Jacob's Pillow: 75 Years of Innovation

12:00AM / Monday, January 29, 2007Print Story | Email Story

Jacob's Pillow was born out of passion and determination emblematic of an American spirit of innovation, and has moved dance forward since its inception in the 1930s. Nestled on a peak in the bucolic Berkshire Hills in Western Massachusetts, it is a vital cultural institution with global reach and perspective, and the only dance organization to be named a National Historic Landmark. During the summer of 2007 it will achieve a milestone possible only for an elite group of cultural institutions-its 75th anniversary. From June 16 through August 26, 2007, Jacob's Pillow is poised to celebrate its history and welcome its future by featuring more than 300 free and ticketed events, including museum-quality exhibits and unique presentations devoted to contextualizing the art of dance, on three stages and at multiple other locations throughout its 163-acre site. The main attractions, in the Ted Shawn Theatre and the Doris Duke Studio Theatre, are 20 international companies from four continents and ten countries, featuring a record five United States company debuts, a company world debut, at least three world premieres of work, and six American premieres of work. Eight of the programs will be performed to live music, and for the Anniversary Season, six engagements will offer special "Pillow Exclusive" programs which will not appear anywhere else. In addition, the Pillow showcases Invisible Wings, a site-specific outdoor work commissioned by Jacob's Pillow and inspired by its history as a station on the Underground Railroad. New for 2007, multiple images of each company and of Jacob's Pillow are available to the public and members of the press through www.jacobspillow.org/gallery. For performance information, video footage, and information on high-resolution photographs, contact French Clements at 413.243.9919 x29 or fclements@jacobspillow.org. The Pillow began as a family farm in the 1700s, became a haven for the Underground Railroad movement in the 1800s, and was transformed by dance pioneer Ted Shawn in the 1930s into a school and a dance venue. Today it is recognized internationally as America's premier dance festival. It is an institution motivated and sustained by a distinctive purpose-to move dance forward by supporting creation, presentation, education, preservation, and audience engagement. Jacob's Pillow has developed into a thriving year-round dance institution, and in the course of its history has welcomed over 2.5 million visitors. It is manifestly more than the sum of its elements-a dance festival, a school, archives, and community programs-it is a unique, influential, and beloved destination in the arts. The Pillow's Executive Director, Ella Baff, who in 2007 celebrates her 10th anniversary at the Pillow, comments, "You can't separate the place from its purpose-together they are synonymous, equaling an institution that has grown in scope, dimension, and reach, becoming a singular destination for artists and audiences alike. During this 75th Anniversary Season we celebrate the spirit of Pillow founder Ted Shawn by presenting on our three stages, in our various classes and studios, on our lawns and in our gardens, the widest variety of dance experiences offered by a single institution-multiple expressions for a multitude of audiences. The Pillow encourages a culture of curiosity about dance, about art." A Season Inspired by Internationalism and Pioneering Innovation Themes which are core to the Pillow's heritage-internationalism and pioneering innovative dance-are illustrated by the companies and programs selected for the anniversary. Below are important highlights of the 75th Anniversary Season. Internationalism launches the season when one of today's leading ballerinas, Nina Ananiashvili, performs with the State Ballet of Georgia, where she is the artistic director. The Pillow-exclusive program spans more than a century of dance with Petipa's "The Grand Divertissement" from Don Quixote, Balanchine's Mozartiana, and Trey McIntyre's exuberant, contemporary Second Before the Ground. History comes full circle with the presentation of two European dance institutions first introduced to the U.S. by the Pillow: the Royal Danish Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater. Nederlands Dans Theater made its U.S. debut at the Pillow in 1965, Nederlands Dans Theater III appeared at the Pillow in 1994, and now, with the Pillow debut of Nederlands Dans Theater II, the Pillow becomes the only American venue to have presented all three divisions of this iconic European dance organization. Nederlands Dans Theater II's appearances at the Pillow, along with the U.S. debut of Club Guy & Roni, are presented in association with NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires, a summer-long event presenting Dutch artists at diverse Berkshire performing and visual arts institutions. In July 1955, the Royal Danish Ballet made its U.S. debut at Jacob's Pillow-a major entry point even then for international dance companies in the U.S. In 2007, Dancers of the Royal Danish