Broadway Stars Shine in a Benefit for The School at Jacob's Pillow
BECKET – A Jazz Happening celebrates the energetic punch and enduring style of jazz and musical theatre dance with current Broadway stars and stars-in-training in the Ted Shawn Theatre, August 17. This spirited one-night-only benefit for The School at Jacob’s Pillow brings to the Berkshires renowned Broadway artists and musicians from shows such as Fosse, Sophisticated Ladies, Mamma Mia!, Man of la Mancha, Les Misérables, and Evita.Broadway star Brenda Braxton will headline this all new revue, with other Broadway luminaries choreographing, performing and providing live music. Chet Walker, co-conceiver of the Tony Award-winning hit Fosse and director of the three-week Jacob’s Pillow program, directs and performs. The Broadway veterans perform side-by-side with The School’s professional-track dancers as the culmination of the three-week Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance Program.
Featured performers and artists include veteran Broadway dancer and choreographer Mercedes Ellington, who will create an exclusive tap number on the dancers. Terri Klausner will take part as the program’s vocal coach, and seasoned musical director/pianist/conductor Steve Marzullo of Mamma Mia! and Grease will serve as musical director. Michael Gorman and David Marquez, choreographer for both television and the stage, will create new work on the dancers. Stephen Bogardus and dancer Dana Moore join in the engagement as well. Along with this cast of stars, 24 talented dancers of The School at Jacob’s Pillow from Argentina, France, Greece, Japan, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. perform Broadway-style numbers learned during three weeks of intense training and rehearsals. After a vivacious and exhilarating evening performance, patrons are invited to mingle with the performers at an artist reception.
Proceeds from ticket sales support programs of The School at Jacob’s Pillow. The School was established in 1934, just one year after the Festival itself, when Ted Shawn began teaching summer classes with his company, the Men Dancers. Shawn’s comprehensive educational approach for The School arose from his full embrace of all dance forms and continues to this day, through five in-depth programs at The School: Ballet, Contemporary Traditions, Cultural Traditions, Jazz/ Musical Theatre Dance, and a Choreographers Lab, as well as numerous community programs.
The school curriculum also includes the opportunity to watch rehearsals and performances of professional dance companies performing at the Festival, attend PillowTalks given by the field’s leading artists, authors and scholars, and study in the Pillows’ extensive Archives of videos, books, photographs, and other materials. Students learn career-building strategies, performance skills, and knowledge of the history of their particular field while attending The School and also deepen and develop their own personal artistry. More than 1,500 dancers audition throughout the year across the U.S., Europe, and South America. Each year only 100 dancers are accepted to The School, with more than half receiving scholarships which are made possible in part by benefit events such as A Jazz Happening.
A Jazz Happening is sponsored by Benchmark Real Estate, Nancy Kalodner, Broker.
For more information on the dancers of the Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance program and Jacob’s Pillow, visit www.jacobspillow.org.
