Jacob's Pillow Reveals 2025 Outdoor Stage Artists

Jacob’s Pillow has announced the slate of acclaimed dance companies performing on its iconic outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, rounding out the calendar of ticketed performances that will comprise the Dance Festival’s 93rd season in the Berkshires.

Leir Stage performances will be held Wednesdays through Saturdays for all nine weeks of Festival 2025, offering one-night and two-night engagements by companies dancing Afro-Caribbean, contemporary, swing, tap, ballet, jazz, Indigenous, modern, West African, and more. Performances by artists of the Berkshires on Community Day, and by the Contemporary Ballet, Contemporary, and Tap Dance ensembles of The School at Jacob's Pillow, round out the schedule.

Notably, in Festival Week 9 (beginning August 20), the Leir Stage performances will connect to the rich legacy of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater—which performs as a full company in the Ted Shawn Theatre during this same week—and the amazing range of talent the company has fostered for almost 70 years. The program on the Leir Stage in this final week will feature dancers from the Ailey Extension program, as well as works by dance artists featured in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s recent exhibition Edges of Ailey. Leir Stage performance run times allow for audience members to attend the Ailey company’s evening performances in the Ted Shawn Theatre as well.

Companies performing on the Henry J. Leir Stage this summer are, in chronological order: Prehistoric Body Theater, Djapo: Marie Basse-Wiles and Omari Wiles, The School at Jacob’s Pillow: Contemporary Ballet Performance Ensemble, Almanac Dance Circus Theatre, New York Swings, KanKouran West African Dance Company, Indigenous Enterprise, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, Sydnie L. Mosley Dances, Brother(hood) Dance!, VTDance, Red Clay Dance Company, The School at Jacob’s Pillow: Contemporary Performance Ensemble, Angkor Dance Troupe, Orlando Hernández, H.T. Chen & Dancers, BOCA TUYA, Bulareyaung Dance Company, Kara Jenelle & KaJe Movement Collective, Hālau Pua Ali’i ‘Ilima o Nūioka, American College Dance Association, Ice Theatre of New York, Michela Marino Lerman, Benjamin Akio Kimitch, New York Theatre Ballet, Artists of the Berkshires, The School at Jacob’s Pillow: Tap Dance Performance Ensemble, Yusha-Marie Sorzano, Matthew Rushing’s Sacred Songs with dancers from the Ailey Extension program, and HopeBoykinDance. An image gallery for these Festival artists can be accessed here.

Member Pre-Sale begins Monday, March 3, with tiered access available to Jacob’s Pillow Members on a range of dates based on Membership level. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, April 10. Learn more about Membership at Jacob’s Pillow at jacobspillow.org/membership. Audiences are encouraged to secure their seats early for this historic season.

In a notable change from previous years, outdoor programming will begin 30 minutes earlier, meaning that all Leir Stage performances will begin at 5:30pm. Tickets for select multi-night performances will be available from $35. Tickets for one-night-only performances and select multi-night performances will be available on a Choose What You Pay model, with a suggested ticket price of $25. Jacob's Pillow will also offer a limited number of "Rain or Shine" tickets per performance, which guarantee seating in an indoor venue if the performance is relocated due to inclement weather. The full calendar of Festival 2025’s outdoor and indoor performances is available at jacobspillow.org/festival.

"For decades, the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage has drawn audiences from all over the world to enjoy a thrilling range of dance performances for all ages, set against the beautiful Berkshire hills," said Jacob’s Pillow Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge, who highlighted that the dance festival now returns to its full presenting capacity for the first time since 2019.

"We are full of anticipation for this summer, especially," she said, "as audiences will be able to experience an outdoor performance at 5:30pm, followed by their choice of a performance in the Ted Shawn Theatre at 7:30pm, or a performance in our newly re-opened Doris Duke Theatre at 8pm. With three venues on our campus open once again, we can even more fully serve as a crossroads for global dance forms, and a lively meeting place for dance fans and arts supporters from all walks of life, which we have so valued for more than ninety years."

The 2025 Festival was curated by Tatge, Associate Artistic Director Kim Chan, and Associate Curator Melanie George, supported by International Advisor Cathy Levy and Producing Director Holly Jones. The complete program for Festival 2025 beyond onstage performances (including exhibits, PillowTalks, classes and workshops, opportunities to observe dancers in The School at Jacob’s Pillow, community events, livestreams and more) will be announced later this spring. Founded by American modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn in 1933, Jacob’s Pillow is home to the longest-running dance festival in the United States. Jacob’s Pillow is a National Historic Landmark, a National Medal of Arts recipient, and a year-round center for dance research and development.