AurÃ©lia ThierrÃ©e performs in U.S. premiere tour of AurÃ©lia's Oratorio

01:55PM / Wednesday, May 30, 2007Print Story | Email Story

AurÃ©lia ThierrÃ©e in AurÃ©lia's Oratorio. Photo by Richard Haughton.

In some of the work's first American performances, AurÃ©lia's Oratorio, starring AurÃ©lia ThierrÃ©e and directed by her mother Victoria ThierrÃ©e Chaplin, appears in the Doris Duke Studio Theatre June 28 through July 1, during the second week of the Pillow's 75th Anniversary Season. Noted by the European press for its startling imagination and potent imagery, the evening-length production, from 2006, combines illusions, puppetry, dance, and theater and has been praised in London's Guardian as "an upside-down, inside-out world of reversals and altered states. A place of clocks and whistles, where time and people disappear." Also appearing with ThierrÃ©e in the production is noted New York dancer Jaime Martinez, who has worked with Mark Dendy and David Parsons. Victoria ThierrÃ©e Chaplin, the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, was the co-founder of several of France's pioneering, internationally renowned circus spectacles-including the Cirque Imaginaire and the still-running Cirque Invisible-and her latest show adds to her family's tradition of whimsical, revelatory theater. AurÃ©lia collaborated with her mother, Victoria ThierrÃ©e Chaplin, on the creation of AurÃ©lia's Oratorio, which draws inspiration from medieval illustrations representing physically impossible structures and skewed perspectives. The work, which runs just over an hour, is set to a score developed by Victoria ThierrÃ©e Chaplin with Paolo Barcucchi, and is an atmospheric blend of accordions, chamber music, and gypsy-style jazz. In related free events, Pillow Scholar-in-Residence Maura Keefe discusses AurÃ©lia's Oratorio a half-hour before each performance on the Duke porch, and moderates a talk just after the show in the theater on Friday, June 29. $10 Youth Tickets are available for the Saturday matinÃ©e performance. Performance and Ticket Information for AurÃ©lia's Oratorio: Evening performances are Thursday, June 28 through Saturday, June 30 at 8:15pm, with matinÃ©es on Saturday, June 30 at 2:15pm and Sunday, July 1 at 5pm. Tickets are $28 each, with a 10% discount available for seniors, students, and youth age 13 and under. Box Office hours are Monday-Friday, 10am-8pm from now to June 17. From June 18 to August 26 the Box Office is open seven days a week from noon through curtain-up. Pillow Members receive a 10% discount on performances; to become a member call 413-243-9919 x27. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 413-243-0745, faxing orders to 413-243-0749, or ordering online at www.jacobspillow.org. Jacob's Pillow is located at 358 George Carter Road in Becket, Mass., 01223, 10 minutes east on Route 20 from Mass Pike Exit 2. The Jacob's Pillow campus and theaters are wheelchair-accessible. Dinner reservations may be made for the Pillow CafÃ© at 413-243-2445. Reportedly born in a traveling trunk while her mother was on tour, AurÃ©lia ThierrÃ©e (pronounced orh-AYL-yuh tea-airh-AY) has been performing since early childhood, with appearances in her parents' production Cirque Imaginaire and, later, their Cirque Invisible. A resident of New York and Paris, she has worked with Milos Forman in The People vs. Larry Flynt, and has toured for several years with the Tiger Lillies Circus, part of the creative team on the hit Broadway show Shockheaded Peter. ThierrÃ©e's physical and theatrical flexibility, in combination with her gift for comedy, have led her to her acclaimed appearances in variety shows and in cabaret performances internationally. In 1970, Victoria Chaplin teamed up with actor and director Jean-Baptiste ThierrÃ©e, who, intent on revolutionizing the tradition of the circus, dreamt of a new style, and created his Cirque Bonjour. The following year the Cirque Bonjour was invited to the Festival d'Avignon and toured France, with Chaplin's increasing participation. Soon after, the couple moved towards a more introspective approach to the circus world tradition, creating Le Cirque Imaginaire, which featured themselves and their two children AurÃ©lia and James. In 1990 Le Cirque Invisible was created and continues to tour internationally. Free Events at the Pillow This Week PillowTalks in Blake's Barn: In Moving Dance, Past and Future, Wednesday, June 27 at 5pm, Executive Director Ella Baff and Director of Preservation Norton Owen discuss the present Pillow season and its parallels in the organization's considerable 75-year history. Saturday June 30 at 4pm, Bill Coleman shows and discusses Anne Troake's documentary film Feel the Earth Move, made during the collaboration between Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie and a small community that borders Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park. Inside/Out performances at 6:30pm, Wednesday through Saturday: June 27, VIA Dance Collaborative, featuring an alumna of The School at Jacob's Pillow, performs a work inspired by RenÃ© Magritte; Thursday, June 28, Moving Van, based in New Orleans, presents work including a solo developed during a Creative Development Residency offered to artists impacted by Hurricane Katrina; Friday, June 29, Sunhwa Chung/Ko-Ryo Dance Theater perform works reflecting Chung's training in traditional Korean dance, ballet and modern; Saturday, June 30, participants of the Cultural Traditions program inaugurate The School's presence on the Inside/Out stage, performing Hawaiian folk dances set by Neil Ieremia, artistic director of Black Grace. Ongoing free exhibits include: Memorable Moments from 75 Years, an exhibition of Pillow experiences from artists, staff members, and patrons, in Blake's Barn; 7.5 Seasons: Mike van Sleen, featuring insightful photographic images from the Pillow's own resident photographer, in the Ted Shawn Theatre lobby; Dancing Dutch, with photographic work representing some of the leading companies in The Netherlands today, in the Doris Duke Studio Theatre lobby; The Ballet Goes to Camp, with newly found photos from a 1941 spread on Jacob's Pillow in The New York Times, in the Reading Room at Blake's Barn; and on view in the Bakalar Studio whenever rehearsals and classes are not in session is Anniversary Salute: John Lindquist and John Van Lund, a series of photos by the Pillow's longtime resident photographers, spanning more than a half century. Amenities at Jacob's Pillow The Archives at Jacob's Pillow are open Tuesday-Sunday, noon through final curtain, in Blake's Barn. The library and reading room offer visitors the opportunity to view over 5000 