New Work Created at the Pillow
All of the artists represented here have made work at the Pillow, and some of these clips feature the results of that onsite creativity.
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Dorrance Dance
The Blues Project, 2013
Michelle Dorrance and Toshi Reagon shared the credit for this groundbreaking collaboration between musicians and dancers, first seen here in the Doris Duke Theatre and then back by popular demand in the Ted Shawn Theatre two years later.
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Doug Elkins Choreography, Etc.
Hapless Bizarre, 2014
A Creative Development Residency artist with an especially close Pillow relationship is Doug Elkins, who first came here as a scholarship student in 1982. Here’s the work that Elkins partly developed onsite with a group of unique and charismatic performers.
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Dance Heginbotham
Chalk and Soot, 2014
John Heginbotham was onsite multiple times in 2014 to work on a collaboration with Colin Jacobsen and Brooklyn Rider, later premiered here and then performed at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York.
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Jonah Bokaer
Curtain, 2012
Two of the works that Jonah Bokaer presented in 2012 were U.S. premieres that had just been unveiled in Europe, but there was much about these works that was created on the spot. Visual artist Daniel Arsham crafted new scenic elements for each performance and, with the stage doors of the Duke open behind him, nature’s own surprises became part of the show.
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Mark Morris Dance Group
Falling Down Stairs, 1994
One of the most enduring works ever created at the Pillow was Mark Morris’s Falling Down Stairs, a collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma which was conceived as part of the “Inspired by Bach” television series encompassing all of Bach’s cello suites brought to life by different artists. The entire film is well worth seeing, while this tantalizing excerpt shows off the exceptional space of the Doris Duke Theatre in a way you may have never experienced.
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Twyla Tharp
The One Hundreds, 2001
Another unforgettable moment in time was the rehearsal week for Twyla Tharp’s revival of her 1970 group work, The One Hundreds. With dozens of community members on the grounds each day working with Tharp and her dancers, there truly was “a whole lot of shakin’ goin’ on” (as Jerry Lee Lewis so memorably sings in the score for this dance). You can see Tharp herself leading the troops.
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Trisha Brown Dance Company
Set and Reset, 1986
Set and Reset is generally regarded as one of Trisha Brown’s greatest works, not only for the dynamic dancing but also because of the striking costumes and decor by Robert Rauschenberg and the memorable score by Laurie Anderson. But did you know that this landmark collaboration started right here at Jacob’s Pillow? Have a look and transport yourself back to the early 1980s.
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Ted Shawn's Men Dancers
Finale from The New World, 1936
The entire decade of the 1930s might be seen as one extended residency period at the Pillow, as Ted Shawn made new works with his groundbreaking company of Men Dancers throughout these years. Here’s a true rarity, one of the few times that Shawn worked with a symphonic score. And thanks to a recent synchronization project, the dance can now be seen with its original accompaniment after more than 75 years of silence.