's Pillow will present American dancer and choreographer Roderick George and his company, kNonAme Artist, in their Jacob's Pillow debut. As part of this appearance, George will receive the inaugural Jacob's Pillow Men Dancers Award, which is given to a choreographer of any gender expression who creates an innovative work that is to be performed by men dancers at Jacob's Pillow, in honor of Jacob's Pillow founder Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers. kNonAme Artist will perform excerpts of The Missing Fruit and Venom, which examine the effects of racial and public health violence in relation to BIPOC communities, adapted for the Pillow's outdoor stage.  

The final performance of Week 8 on the Henry J. Leir Stage will showcase The School At Jacob's Pillow Musical Theatre Performance Ensemble, directed by program directors Sekou McMiller, Luis Salgado, and Karla Puno Garcia. In addition, this outdoor performance will be offered as a free livestream as part of this summer Jacob's Pillow Live series, allowing audiences everywhere to tune in and enjoy the performance. All tickets for the one-night-only performances on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage are based on a “Choose What You Pay” model. 

“It is exciting to welcome Noche Flamenca back to Jacob's Pillow after more than 20 years,” said Pamela Tatge, Executive and Artistic Director at Jacob's Pillow. “This performance features all of their signature elements: the incomparable Soledad Barrio, the spellbinding footwork of their dancers, virtuosic musicians, and dramatic flair. Also this week, we are thrilled to host Roderick George's debut at Jacob's Pillow. He danced here with Cedar Lake in 2006 and has had a remarkable career in Europe since then. He is one of the most important new choreographers on the scene today, and it is for this reason that he will receive our inaugural Men Dancers Award.”

Jacob's Pillow is pleased to offer free, family-oriented programming for the community. Jacob's Pillow's annual Community Day will take place on Friday, August 16, with family-friendly afternoon activities and tours around the campus. Later that evening at 6pm, audiences will gather for a free performance on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, featuring Berkshire-region artists Eventual Dance Company, Luana Dias David, and student dancers from Berkshire Hills Music Academy. 

On Saturday, August 17, a PillowTalk will be held in Blake's Barn featuring Noche Flamenca's Artistic Director, Martín Santangelo, and Anne Leonard, a curator at the Clark Art Institute, discussing the synergy between visual art and dance. On Sunday, August 18, a Workshop with Festival Artists of Noche Flamenca will take place as they teach Soledad Barrio's language in movement technique. Workshops are open to participants ages 16+.

ABOUT Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca

Bessie Award-winning dancer and choreographer Soledad Barrio and her husband, artistic director and choreographer Martín Santangelo, formed Noche Flamenca in 1993 in Madrid, Spain. Alastair Macaulay wrote for The New York Times that “there has been no company I have been so glad to discover as Noche Flamenca and, above all, its lead dancer, Soledad Barrio. I can think of no current ballet star in the world as marvelous as she.” 

Flamenco is rooted in dance, song, and music traditions from Sephardic Jews, North African people, and Roma people from Andalusia. It is a form that is, in the company's words, “born of ancestral cultural repression and racial expulsion.” Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca's mission combines onstage performance with educational outreach and residencies to educate people of all backgrounds, and ultimately “evoke in them the vivid and expansive sea of passion and emotion that is flamenco.”

After two back-to-back Pillow seasons in 2000 and 2001, Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca's performance in Festival 2024 marks the company's long-awaited return. The program will include an excerpt of their newest work, Searching for Goya (2023), inspired by the transformative art of Francisco de Goya, as it references the prolific Spanish artist's response to the turbulent social and political changes occurring in the world around him, its relevance to our present times, and its revelations of human nature. Hailed by critics around the world, Noche Flamenca performs regular seasons in New York City, including at Lincoln Center, The Joyce Theater, Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, and at its home base at the West Park Presbyterian Church. The company has received awards from the National Dance Project, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Bessies, and Dance Magazine, among many others.

ABOUT KANKOURAN WEST AFRICAN DANCE COMPANY

A beloved home for West African dance in Washington, D.C., KanKouran comes to Jacob's Pillow this summer after celebrating their 40th anniversary last year. The company—whose members are from the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean—is dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional West African culture. 

KanKouran was formed by Artistic Director Assane Konte and former Director of Music, Abdou Kounta, who grew up together in Dakar, Senegal. The company's wide-ranging appeal and sense of community has made it a creative cornerstone for generations of dancers, students, and musicians who have studied with KanKouran over the decades. While KanKouran has performed at venues including The Kennedy Center, National Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and a myriad of universities, this will be their Jacob's Pillow debut.

ABOUT KNONAME ARTIST / RODERICK GEORGE 

Founded in Berlin and now based in New York, kNonAme Artist is the company created by Roderick George, an accomplished American dancer and choreographer who has performed with Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, and abroad with Basel Ballet/Theater Basel in Switzerland, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani in Sweden, and The Forsythe Company in Frankfurt, Germany.

At the Pillow, George will present an excerpt of The Missing Fruit and Venom. Venom is a work inspired by the lasting impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the present erasure of the LGBTQIA+ community, exposing how the queer community faced silencing, isolation, being forced into hiding, and death through fear, media, and ‘God's reckoning,' while at the same time finding ways to uplift each other using the underground nightlife as a sanctuary. The Missing Fruit explores how the manifestation of racial and public health violence affects Black Americans and other Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities through an interdisciplinary artistic production rooted in contemporary dance.

George is the recipient of the inaugural Jacob's Pillow Men Dancers Award, given to a choreographer of any gender expression who creates an innovative work that is to be performed by men dancers at Jacob's Pillow, in honor of Jacob's Pillow founder Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers.

ABOUT THE SCHOOL AT JACOB'S PILLOW MUSICAL THEATRE PERFORMANCE ENSEMBLE

Performances by The School at Jacob's Pillow Performance Ensembles provide an inside look at The School experience and feature repertoire created on the dancers by leading choreographers who serve as program faculty. This performance is a culmination of the 2024 Musical Theatre Program, led by Choreographer/Directors Sekou McMiller, Luis Salgado, and Karla Puno Garcia.

Dancers of The School at Jacob's Pillow are apprentices, trainees, pre-professionals, and early-career professionals from around the world. The School's professional advancement programs are held onsite during the Festival to nurture the artistic voices and growth of the next generation of dance artists.

Tickets are on sale now; online at jacobspillow.org and via phone at 413.243.0745.

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