Natalia Hills and Tangueros del Sur Perform Romper el Piso July 6-10

Expert, authentic tango dance and music arrives at Jacob's Pillow with Tangueros del Sur performing Artistic Director Natalia Hills' full length program Romper el Piso (Break the Floor) July 6-10. Live music, intricate foot work, and traditional and sensual partnering showcase the history and future of the tango. Hills, a Tony Award-winner for choreography for Broadway's Forever Tango, will dance with Alvaro Salas, known for his elegant walk and musicality. Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times has named Hills' stage presence "the sensuous and sensual delight of the tango at its truest."

"Tangueros del Sur, and this production of Romper el Piso in particular, explains why tango captures the imagination and devotion of both those who perform it and those who love to see it," comments Ella Baff, Executive and Artistic Director of Jacob's Pillow. "Sensuous, elegant, passionate, intimate, and glamorous, it takes us to the heart of the dance and the music, and the vibrant culture that produced one of the greatest art forms for all of us to enjoy."

Tangueros del Sur Artistic Director Natalia Hills is acclaimed as one of tango's current superstars. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, she has a personal, rooted connection to tango that she attributes to her grandfather's afterschool lessons. As she began practicing and performing the tango he would often say, "romper el piso," or "break the floor," which inspired the title of her work being performed at Jacob's Pillow. In 1995 Hills was invited to perform in honor of Princess Diana at the British Embassy in Argentina. She has been featured on NBC's Today Show, in a series of concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, at New York University's Skirball Center, at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, and many other venues. After touring internationally with the successful Broadway hit Forever Tango, she has quickly become an important and established tango dancer, choreographer, and instructor.

Romper el Piso, which premiered in 2010, is a testimony to Hills' creative fire and technical talent. It is a performance filled with "sassy leg actions, sudden shifts between rapid-fire footwork and smooth gliding steps, and engrossing emotional expressivity" (Lisa Jo Sagolla, Back Stage). Hills turns to the origins of the tango - the native percussion, the music, and the dance - and then unfolds the evening length work chronologically. The live music emphasizes the range of tango, from social dancing in Buenos Aires at the end of the 19th century to the great composers of the Golden Age of Tango in the 1940s and 50s, to the work of the eminent composer Astor Piazzolla.

Musicians playing live on stage will perform with a variety of instruments including guitar, cello, accordion, flute, piano, double bass, percussion, and two bandoneons. Band Leader Patricio Villarejo draws from years of experience as a violinist, composer, arranger, company member of Forever Tango, and member of the National Symphony of Argentina.

Tangueros del Sur made its U.S. debut in 2009 and is now renowned as a leading company in this Argentinean dance style. The ten dancers perform tango from its traditional beginnings to its modern ballroom interpretations. Unlike many commercial tango representations, Tangueros del Sur is historically based. Eric Taub states, "It was refreshing with Tangueros del Sur, to see a tango performance that focused on the dancing, free of fishnet stockings, bared torsos and blatant sexual innuendo that's almost become a cliché" (Ballet Co Magazine).

On Sunday, July 10 the Pillow will host its annual Community Dance Day. This community-wide celebration is full of free events, classes, and performances from 9:30am-12:30pm and includes a free tango workshop at 11am with local instructor Megan Reisel.

Performance and Ticket Information

Ted Shawn Theatre
Wednesday, July 6 through Saturday, July 9 at 8pm
Saturday, July 9 and Sunday, July 10 at 2pm
Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob's Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered in Blake's Barn 30 minutes before every performance.
Tickets $59.50-64.50. $10 Youth Tickets are available for the Saturday and Sunday matinees (sponsored by ALEX®; must be accompanied by an adult). Now on sale online at jacobspillow.org, via phone at 413.243.0745, or in person at the Jacob's Pillow Box Office.
Under 35 Fridays: As part of the Pillow's younger audiences initiative: $35 under 35 tickets (for individuals 35 and younger) are available for the Friday evening performance of Tangueros del Sur. Limit two (2) per person, must show valid I.D. when tickets are picked up. Under 35 ticket holders will also receive a bonus gift from Under 35 Fridays sponsor Blue Q.
Box Office hours: Monday and Tuesday 10am-6pm, Wednesday through Saturday 10am-8pm, and Sunday 12-5:30pm.