Ballet, a new troupe of leading lights from the main company, will be appearing in the U.S. for the first time, with a Pillow-exclusive program that bridges the Danish ballet tradition-revolutionized in the 1800s by August Bournonville-and a world premiere underscoring the innovations of today's Scandinavian talent. Dancers of the Royal Danish Ballet form just one of the unprecedented five international companies making United States debuts this season at Jacob's Pillow. Aside from the Danes, they are: Netherlands-based Israeli choreographic team Club Guy & Roni, bringing an all-female troupe; Mimulus from Brazil, combining eclectic music, innovative costumes, and set design with Brazilian flair; Ballet du Grand ThÃ©Ã¢tre de GenÃ¨ve of Switzerland, displaying its mastery of ballet and contemporary movement; and England's Henri Oguike Dance Company, with its extreme physicality emphasized by the power of a Taiko drum ensemble accompanying the dancers on stage. Complementing them will be three additional international companies: Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie of Canada, presenting the award-winning Fifteen Heterosexual Duets by James Kudelka; the illusionary, theatrical, and deeply imaginative AurÃ©lia ThierrÃ©e, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, from France; and returning to the Pillow after an enthusiastically-received debut in 2005, Australia's Chunky Move, with an innovative performance exploring the inner lives of social dancers. Other Pillow debuts feature two companies-one celebrating heritage and history with a contemporary twist, the other welcoming the future. Paying homage to founder Ted Shawn, Rasta Thomas, star of the Kirov Ballet and Twyla Tharp's Broadway hit Movin' Out, assembles an all-male cast of dancers-Bad Boys of Dance-featuring world premieres by leading male choreographers. Also, Nathan Trice, a former dancer with MOMIX, brings nathantrice/RITUALS to the Pillow for a spirited program by this emerging troupe. Favorite American companies returning to the Pillow reflect generational influences and wide stylistic ranges-a customary Pillow commitment to merging diverse but harmonizing voices within a given season. These returning companies include Mark Morris Dance Group, featuring two new works and live music by the Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center; Paul Taylor Dance Company with two programs, both featuring a new work co-commissioned by the Pillow; Bebe Miller Company, presenting a piece merging live music, video, and motion-capture animation; Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, returning with its appealing mix of jazz, ballet, and contemporary dance; Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group, combining blues, spirituals, body percussion, and song with today's urban social forms, including step dance, for an evening-length work of dance and music; Big Dance Theater with a new work created in part at the Pillow, blending dance, music, text, and visual design into an unusual dance-theater event; and Bridgman/Packer Dance in a tour de force of video projection. Special offerings rounding out the season include a revival of Joanna Haigood's 1998 Pillow-commissioned Invisible Wings, a site-specific outdoor performance which traces the Pillow's history and its role as a "safe house" on the Underground Railroad in the 1800s; and a special fundraiser for The School at Jacob's Pillow, A Jazz Happening, conceived by The School's Jazz/Musical Theater Dance program director Chet Walker, featuring Broadway celebrity Donna McKechnie, the original "Cassie" in A Chorus Line. 75 Years Reflecting American Culture The Pillow is committed to presenting international dance in all forms, styles, and traditions. It has featured nearly 500 premiere works by more than 1,000 U.S. and international companies from dozens of heritages. It is a festival, a school, an archive, an artists' retreat, a training ground for aspiring not-for-profit professionals, and, throughout the year, a leader in its community. It has become what many refer to as "a United Nations of dance," and alongside its internationalism, it has strong ties to America's social and cultural history. In the 20th century-commonly known as "the American Century"-developments in dance often paralleled those of this country's culture and social history. Independent cultural movements share commonalities, exemplifying the spirit of innovation, and the Pillow is one of the best places in America to discover signs of such innovation. One of the first dance films, produced in 1913 by America's greatest inventor, Thomas Edison, entitled Dances of the Ages, was the brainchild of the young Ted Shawn, who, with his wife Ruth St. Denis, would go on to train Martha Graham in the burgeoning form of modern dance. Shawn and Edison share another date in history-in 1931, the year of his death, Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application to the United States Government. During that same year, in a remote section of Western Massachusetts, the seeds of another American innovation were being planted. Jacob's Pillow