Jacob's Pillow Hosts Celebration in Honor of Baff's Departure
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BECKET, Mass. — In honor of Executive and Artistic Director Ella Baff’s final season, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival celebrates the close of its 83rd season with a Festival Finale event on Saturday, Aug. 29.
Tickets for the Festival Finale include a performance by the legendary Martha Graham Dance Company in the Ted Shawn Theatre or the young and innovative Madboots Dance in the Doris Duke Theatre, and access to the after-party where guests can mingle with dancers, pay tribute to Baff, enjoy desserts by local restaurants and bakeries, and dance the night away with DJ BFG in the historic Bakalar Studio.
The Festival Finale celebrates the era of artistic excellence and growth during Baff’s 17 year tenure at the organization. Baff’s final season closes with the Pillow’s trademark pairing of dance legends and emerging artists on both stages, as the organization celebrates another successful summer as America’s longest-running dance festival, National Medal of Arts recipient, and National Historic Landmark.
In the Ted Shawn Theatre, Martha Graham Dance Company kicks off its 90th anniversary Season with a range of classic and contemporary works, including Adonis Foniadakis’s powerful Echo, Graham’s iconic Embattled Garden, the stirring Depak Ine from Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato, and a world premiere by acclaimed Swedish choreographer Mats Ek. Madboots Dance will present two world premiere works that explore new ideas about modern masculinity, titled "Beau. and (SAD BOYS)," in the Doris Duke Theatre.
The finale performances will be followed by a multi-venue party on the Pillow grounds. An expansive dessert spread in The Pillow Café will feature treats from local Berkshire vendors. The “Chocolate Barre” will include chocolates from Chocolate Springs Café, and the “Coffee Barre” will offer locally roasted coffee by No. Six Depot Coffee & Roastery. Additional desserts will be provided by Berkshire favorites such as Haven Café & Bakery, The Dream Away Lodge and Becket Bakehouse.
DJ BFG (Berkshire county-based Gabriel Squailia) will be spinning live in the Bakalar Studio, combining old-school hits with new beats in his signature approach of seamless genre-hopping dance music. Festivities continue in the newly-expanded Blake’s Barn, the home of the Pillow’s dance Archives, where guests can enjoy the Blake’s Barn’s Best exhibit.
Prior to the Festival Finale activities, Saturday also brings the summer’s final PillowTalk and Inside/Out performance. At 4 p.m., a PillowTalk titled “Rediscovering Film Treasures” will feature both a newly-discovered 1920s Denishawn dance film and a review of video documentation from the tenure of departing Artistic and Executive Director Ella Baff. To conclude this season’s Inside/Out Performance Series, Steps Repertory Ensemble, a virtuosic and energetic young company based in New York City, takes to the outdoor Henry J. Leir stage at 6:15 p.m.
Tickets are now on sale online at jacobspillow.org, via phone at 413-243-0745, or in person at the Jacob’s Pillow Box Office.
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