Pillow Members receive exclusive benefits. To become a Member call 413.243.9919 x125.

Jacob's Pillow is located at 358 George Carter Road in Becket, MA, 01223 (10 minutes east on Route 20 from Mass Pike Exit 2). The Jacob's Pillow campus and theaters are handicapped-accessible.

Free Events at the Pillow July 6-10

Free Inside/Out Performance - Mark Stuart Dance Theatre
Marcia & Seymour Simon Performance Space
Wednesday, July 6, 6:15pm
Dubbed "smoldering" by The New York Times, Adhesion is a whirlwind of passion and intensity, as dancers are thrown and flipped into the air. Torque and Entanglement grapple with opposing physical forces through daring partnering.

Free PillowTalk Discussion and Book Signing - The Dance Claimed Me: Pearl Primus
Thursday, July 7, 5pm
The pioneering Trinidad-born dancer/choreographer Pearl Primus is the subject of a new biography by her colleagues Peggy and Murray Schwartz, just published by Yale University Press, which is filled with intrigue and controversy. Following the Talk, see a related presentation of Primus solos as part of the Inside/Out series at 6:15pm.
This event is part of Lift Ev'ry Voice: Celebrating African-American Culture and Heritage in the Berkshires.

Free Inside/Out Performance - University Dancers
Marcia & Seymour Simon Performance Space
Thursday, July 7, 6:15pm
UMass Amherst's Dance Program touring company presents three solos by legendary dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist Pearl Primus, who sought to educate American audiences about African dance as an art form. Her dances of social protest remain a moving response to the injustices suffered by African Americans in the 1940s.
This event is part of Lift Ev'ry Voice: Celebrating African-American Culture and Heritage in the Berkshires.

Free Inside/Out Performance - Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre
Marcia & Seymour Simon Performance Space
Friday, July 8, 6:15pm
Selwyn's Five Minutes takes audiences through contrasting emotional and physical patterns in five minute intervals. Dancers experience each interval through rushing movement and a constant feeling of spontaneity.

Free PillowTalk Discussion - Crystal Pite Goes Global
Saturday, July 9, 4pm
Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite's company, Kidd Pivot, is now based in both Frankfurt and Vancouver, and this global perspective clearly reflects Pite's broad interests. Her expansive career and probing mind are examined in this intimate conversation with one of the dance world's most original talents.

Free Inside/Out Performance - The School at Jacob's Pillow: Samba
Marcia & Seymour Simon Performance Space
Saturday, July 9, 6:15pm
Culminating two weeks of intensive study, faculty and dancers perform the sounds and rhythms of Brazilian Samba under the direction of Program Director Jomar Mesquita and esteemed faculty.

Free Community Event - Community Dance Day
Sunday, July 10, 9:30am-12:30pm
Jacob's Pillow will again offer its community-wide "open house" event on the morning of July 10, aimed at encouraging participation in dance. Community Dance Day will include free performances by New England Tap Ensemble and Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company, presenting Pegao, a tribute that blends jazz, Afro-Cuban, and contemporary movement; open dance classes and workshops especially suited for adults and teens in a variety of movement styles including Yoga, Tango, African, and more; a master class and meet and greet with Doris Duke Theatre artists Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM; music; raffles; food and drink; and other attractions. All performances, classes, events, and workshops are free.

Community Dance Day is sponsored in part by the Advocate Weekly, and select performances and classes are part of Lift Ev'ry Voice: Celebrating African-American Culture and Heritage in the Berkshires.

Free 2011 Gallery Exhibits
All exhibits are free and open to the public June 21-August 28.

