Jacob's Pillow to Participate in 10x10 Upstreet Arts Festival

Boston-based contemporary dance theater company Danza Orgánica, directed by choreographer and Jacob's Pillow Dance Creative Development Residency Artist Marsha Parrilla, will host a free Dance for Social Justice Movement Workshop followed by a lecture/demonstration performance of Parrilla's work Running in Stillness. This event will be held at the Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires in Pittsfield, MA as part of the 10x10 Upstreet Arts Festival.

The free Dance for Social Justice Workshop explores the universal language of movement to generate relevant conversations around social justice issues in our communities. Participants will work in groups, exchange ideas, and engage in productive discussions to address major issues in their community, their individual impacts, and create plans of action. Through a guided dance composition process, participants will learn basic elements of dance composition to create short dance pieces within their groups. The workshop concludes with an informal and brief showing, and Q&A with the company. This workshop is open to youth, teens, and adults of all experience levels. Workshop space is limited and pre-registration is required; call 413.243.9919 x161 or visit jacobspillow.org to reserve space.

Running in Stillness is a dance-theater project based on the impact of mass incarceration on a community. Through a close collaboration with formerly incarcerated women and daughters of incarcerated mothers and fathers, Danza Orgánica created this project that sheds light on this often-ignored topic.

More information can be found at https://www.jacobspillow.org/events/dance-social-justice/.

Friday, February 24
4-5:30 Dance for Social Justice Workshop (open to all levels, pre-registration required)

6-7pm: Lecture/Demonstration Performance of Running in Stillness

Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires

16 Melville Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201

ABOUT JACOB'S PILLOW:

Jacob's Pillow, celebrating its 85th Festival in 2017, is a National Historic Landmark, recipient of the National Medal of Arts, and home to America's longest-running international dance festival. Each Festival includes more than 50 national and international dance companies and 350 free and ticketed performances, talks, tours, classes, exhibits, and events. The School at Jacob's Pillow, one of the most prestigious professional dance training centers in the U.S., encompasses the diverse disciplines of Ballet, Contemporary, Musical Theatre Dance, and a rotating fourth program (Tap in 2017), as well as an Intern Program in various disciplines of arts administration, design, video, and production. The Pillow's extensive Archives, open year-round to the public, chronicle more than a century of dance in photographs, programs, books, costumes, audiotapes, and videos. Year-round Community Programs enrich the lives of children and adults through public classes, residencies in area schools, and an extensive schedule of free public events.

Through Jacob's Pillow Curriculum in Motion, a nationally recognized program, Artist Educators work with Berkshire County teachers and students grades K-12, transforming curricula such as biology, literature, and history into kinesthetic and creative learning experiences. Creative Development Residencies, in which dance companies are invited to live and work at the Pillow and enjoy unlimited studio time; choreography commissions; and the annual $25,000 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award all support visionary dance artists and choreographers. During Creative Development Residencies, artists are invited to spend one to three weeks at the Pillow creating or rehearsing new work, with free housing for the company, unlimited use of studio space, and access to the Pillow's rare and extensive Archives and other Pillow resources. In the beautiful, retreat-like atmosphere of the Pillow, the Creative Development Residencies are rare opportunities for artists to focus on the creative process without distraction. Notable artists who have created or premiered dances at the Pillow include choreographers Antony Tudor, Agnes De Mille, Alvin Ailey, Donald McKayle, Kevin McKenzie, Twyla Tharp, Ralph Lemon, Susan Marshall, Trisha Brown, Ronald K. Brown, Wally Cardona, Andrea Miller, and Trey McIntyre; performed by artists such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Carmen De Lavallade, Mark Morris, Dame Margot Fonteyn, Edward Villella, Rasta Thomas, and hundreds of others. The Pillow's digital initiatives are aimed at expanding global audiences for dance and offers the opportunity to experience dance and Jacob's Pillow from anywhere in the world via online interactive exhibits, global video networks, and social media. An important part of the Pillow's digital presence, Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive is a curated online video collection of dance highlights from 1933 to today. On March 2, 2011, President Obama honored Jacob's Pillow with a National Medal of Arts, the highest arts award given by the United States Government, making the Pillow the first dance presenting organization to receive this prestigious award.

For more information, visit www.jacobspillow.org.

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