began as the Carter family farm in the late 1700s. In 1931, the then-abandoned farm was purchased by Ted Shawn, a seminal cultural figure and the father of American modern dance, who began divesting this unique place with a special purpose. Over the next two years, he began to transform the property's barns and land, constructing not only physical structures for shelter, rehearsal, and performance, but creating the foundation for a truly pioneering idea. That idea-Jacob's Pillow-is now known worldwide as a singular place for artists and audiences to explore, create, share, and enjoy the universal language of dance. Since its first performances in the summer of 1933, the Pillow has continued to embrace diverse voices and views, each expressing part of the American cultural consciousness-from civil rights to Pop Art, from the sexual revolution to hip-hop. Over the course of the Pillow's history, each decade has presented many "firsts" that have mirrored trends and social developments. In the 1930s, Shawn's revolutionary concept of an all-male dance company (the Men Dancers) dispelled many social stereotypes regarding dance, specifically the honorability of dance as an acceptable profession for men. In the 1940s, Jack Cole, one of Ted Shawn's original dancers at the Pillow (later deemed the father of American jazz dance) began making his mark in Hollywood. He is widely noted as an influence on the careers of artists including Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Danny Kaye, Gwen Verdon, and Chita Rivera. Also in the 1940s and '50s, Joseph Pilates developed and led "body conditioning" classes at the Pillow-a technique that would eventually become part of America's fitness revolution and the worldwide practice that it is today. In 1961, Alvin Ailey's now-classic Revelations appeared at the Pillow for the first performance in its final, definitive form. The work, which depicts the social and cultural roots of African-Americans, now holds the distinction of "most performed dance piece in the world." In the 1960s a young Twyla Tharp made her professional debut at the Pillow with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and in 2001, the Pillow revived Tharp's 1970 work The One Hundreds, a "happening" that used non-professional dancers from the local community. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Pillow nurtured the emergence of artists such as Mark Morris, who brought back a lyrical quality to modern dance, and Bill T. Jones, whose works, such as Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin (which originated at the Pillow), have confronted American social, cultural, and religious tenets through the medium of dance. New dance forms and expressions are part of the Pillow's legacy, proving that today's innovations are tomorrow's traditions. Back in 1984, the Pillow astutely presented its first hip-hop group, and in 2005, The School's Cultural Traditions Program was dedicated to acknowledging and extending the legacy of hip-hop, drawing masterful innovators such as Rennie Harris, who directed students in the genre's origins and course. Now an internationally viable dance form, hip-hop is more than just a dance movement, it is a distinct culture-and the Pillow continues to uphold it. Jacob's Pillow also houses an extensive archive of film, books, literature, and memorabilia which vividly chronicles the evolutions of many dance styles, from formal performances of ballet, modern, and contemporary dance, to social and street forms. Scholars, choreographers, and other researchers travel from all over the world to study and learn from its treasures. Centrally dedicated to education from its founding years through today, the Pillow operates acclaimed intensive dance training programs for pre-professionals through The School at Jacob's Pillow. Alumni perform in prestigious companies from New York to New Zealand, and work in film, television, on Broadway, and in videos. The Pillow is committed to additional forms of educating its constituents. It runs an internationally respected Intern Program to train arts administrators and technical theater professionals. The Pillow is proud to offer year-round community programs in local schools, and holds a dynamic presenting partnership with MASS MoCA, the largest contemporary visual arts museum in the U.S., where Ella Baff serves on the board of directors. Through Creative Development Residencies, artists bring their companies to the Pillow and receive support to create new work-whether or not it is eventually performed. Over the years, artists including Martha Clarke, David Gordon, Ralph Lemon, and MacArthur "genius" Susan Marshall have created dances while in residence at the Pillow. Pillow commissions have notably included a controversial staging of China's seminal 17th-century work, The Peony Pavilion, produced in conjunction with the Lincoln Center Festival. These and other examples demonstrate that the Pillow has, and will continue to, support and celebrate dance as an art form illustrative of human expression, a form rooted in the social and cultural history of America and other nations worldwide. As