selections of footage of dance icons at work from 1933 to yesterday, from Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis to Mark Morris and more; to browse through a collection of rare and unusual dance-related books; and to peruse the archival collections of Pillow programs and photographs. Guides are available to assist in sharing the resources of the Archives. New for the 75th Anniversary Season, an interactive viewing kiosk allows visitors to see rare footage of 75 different historic and current dance icons, including superstars Mikhail Baryshnikov and Savion Glover, among many others. Take a Guided Tour of this National Historic Landmark, once a family farm and station on the Underground Railroad and now a renowned dance festival, school, archives, and community programs. The public is invited to meet at the Welcome Center Saturdays at 5:30pm for a free guided tour or to pick up a Self-Guided Tour Map anytime. Dance Opportunities Morning Jumpstart Classes offered in Pilates, Ballet, Modern, and more, Mondays through Fridays at 8am. All experience levels, 16 and older, $8 per class, Ruth St. Denis Studio. Call the Education Hotline at 413-243-9919 x57. Weekly Master Classes are led by Festival artists Sundays at 10:30am to noon for intermediate and advanced dancers, $15 per class. Pre-registration is required. Call the Education Hotline at 413-243-9919 x57. The School at Jacob's Pillow is open to observation by the public. See classes and rehearsals of The School at Jacob's Pillow Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9am-5pm, featuring teachers from all over the world, at no charge, in the Sommers Studio. Interested groups of four or more should confirm space availability by calling 413-243-9919 x21. Dining The Pillow CafÃ© offers fine dining with wine service under the tent on The Great Lawn. Wednesdays through Saturdays, dinner is served 5-7pm. Saturday and Sunday brunch is served noon to 2pm. Reservations are required, call 413-243-2455. The Pillow Pub offers casual family fare, takeout for picnics and full bar service. Wednesdays through Fridays 5pm-midnight, Saturdays noon-midnight and Sundays noon-5pm. The Tea Garden serves gourmet teas and fresh bakery items in the charming and historic spot where Ted Shawn's Men Dancers served patrons during the 1930s. The Coffee Bar and Ice Cream Bar are open pre-performance and during intermissions. Sample menus for each dining venue are available at www.jacobspillow.org. Pillow Patrons are also invited to bring picnics and relax at one of many choice picnic spots on the Pillow grounds. Jacob's Pillow celebrates its 75th Anniversary Season in 2007. The Pillow encompasses an acclaimed international festival (the longest-running dance festival in the U.S.), a professional dance school, rare and extensive archives open to the public free of charge, an intern program, year-round community programs, and a creative development residency program. The historic site includes 163 acres, 31 buildings, three unique stages (including the first theater in the U.S. built specifically for dance), three dance studios, exhibition spaces, restaurants, the Pillow Store, residential housing, administrative offices, a health center, gardens, trails, and woodlands. In 2003, Jacob's Pillow was declared a National Historic Landmark and is the first and only dance entity in the U.S. to achieve this honor. As of April 1, 2007, major support for Community Programs at Jacob's Pillow has been provided by The Barrington Foundation; Central Berkshire Fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation; The Dana Foundation; The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Frances Alexander Foundation; Marshall Frankel Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; The Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation; The Leir Charitable Foundations, in Memory of Henry J. Leir; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; Evelyn Stefansson Nef Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts; Rudolf NureyevÂ® Dance Foundation; The William J. and Dorothy K. O'Neill Foundation; The Prospect Hill Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc; The Starr Foundation; Trust for Mutual Understanding; Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; National Endowment for the Arts; AlexÂ®; Ameriprise Financial; Berkshire Bank Foundation; Big Y World Class Market; TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation; Jacob's Pillow Business Alliance; and Jacob's Pillow Members. Major endowment support is provided by The Barrington Foundation; The William Randolph Hearst Foundation; The Leir Charitable Foundations, in Memory of Henry J. Leir; Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Onota Foundation; The Prospect Hill Foundation; Puffin Foundation; and the Talented Students in the Arts Initiative, a collaboration of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Surdna Foundation.

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Pittsfield Affordable Housing Initiatives Shine Light, Hope

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
07:08AM / Saturday, December 20, 2025

Housing Secretary Edward Augustus cuts the ribbon at The First on Thursday with housing officials and Mayor Peter Marchetti, state Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The holidays are here and several community members are celebrating it with the opening of two affordable housing initiatives.

"This is a day to celebrate," Hearthway CEO Eileen Peltier said during the ribbon-cutting on Thursday.

The celebration was for nearly 40 supportive permanent housing units; nine at "The First" located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street. A ceremony was held in the new Housing Resource Center on First Street, which was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

The apartments will be leased out by Hearthway, with ServiceNet as a partner.

Prior to the ribbon-cutting, public officials and community resource personnel were able to tour the two new permanent supported housing projects — West Housatonic Apartments and The First Street Apartments and Housing Resource Center.

The First Street location has nine studio apartments that are about 300 square feet and has a large community center. The West Housatonic Street location will have 28 studio units that range between 300 to 350 square feet. All units can be adapted to be ADA accessible.

The West Housatonic location is still under construction with the hope to have it completed by the middle of January, said Chris Wilett, Hearthway development associate.

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