Fifty Favorites / Fifty Seasons
“While I could have easily included hundreds more ‘favorites’ on this list, I restricted myself to one from each of the seasons that I have participated in (so far), with the descriptions written from a personal standpoint.” – Norton Owen (P.S. There’s more on my fifty seasons in an online exhibition and podcast.)
Next:
Annie-B Parson
Dance for the Duke, 2025
The cast of this “occasion piece” for the grand opening of the new Doris Duke Theatre is all that one needs know in order to understand that it’s a “must-see”—Brian Brooks, David Dorfman, Doug Elkins, Liz Lerman, Susan Marshall, Bebe Miller, Dianne McIntyre, Irene Rodríguez, David Thomson, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.
Next:
The Royal Ballet
Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, 2024
We made sure to fully document the historic coming-together of two iconic institutions, England’s Royal Ballet and Jacob’s Pillow, including this one-time-only performance by former Bolshoi ballerina Natalia Osipova in a Frederick Ashton classic.
Next:
Dana Moore
Smile, 2023
In order to include this Chet Walker solo in his memorial tribute, we mined the Pillow Archives for a recording of Chet himself singing the classic song by Charlie Chaplin.
Next:
Taylor Stanley
"Mourner's Bench" from Southern Landscape, 2022
I was honored that Taylor Stanley embraced my suggestion that Talley Beatty’s timeless solo be included in their Pillow debut program.
Next:
Dorrance Dance
Ways to Now, 2021
This site-specific work by Michelle Dorrance holds special meaning for me, as it was centered around Fred’s Cabin, a structure built by Shawn dancer Fred Hearn in the 1930s that I called home for eight summers in the 1970s and ’80s.
Next:
Eiko Otake
rock is broken, 2020
While our 2020 season was all online because of the pandemic, we commissioned Eiko Otake to create this film onsite with Minos Papas and Liz Sargent in December 2020, just two weeks after the Doris Duke Theatre had burned to the ground.
Next:
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Concertiana, 2019
This was an emotionally-charged performance, with the company’s new artistic director, Michael Novak, performing a leading role while overseeing the company’s first Pillow engagement since Paul Taylor’s death the previous year.
Next:
Adam H. Weinert
Dance of the Ages, 2018
I’ll never forget the thrill of witnessing one of Ted Shawn’s works recreated in the very studio where it was first performed 80 years earlier. And yes, you can catch a glimpse of me turning the pages of Jess Meeker’s original score for pianist John Sauer.
Next:
Dance Heginbotham
The Principles of Uncertainty, 2017
John Heginbotham created this dance with artist Maira Kalman, and I was thrilled to collaborate with Kalman on a related exhibition in the lobby of the Doris Duke Theatre.
Next:
Dormeshia, Jason Samuels Smith, & Derick K. Grant
And Still You Must Swing, 2016
There were so many layers of legacy involved in this production (whose cast also included Camille A. Brown), with a title borrowed from the late great Jimmy Slyde.
Next:
New York Theatre Ballet
Trio Con Brio, 2015
While this can hardly be construed as one of Antony Tudor’s greatest works, the fact that it can be performed at all is a tribute to the Pillow Archives, which has preserved both a silent film and an original audiotape of the music. It was presented here on this one special occasion to mark my 40th anniversary at the Pillow.
Next:
Daniel Ulbricht / Ballet 2014
Fancy Free, 2014
It was a particular joy to see this beloved Jerome Robbins ballet return to the Ted Shawn Theatre stage, where it had been first seen nearly 70 years earlier and then filmed in 1949.
Next:
LEO, 2013
Figuring out how to represent this work on video was a challenge, as audience members could see two simultaneous images in the theater: the actual action next to a rotated life-sized image. The delightful result is akin to Fred Astaire “dancing on the ceiling” in Royal Wedding.
Next:
The Men Dancers: From the Horse's Mouth, 2012
Although I’m not seen in this excerpt, I had the honor of performing in this celebration of men dancers, appearing alongside Arthur Mitchell, Lar Lubovitch, Gus Solomons jr, and others. We later revisited this production for a weekend of performances in New York City.
Next:
Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM
Dark Matters, 2011
This full-evening work by Crystal Pite made such an impression that the Pillow brought it back by popular demand the following season, and it has since become one of the most-requested videos in our collection.
Next:
Kyle Abraham
Inventing Pookie Jenkins, 2010
This early solo by Kyle Abraham represents his first appearance on the Ted Shawn Theatre stage, marking his entry into a close Pillow relationship that continues to this day.
