One of the most recognizable names in the dance world, Mikhail Baryshnikov was born in Latvia in 1948 and began his career with the Kirov Ballet in 1967. He defected from the Soviet Union in 1974 and became a star of American Ballet Theatre, later directing the company and enlisting Twyla Tharp as a key artistic associate. With Mark Morris, he founded the White Oak Dance Project in 1990. Baryshnikov’s association with Jacob’s Pillow began in 1985 when the Pillow presented him at Springfield’s Symphony Hall. He first brought his White Oak group here for a pre-season residency and a week of performances in 1995 (represented online with an excerpt from Twyla Tharp’s Pergolesi), with a 2002 return engagement seen in this clip. Choreographer Lucinda Childs began her career as an original member of the Judson Dance Theatre in the 1960s, was a member of the Jacob’s Pillow faculty in the 1980s, and was represented here by THE DAY in 2019.
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