Annie Leibovitz: DANCE
Blake's Barn
Open Tuesdays-Sundays, noon through final curtain
One of the world's most widely known portrait photographers, Annie Leibovitz has long been interested in capturing the human body, photographing dancers such as Suzanne Farrell, Darci Kistler, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham, and David Parsons. Leibovitz has worked with Mark Morris and his company on numerous occasions, and has conceived this exhibition especially for the Pillow to salute the 30th anniversary of the Mark Morris Dance Group.

If You Couldn't See Trisha Brown
Ted Shawn Theatre Lobby
Open Wednesdays-Sundays, 60 minutes pre-performance
A remarkable 1994 Trisha Brown solo, If You Couldn't See Me, was so titled because she performed it with her back to the audience. This exhibition attempts a similar sleight-of-hand, featuring highlights from her past work as well as some oF Brown's own drawings, with the artist's presence concentrated behind the scenes. Emphasizing a wide-ranging creative output, these materials are presented in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Trisha Brown Dance Company and a Pillow relationship that spans more than three decades.

Modern Classics by Barbara Morgan
Doris Duke Theatre Lobby
Open Wednesdays-Sundays, 60 minutes pre-performance
An inspiration to Annie Leibovitz and generations of photographers and dancers, Barbara Morgan created unforgettable images of Martha Graham and other pioneering modern dancers from the generation that followed Pillow founder Ted Shawn. Morgan's family has donated a collection of her original prints from the 1930s and 40s to the Dance Program of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a selection of these iconic images are gathered to celebrate The Dance Claimed Me, an important new biography of a Morgan subject, Pearl Primus.

Precious Medals
Blake's Barn
Open Tuesdays-Sundays, noon through final curtain
When President Barack Obama presented the National Medal of Arts to Jacob's Pillow at the White House this year, the Pillow became the first dance presenting organization ever to receive this distinction. The medal itself and the signed presidential proclamation are on display here along with some of the other awards received by the Pillow and its founder, Ted Shawn, including the Capezio Award, The Commonwealth Award, Shawn's medal from the King of Denmark, and other treasures.

Anniversary Highlights: The First Forty
Bakalar Studio
Open to the public whenever classes or rehearsals are not in session
Photos from past Pillow seasons traditionally line these walls each summer, and the upcoming 80th anniversary in 2012 offers a special opportunity to look back comprehensively in two forty-year companion exhibits. This first installment includes images from the Pillow's inception in 1933 through 1972, the year of founder Ted Shawn's death. Foreshadowing next season's anniversary, these images recall high points from the Festival's formative eras.

Other Activities at Jacob's Pillow

The Archives
Blake's Barn
Open Tuesdays-Sundays, noon through final curtain
This informal library and reading room allows impromptu visitors to view videos, browse through books, access the Pillow's computer catalog, or peruse Permanent Collections of Pillow programs and photographs. Pillow Interactive, the popular touch-screen kiosk, provides instant access to rare film clips ranging from the present day back to the 1930s, and a preview of the Dance Heritage Coalition's new Secure Media Network features videos from other archives throughout the country.

Free Guided Tours
Welcome Center
Fridays and Saturdays at 5:30pm
During the Festival, free guided tours of the 163-acre campus leave from the Welcome Center and offer visitors a casual, informative look at the extensive history that occurred on the Jacob's Pillow grounds. Everyone is invited to see what makes Jacob's Pillow a National Historic Landmark. Plus, patrons can pick up a self-guided tour map anytime to explore the grounds on their own.

Classes and Observations
Patrons are also welcome to visit The School at Jacob's Pillow and observe renowned artist faculty working with emerging professional dancers, either on a drop-in basis or pre-arranged for groups larger than four. Dance and Pilates classes are offered to the public Mondays through Fridays at 8am and are open to all experience levels (class fee required). Master classes with artists of the Doris Duke Theatre are offered every Sunday at 10am for intermediate to advanced dancers (class fee required). Master classes are also open for public observation, without charge. For Community Class information call 413.243.9919.