Ella Baff states, "We are committed to being an international festival while recognizing and celebrating that the Pillow is truly an American institution in spirit and execution. It's this unique perspective of joining established and emerging American artists with their colleagues from around the world that gives us such international reach and global impact. The 'United Nations of dance'-a great ideal satisfyingly in evidence at the Pillow." The 75th Anniversary Season Performers 75th Anniversary Diamond Gala The season kicks off with a Gala on Saturday, June 16, showcasing the leading dancers of two major companies: soloists from the State Ballet of Georgia perform a grand pas de deux, and artists from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform Cry as well as "I Wanna Be Ready," which premiered at the Pillow in 1961 as part of Ailey's final version of Revelations. Also, San Francisco Ballet's choreographer-in-residence and former Kirov star Yuri Possokhov presents a world premiere for the dancers of the Ballet Program of The School at Jacob's Pillow, choreographed in only four days of intensive training and rehearsal. The evening also includes a live auction, dinner on The Great Lawn, and dancing for all to live music, with additional events and personalities to be announced. Ted Shawn Theatre Week 1/June 20-24 Nina Ananiashvili and the State Ballet of Georgia Pillow Exclusive (Program selected especially for the Pillow-not to be seen elsewhere) Republic of Georgia The State Ballet of Georgia has been directed since 2004 by the internationally renowned ballerina Nina Ananiashvili, who performs regularly with American Ballet Theatre, has danced with the Royal Ballet, and was a major star with the Bolshoi. On the company's first U.S. tour under her directorship, Ananiashvili performs a program of classical ballet and contemporary works to be seen only at the Pillow: the third act of Petipa's 19th-century Don Quixote, George Balanchine's neoclassical Mozartiana, and Second Before the Ground, by the young American Trey McIntyre. The company is based in Tbilisi, capital of the Republic of Georgia, and by critical accounts is enjoying an artistic resurgence through Ananiashvili's guidance and international contacts. Ted Shawn Theatre Week 2/June 27-July 1 Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie Canada Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie present a program of contemporary repertory, including James Kudelka's Fifteen Heterosexual Duets, set to Beethoven's "Kreutzer" sonata. The Montreal-based company, a major presence in the Canadian dance scene, is guided by the husband-and-wife team of Bill Coleman and Laurence Lemieux. This U.S.-exclusive program will also include Interiors, a work featuring the directors and their two children. The ensemble includes some of the Quebec's leading performers, including Victor Quijada and Anne Plamandon of Rubberbandance Group, acclaimed for their appearance at the Pillow in 2006. From Nova Scotia, Bill Coleman has performed with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Tere O'Connor Dance, and the Martha Graham Dance Company, aside from his many site-specific projects and works for film. Laurence Lemieux is from Quebec, and began her professional career with Toronto Dance Theatre. Doris Duke Studio Theatre Week 2/June 28-July 1 AurÃ©lia ThierrÃ©e in AurÃ©lia's Oratorio Directed by Victoria ThierrÃ©e Chaplin France Directed by Victoria ThierrÃ©e Chaplin, daughter of Charlie Chaplin, and performed by her daughter AurÃ©lia ThierrÃ©e, Aurelia's Oratorio appears at the Pillow on its first United States tour. The evening-length production combines elements of illusion, puppetry, dance, and theater and has been noted by the European and British press for its startling imagination and potent imagery. Victoria ThierrÃ©e Chaplin was the co-founder of France's pioneering circuses-the Cirque Invisible and the Cirque Imaginaire-and her show follows in that whimsical European tradition. $10 Youth Tickets are available for the Saturday matinÃ©e performance. Ted Shawn Theatre Week 3/July 4-8 Nederlands Dans Theater II U.S. Premiere (One work is shown for the first time in the U.S.) Pillow Exclusive (Program selected especially for the Pillow-not to be seen elsewhere) The Netherlands Nederlands Dans Theater II (NDTII), in a program to be seen nowhere else in the U.S., presents three works from its influential contemporary ballet repertory: Dream Play, by Johan Inger; the U.S. premiere of Sleepless, by former Nederlands Dans Theater director Ji?