Storytelling
While dances sometimes contain narrative elements, there’s no single way to tell a story through movement. Highlighted here are some examples of Pillow performances that embody different kinds of storytelling.
Next:
Big Dance Theater
Alan Smithee Directed This Play: Triple Feature, 2015
The narrative in a typical Big Dance Theater work is often picked apart and put together in surprising ways, in this instance combining bits of Dr. Zhivago with Terms of Endearment.
Next:
New York Theatre Ballet
Cinderella, 2015
Donald Mahler’s Cinderella was premiered at the Pillow more than 30 years ago, and brought back in 2015 by New York Theatre Ballet.
Next:
David Roussève / REALITY
Stardust, 2014
The lead character in David Roussève’s Stardust appears onstage only through his text messages, creating a coming-of-age story for the Twitter generation.
Next:
Companhia Urbana de Dança
Na Pista, 2014
Rather than one through-line narrative, Sonia Destri’s Na Pista combines the individual stories of its dancers to create a montage of personal histories.
Next:
Irma Omerzo
Mi-Nous, 2003
This Croatian choreographer used her own experience of a separation to create a very personal duet entitled Mi-Nous, presented here in 2003.
Next:
Martha Clarke
Vers la Flamme, 1999
This riveting excerpt from Vers la Flamme weaves together a story by Chekhov and a Scriabin Prelude played live by pianist Christopher O’Riley.
Next:
Daniel Ulbricht / Ballet 2014
Fancy Free, 2014
When Daniel Ulbricht’s company brought Jerome Robbins’s Fancy Free back to the Pillow for the first time since 1949, audiences cheered a ballet milestone.
Next:
Ballet Maribor
Radio and Juliet, 2009
Telling the Romeo & Juliet story in an entirely new way, this company from Slovenia used the music of Radiohead in the wildly popular Radio and Juliet.
Next:
Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM
Dark Matters, 2011
Crystal Pite’s Dark Matters holds the distinction of being performed to sellout crowds in two consecutive seasons, a fitting honor for this spellbinding work.
Explore Playlists
Nora Kaye & Hugh Laing
The Gods Go a-Begging, 1951
This Balanchine rarity was created for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in 1928 and recreated here by Nora Kaye and Hugh Laing in 1951.