Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Reveals Week Three Programming

Week 3 of this year’s Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival will welcome the acclaimed Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, returning from Switzerland to Jacob’s Pillow for the first time in over a decade. The company will present a full program of works by Artistic Director and groundbreaking Belgian and Moroccan choreographer, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, including Faun and the U.S. debut of Noetic, in the Ted Shawn Theatre from Wednesday, July 10 to Sunday July, 14. 

During this week of the festival, the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage will feature a two-night presentation by Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet (MoBBallet) titled Creating Pathways to Performance on Wednesday, July 10 and Thursday, July 11. Tickets to this performance start at $40. The Leir Stage will also feature a presentation of Merce Cunningham, Liz Gerring, and Kyle Abraham: Three Duets on Friday, July 12, and a one-night-only performance by The MasterZ At Work Dance Family on Saturday, July 13. Tickets for one-night-only performances are available on a Choose What You Pay model. Tickets for all performances are on sale now. 

As part of Jacob’s Pillow Live—a new livestream series showcasing artists from this summer’s festival— The MasterZ At Work Dance Family performance on Friday, July 13, will be live streamed for free. Livestream access will be available from 6-7pm Eastern on Saturday, July 13. Pre-registration for the livestream is encouraged at jacobspillow.org/live. 

Week 3 of the Festival will also feature The Art of Black Grace 3/5 in the Sommers Studio at Jacob’s Pillow from Wednesday, July 10, to Saturday, July 13, in a family friendly dance and technology event led by one of New Zealand’s leading contemporary companies, Black Grace, performed virtually. On Saturday, July 13, a tour of Jacob’s Garden will take place; this will be the first of two public Jacob’s Garden tours this summer, which are free with registration. Jacob’s Pillow will also offer a free PillowTalk screening on Saturday, July 13, which will be presented in Blake’s Barn featuring Keith Glassman’s documentary film entitled Lives Beyond Motion.

The Pillow Pride Party, Jacob’s Pillow’s annual LGBTQIA+ celebration featuring multimedia performer MX Oops, will occur following the evening performance of Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève on Saturday, July 13. Rounding out the weekend will be a workshop with artists of Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève on Sunday, July 14, open to intermediate and advanced dancers, ages 16+. Week 3 will end with another free PillowTalk film screening in Blake’s Barn on the afternoon of July 14, where maverick choreographer Jane Comfort will present and discuss her film retrospective, entitled Breaking Form.

“It is truly exciting to welcome Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève back at the Pillow for the first time since 2011,” said Jacob’s Pillow Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge. “They are returning in a completely new era, now under the artistic direction of Jacob’s PIllow Dance Award winner and truly remarkable choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, whose work across so many dance genres and vocabularies—in collaboration with companies and dancers with such a wide range of cultural backgrounds—really celebrates the spirit of  international collaboration that’s a hallmark of our Festival.”

Tatge continued: “On the outdoor stage, we will continue our celebration of ballet with Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet showcasing 15 extraordinary black ballet dancers from across the country presenting works by both established and emerging black choreographers. Audiences will also see a special triptych of duets from Merce Cunningham, Liz Gerring, and Kyle Abraham that are being performed live together for the first time. And we couldn’t be happier to welcome back Courtney Washington Balenciaga and The MasterZ At Work Dance Family, who wowed audiences at Festival 2023.”

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