Endings
The final moments of a dance can resonate with an audience long after the curtain closes, especially if the dance has been documented on film or video!
Next:
Parsons Dance Company
Nascimento, 2024
This popular work by David Parsons was created in 1990 with a score that was especially created for the company by composer Milton Nascimento.
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Gibney Company
Bliss, 2024
Many audience members commented that watching this particular dance on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage was indeed a blissful experience.
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MOMIX
If You Need Some Body (Remix), 2024
Not only does this video represent the last moments of this particular dance, but it was also the closing work on MOMIX’s spectacular program.
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Caleb Teicher & Conrad Tao
Rhapsody In Blue, 2024
While Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is frequently performed (especially in its centennial year of 2024), Caleb Teicher’s taps put this performance over the top.
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New York City Ballet
Gustave Le Gray No. 1, 2024
You can catch a glimpse of choreographer Pam Tanowitz’s cameo appearance at the beginning of this sequence, presented on the Season Opening Gala to celebrate her 2024 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award.
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New York Theatre Ballet
Dark Elegies, 2016
Antony Tudor’s classic meditation on community and loss was brought back to the Pillow for the first time in more than a half century in this impeccable revival.
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Black Grace
Minoi, 2004
This could be described as “the end of a beginning,” as this work from Black Grace’s U.S. debut program led to more Pillow appearances and international tours.
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Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company
D-Man in the Waters, 2000
“D-Man” was the nickname of Demian Acquavella (1958-1990), a company dancer who was memorialized in this transcendant dance which has long outlived him.
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Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Percussion Four, 1992
Best known for his work on film and the Broadway stage, Bob Fosse originally created Percussion Four as a solo in his hit Dancin’.
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Marge Champion and Blake Champion
Dancing, 1986
In another nod to Broadway, this one-time-only duet was presented as a tribute to Gower Champion, set to music from his enduring success, Hello, Dolly!
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Joyce Cuoco & Youri Vamos
Spring Waters, 1979
The one-armed lift that concludes this bravura pas de deux must be seen to be believed.
Next:
Gisela Noriega
Leyenda, 1972
This precious film footage was completely unknown for decades until it was donated to the Pillow Archives by the daughter of filmmaker Robert Savage in 2016.
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Patricia McBride & Edward Villella
Grand Pas de Deux from The Nutcracker, 1969
In another “unknown treasure” from filmmaker Robert Savage, this closing sequence from the Adagio of the Grand Pas de Deux of George Balanchine’s Nutcracker documents the partnership of two ballet icons.
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José Limón Dance Company
The Moor's Pavane, 1951
There’s very little dance movement in the final moments of this modern classic, but the theatricality of Limón’s choreography creates a shattering conclusion.
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Ruth St. Denis
Liebestraum, 1949
The bows at the end of this dance were also filmed, although the audio (including the applause) was imported from a much later performance by Cynthia Gregory.
Explore Playlists
Ted Shawn's Men Dancers
"Mechanized Labor" from Labor Symphony, 1938
Ted Shawn choreographed this dance to explore different types of labor, and these final moments from the section illustrating “Mechanized Labor” demonstrate its dangers.