Ã KyliÃ¡n; and Simple Things, by NDT co-founder and longtime company choreographer Hans van Manen. This appearance of Nederlands Dans Theater II marks the company's first time at the Pillow (its only U.S. appearance this year), and highlights the Pillow's ongoing advocacy of the Dutch dance scene. Among the many other Dutch performers and choreographers to have appeared at the Pillow, Nederlands Dans Theater made its U.S. debut at the Pillow in 1965, and NDT III appeared at the Pillow in 1998. Dutch choreographer Beppie Blankert and composer Louis Andriessen have performed and been on faculty at the Pillow. NDTII's performances are part of a collaborative programming effort among Berkshire cultural organizations in the summer of 2007, "NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires." Doris Duke Studio Theatre Week 3/July 5-8 Club Guy & Roni Company U.S. Debut U.S. Premiere (One work is shown for the first time in the U.S.) Live music The Netherlands Also part of the programming for "NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires" is the U.S. debut of Club Guy & Roni, an intimate, cutting-edge contemporary group based in Groningen, the Netherlands. The company directors, Israeli choreographers Guy Weizman and Roni Haver, present for the first time in America The Language of Walls, an evening-length work for six women alongside the composer of the work's score, drummer Elad Cohen. (May not be appropriate for young children.) Ted Shawn Theatre Week 4/July 11-15 Dancers of the Royal Danish Ballet Company U.S. Debut Pillow Exclusive (Program designed especially for the Pillow-not to be seen elsewhere) U.S. Premiere World Premiere Denmark These are the first U.S. appearances of this new group of Dancers of the Royal Danish Ballet, twelve leading dancers selected from this premier international ballet company to form an ensemble to be seen only in America at the Pillow. The program combines contemporary work with shining examples of the important Bournonville ballet tradition, and includes a world premiere by the contemporary choreographer and Royal Danish dancer Louise Midjord, the pas de deux Festpolonaise by Denmark's beloved Harald Lander, the U.S. debut of a duet by Kim Brandstrup, and the third act of Napoli, a celebratory masterwork by the Romantic-era choreographer August Bournonville, whose buoyant, straightforward repertory and technique influence the world's ballet dancers even today. The Royal Danish Ballet was founded in Copenhagen in 1748. Doris Duke Studio Theatre Week 4/July 12-15 Big Dance Theater Live Music United States Big Dance Theater presents The Other Here, created in part during a Creative Development Residency at Jacob's Pillow. The group, directed by Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar, has synthesized dance with diverse inspirations, including live Okinawan pop songs, texts from a global meeting of life insurance salesmen and Japanese writer Masuji Ibuse, and other far-flung sources. The New York Times has called Big Dance Theater's work, "Deeply brilliant...people need to see this amazing company." Ted Shawn Theatre Week 5/July 18-22 Paul Taylor Dance Company Pillow Co-Commission United States The Paul Taylor Dance Company performs two distinct programs, both of which include a brand-new ensemble work co-commissioned by Jacob's Pillow with the generous support of Irene Hunter, a Board Member Emerita of the Pillow. Paul Taylor himself, once called by Vanity Fair "the greatest choreographer in the world," will be on campus, allowing audiences to see firsthand his directorship of what is widely considered to be one of the world's leading dance companies. Additional works to be performed include Aureole (performed by Paul Taylor and his company at its Pillow debut in 1964), Promethean Fire, Piazzolla Caldera, and his enduring classic, Esplanade. Doris Duke Studio Theatre Week 5/July 19-22 Chunky Move Australia A critical and popular success at the Pillow in 2005, Chunky Move returns to perform I Want to Dance Better at Parties, a dance/theater/multimedia production based on an original documentary film by Artistic Director and choreographer Gideon Obarzanek. The work strikingly explores the emotions and fears of five men and their varying relationships to dance, and has drawn immense critical acclaim as well as two Melbourne Green Room Awards. Ted Shawn Theatre Week 6/July 25-29 Mimulus Company U.S. Debut U.S. Premiere (One work is shown for the first time in the U.S.) Brazil Making its U.S. debut at Jacob's Pillow, the Brazilian contemporary dance troupe Mimulus brings Artistic Director Jomar Mesquita's evening-length work Do Lado Esquerdo de Quem Sobe, (Portuguese for "On the Left Side of Who Goes Up"), which, with introspection and humor, employs Brazilian social dance, including tango and samba. A beloved presence in the city of Belo Horizonte, Mimulus (named after the monkey flower) merges Latin movement forms, inventive scenic design, and outlandish contemporary choreography. $10 Youth Tickets are available for the Saturday matinÃ©e performance. Community Day On July 28, from 10am-1pm, Jacob's Pillow's popular, eleventh annual Community Day takes over The Great Lawn, the Inside/Out stage, and dance studios. The entire Pillow site becomes an "open campus," a celebration of dance and offers multiple ways to learn about the art form. With an array of free performances, hands-on activities, and giveaways, the day is designed for families and dance-lovers of all ages. Doris Duke Studio Theatre Week 6/July 26-29 Bad Boys of Dance featuring Rasta Thomas Company World Debut World premieres Pillow Exclusive (Program designed especially for the Pillow-not to be seen