Relax
Visitors are encouraged to enjoy the historic Tea Garden, where Ted Shawn's Men Dancers welcomed the first Pillow audiences in the 1930s. They can also picnic on the grounds or stroll through several ecological zones on the Wetlands Trail, created as part of the Pillow's responsible stewardship of its rural environment.

Dining
Jacob's Pillow offers many dining options including the Pillow Café, a full-service open air restaurant on the Great Lawn; the Pillow Pub offering casual fare, ready-to-go picnics, and a full bar; the Coffee & Ice Cream Bars, and catering services for groups and events.

The Pillow Store
Visitors can shop onsite for logo items, clothes, gifts, books, and music; all proceeds benefit Jacob's Pillow.

Jacob's Pillow, celebrating its 79th anniversary in 2011, is a National Historic Landmark and home to America's longest running international dance festival. The Festival includes more than 50 national and international dance companies and 300 free and ticketed performances, talks, tours, 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, Cultural Traditions, Contemporary, and Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance, as well as an Intern Program in various departments of arts administration and production. The Pillow's extensive Archives, open year-round to the public, chronicle more than 80 years of dance in photographs, programs, books, costumes, audiotapes, and video. Year-round Community Programs enrich the lives of children and adults through public classes, residencies in area schools, and more than 200 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 existing curricula such as biology, literature, and history into kinesthetic and creative learning experiences. Choreography commissions; Creative Development Residencies, in which dance companies are invited to live and work at the Pillow and enjoy unlimited studio time; and the annual $25,000 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award all support visionary choreographers. Virtual Pillow is 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 mobile social media. As part of the Virtual Pillow initiative, Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive, an online video collection of dance highlights from 1937 through 2010, is a new resource with a curated selection of videos by artists who have performed at Jacob's Pillow over the past seven decades. 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. Jacob's Pillow is the first dance presenting organization to receive this prestigious award.

This performance is supported in part by the Neil Chrisman Fund for International Dance at Jacob's Pillow.

As of June 22, 2011, support for Jacob's Pillow has been provided by:
Foundations: Arch W. Shaw Foundation; Asian Cultural Council; The Barrington Foundation; Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation through the Berkshire Hills Fund for Excellence and The Central Berkshire Fund; Bessie Pappas Charitable Foundation; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Frances Alexander Family Fund; Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Harkness Foundation for Dance; Jerome Robbins Foundation; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Korean Cultural Service, New York; The Kresge Foundation; Leading for the Future Initiative, a program of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Leir Charitable Foundations, In Memory of Henry J. Leir; The Marshall Frankel Foundation; Mass Humanities; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; The National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NDP is supported by lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation, and the Boeing Company Charitable Trust); Neal Rantoul Foundation; The O'Neill Foundation; Princeton University; The Prospect Hill Foundation; Québec Delegation to New England; RoBert Wood Johnson Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; Spingold Foundation, Inc.; The Thompson Family Foundation; and The T. Backer Fund. Government: The Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, a Program of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, administered through a collaborative arrangement between MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council; National Endowment for the Arts; and Pittsfield Cultural Council. Corporate: ALEX®; Berkshire Bank Clark and Green; Cranwell; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation;LEGO Children's Fund; The Pilgrim Inn; Super 8 Motel Lee; and Wheatleigh. Funding for Inside/Out has been provided, in part, by Greylock Federal Credit Union ,The Legacy Banks Foundation, and The TD Charitable Foundation. Endowment: The Barrington Foundation, Inc.; The William Randolph Hearst Foundation; The Leir Charitable Foundations, In Memory of Henry J. Leir; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Onota Foundation; The Prospect Hill Foundation; Talented Students in the Arts Initiative, a collaboration of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Surdna Foundation; and Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Jacob's Pillow is also grateful to its Members and Business Alliance for their ongoing support.

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