elsewhere) United States Appearing for the first time anywhere, Bad Boys of Dance, conceived and led by superstar Rasta Thomas, performs in the Doris Duke Studio Theatre. This troupe, made of some of today's top male dancers, is launched with several world premieres showcasing the technical and emotional capacities of each dancer. Thomas has enjoyed a high-profile freelance career taking him to American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theater of Harlem, the Kirov, and the Broadway production of Twyla Tharp's Movin' Out. Additional cast members will be announced, and include major stars of stage and television. Ted Shawn Theatre Week 7/August 1-5 Ballet du Grand ThÃ©Ã¢tre de GenÃ¨ve Company U.S. Debut U.S. Premieres (Two works are shown for the first time in the U.S.) Switzerland Ballet du Grand ThÃ©Ã¢tre de GenÃ¨ve makes its U.S. debut with two U.S. premieres made for the company by choreographers rarely seen in the United States: Para-Dice, by Japan's iconoclastic Saburo Teshigawara, alludes to the celestial and the unexpected, and Loin (French for "Far"), by Belgium's Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, examines the divide between Eastern and Western cultures. The classically trained company has now become well known in Europe for its formidable contemporary dance skills and repertory. Doris Duke Studio Theatre Week 7/August 2-5 Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group United States Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group presents Wilson's critically acclaimed The Tale: Npinpee Nckutchie and the Tail of the Golden Dek. The New York-based company blends high-energy movement with deeply felt social commentary in this work, which draws from African-American traditions, including storytelling, spirituals, step-dancing, and the blues. As Deborah Jowitt once wrote of Reggie Wilson in The Village Voice, "Rooted in the vibrancy of rhythm, the works Reggie Wilson makes for his Fist and Heel Performance Group are elegantly structured; the man knows how to build a dance." $10 Youth Tickets are available for the Saturday matinÃ©e performance. Ted Shawn Theatre Week 8/August 7-11 Mark Morris Dance Group Live Music United States The beloved Mark Morris Dance Group, led by one of the most recognizable American choreographers ever, commemorates Morris's twenty-first season at Jacob's Pillow with a program of repertory underscoring the unique and longstanding connection between the two esteemed dance organizations. Morris is known as one of the most musical contemporary choreographers, and this program will feature live music by the Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center and will include a revival of Love Song Waltzes as well as the Pillow premieres of Candleflowerdance, Italian Concerto, and a new work set to music by Kyle Gann. Doris Duke Studio Theatre Week 8/August 9-12 nathantrice/RITUALS United States nathantrice/RITUALS appears in the Doris Duke Studio Theatre August 9-12. Formerly with MOMIX, Nathan Trice, a New York-based choreographer, is known for sumptuous visual effects and a passionate physical style. The program includes the emotional Prophet and Betrayer, a duet for Trice and a young boy set to a score by Arvo PÃ¤rt. Trice founded his group in 1998, and has been singled out in the Dallas Morning News for his "sensational, sexy, carefully calibrated and operatic" works. Ted Shawn Theatre Week 9/August 15-19 Henri Oguike Dance Company Company U.S. Debut U.S. Premiere (One work is shown for the first time in the U.S.) Live Music England England's Henri Oguike Dance Company makes its U.S. debut. A frequent recipient of adulatory reviews, choreographer and director Oguike has been compared to Mark Morris in the London press for his musicality and physical intelligence. Oguike, the son of a Welsh mother and Nigerian father, brings a wide-ranging program, including White Space, Expression Lines, Tiger Dancing, and Second Signal, which is accompanied by live music from the drumming ensemble Taiko Meantime. $10 Youth Tickets are available for the Saturday matinÃ©e performance. Ted Shawn Theatre Week 9/Sunday, August 19 at 8pm Special Event: A Jazz Happening Featuring Donna McKechnie Live Music Pillow Exclusive Chet Walker, who co-conceived the Tony Award-winning Fosse and directs The School's Jazz Program, showcases the great American art form of jazz with his launch for 2007 of the Pillow's Musical Theater Dance Program. This benefit presentation for The School at Jacob's Pillow features Broadway celebrity Donna McKechnie-the original "Cassie" in A Chorus Line-who performs with the Pillow's professional-level students in an informal event that celebrates the irresistible spirit of jazz. Doris Duke Studio Theatre Week 9/August 16-19 Bridgman/Packer Dance Live Music United States Led by Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer, Bridgman/Packer Dance is based outside of New York City. The directors, who have been collaborating on their startling hybrids of dance and media since 1978, bring three new pieces: Seductive Reasoning, Memory Bank, and Under the Skin, called in The Boston Globe by Karen Campbell "the most thrilling dance work this reviewer has seen in recent memory." Each of the three works' composers will play their scores live: cellist/vocalist Richard Een, saxophonist Ken Field, and Grammy Award-winning percussionist Glen Velez. The company, which has drawn wide praise for its dramatically engaging and unexpected use of new visual methods, has twice appeared on the Inside/Out stage at Jacob's Pillow. On-site Week 10/August 20-22, 24-25; August 23 rain date Invisible Wings Pillow Commission Live Music Pillow Exclusive United States Appearing August 20-22 and 24-25 at 7pm (rain date August 23), the Pillow revives a commissioned work, Invisible Wings. Inspired by Zaccho Dance Theatre director Joanna Haigood's research into the Pillow's history as a station on the Underground Railroad, this deeply felt work premiered at Jacob's Pillow in 1998, when it received a profound response from audiences and critics. The production is performed among the woodlands and historic buildings of the Pillow, and features storytelling by Diane Ferlatte and live singing by vocalist Linda Tillery and her Cultural Heritage Choir. Performances occur outdoors on the historic grounds of the Pillow and require some walking.(Content may not be appropriate for young children.) Ted Shawn Theatre Week 10/August 22-26 Hubbard Street Dance Chicago United States Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, resoundingly popular with audiences at the Pillow and around the world, closes the Anniversary Season in the Ted Shawn Theatre. The company, under the direction of Jim Vincent, has been acclaimed for its dynamic mix of European works and the strength of its dancers' diverse training, from classical ballet to jazz and contemporary dance. Called "one of the most successful dance companies of all time" in Chicago magazine, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago continues to be a dynamic, popular, and evolving anchor of contemporary movement. Doris Duke Studio Theatre Week 10/August 23-26 Bebe Miller Company Live Music United States With the multimedia work Landing/Place, New York City's Bebe Miller Company rounds out the programming for the Doris Duke Studio Theatre. Performed with the company's trademark conviction, to an original score with bold video projections and lighting design, this most recent work by Miller was called "a multimedia symphony with waves of stunning, captivating images" (Columbus Dispatch). Miller, who founded her company twenty-two years ago, has performed at the Pillow four times since 1987. 75th Anniversary Season Finale Benefit The Festival Finale Benefit takes place on Saturday, August 25, and includes a festive post-performance dance party, including the artists from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Bebe Miller Company, and the cast of Invisible Wings. 2007 Festival Ticketing Information: Subscriptions (any five shows or more) with a 10% discount go on sale to renewing subscribers March 5 and to new subscribers March 26 through May 15. Single tickets for individual performances go on sale April 23. Specially priced $10 Youth Tickets for AurÃ©lia ThierrÃ©e, Mimulus, Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group, and Henri Oguike Dance Company are available for Saturday matinÃ©e performances for youth age 13 and under accompanied by an adult. For information about group discounts, call 413.243.9919 x37. Mail and fax orders accepted immediately, Box Office phone lines open on February 20, and online ordering begins March 26. Box Office hours are Monday-Friday, noon-5pm, with additional hours during the Festival. Box Office: 413.243.0745.

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Force Goes 3-1, Stays Alive at Eastern National Championship Tourney

iBerkshires.com Sports07:18PM / Wednesday, July 29, 2026

SALISBURY, Md. -- Ava McMahon scattered four hits in a six-inning, complete-game shutout Wednesday as the Berkshire Force 16-and-under travel softball team stayed alive in bracket play at the United States Specialty Sports Association's Eastern National Championship.

Berkshire's day started with a 9-6 win over the Maryland's Havenwood Revolution. But then the Force fell to the Saratoga Thunder, 12-1, to drop into the tournament's losers bracket.

Against Havenwood, Lexi Spratling went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and scored three runs to spur the offense. McMahon had a 2-for-3 game at the plate with three runs batted in, and Mackenzie Biros doubled in a 13-hit Berkshire attack.

Amelia Polidoro and McMahon split time in the circle on Wednesday morning, combining to strike out seven.

The Saratoga Thunder out of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., scored seven runs in the third inning to pull away in a four-inning win. Polidoro had a single and an RBI, and Spratling went 2-for-2 in the loss.

The Force then bounced back with two wins in the losers bracket.

First, Julia McComish went 3-for-3 with a home run and five runs batted in in a 14-5 win over the Bayside Blues of Maryland.

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