Next:
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Sounddance, 2009
This performance was streamed to Merce Cunningham’s laptop in the days before his death, so the fact that this excerpt represents his final glimpse of his dancers gives it added weight.
Next:
Trey McIntyre Project
Leatherwing Bat, 2008
In the audience for this engagement was Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary, who also participated in a memorable PillowTalk during his visit.
Next:
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
"I Wanna Be Ready" from Revelations, 2007
Presenting this solo as part of the 75th Anniversary Gala was especially appropriate because it had first been added to Revelations for the Ailey Company’s performances in 1960, danced by longtime Pillow faculty member James Truitte.
Next:
Tero Saarinen Company and The Boston Camerata
Borrowed Light, 2006
This dance represents an unusual cross-cultural venture initiated by a Finnish choreographer who was inspired by this region’s Shaker communities, and the success of this U.S. debut inspired a return engagement for the 80th anniversary season in 2012.
Next:
Susan Marshall & Company
Kiss, 2005
Nearly 20 years before this performance, Susan Marshall began developing this riveting duet as a Pillow Artist-in-Residence, at a time when I was helping coordinate that residency program.
Next:
Black Grace
Minoi, 2004
I remember much excitement around this company’s U.S. debut at the Pillow, heightened by the parallels between Shawn’s Men Dancers and this all-male work.
Next:
Lutz Förster
For the Children of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, 2003
Even though Pina Bausch herself performed here in the 1960s, this represented the first work of hers to be presented at the Pillow, embodied by one of her foremost dancers.
Next:
Ronald K. Brown
In Gratitude, a tribute to Katherine Dunham, 2002
Hosting the legendary Katherine Dunham for her 93rd birthday was a tremendous honor, as was her appearance on the Ted Shawn Theatre stage to accept tributes like this one from Ronald K. Brown.
Next:
Ann Carlson
Night Light, 2001
I worked closely with Ann Carlson on facilitating this work, and you can hear me as one of the narrators as well as catch a glimpse of me as the photographer in the final tableau.
Next:
Rennie Harris Puremovement
Rome and Jewels, 2000
It was exciting to experience this interpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as translated into the language of hip hop, and our exceptional videographer Carmella Vassor-Johnson intensified the excitement by shooting this performance from the wings.
Next:
Trisha Brown Dance Company
Five Part Weather Invention, 1999
Any work premiere by Trisha Brown is an event, and this one was all the more eventful because of the live music by Dave Douglas and the sets and costumes by Terry Winters.
Next:
Zaccho Dance Theatre
Invisible Wings, 1998
Joanna Haigood began her journey in creating this memorable site-specific work when she discovered information about the Pillow’s history as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and I was delighted to aid her in some of her extensive research.
Next:
Streb / Ringside
Little Ease, 1997
Although Elizabeth Streb would follow up with more Pillow performances, film screenings, and talks, this dynamic solo represents her debut appearance here.
Next:
Gregory Hines, Dianne Walker, Jimmy Slyde
Gala Performance, 1996
One-time-only performances like this one underline the importance of video documentation, which in turn enabled this in-depth essay by Brian Seibert.
Next:
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Pergolesi, 1995
Although this Twyla Tharp solo hadn’t originally been part of the Pillow program, it served as a last-minute substitution when a power outage made it impossible to present another dance with more complicated lighting cues.
Next:
Martha Graham Dance Company
Night Journey, 1994
By the time of this performance, Terese Capucilli had been performing several of Martha Graham’s own roles for well over a decade, coached by Graham herself. But the first time she performed on the Ted Shawn Theatre stage was as a Pillow student, when we both appeared in Norman Walker’s Echoes from the Tempest.
Next:
Les Guirivoires
Solo, 1993
Every time I watch this solo by Rose Marie Guiraud, I’m reminded of the extraordinary cultural exchange that happened informally and spontaneously in a Pillow studio, combining this company from the Ivory Coast with dancers from the Cambodian Artists Project—and capturing it all on video for the Pillow Archives.
Next:
Carmen de Lavallade
Portrait of Billie, 1992
As a final tribute to choreographer John Butler (1918-1993), Carmen wanted to revive the work he had created for the two of them more than 30 years earlier. This time she enlisted Ulysses Dove to perform it with her, and I was honored to help with some of the logistics.
Next:
Pauline Koner
Reflections, 1991
I can still hear Pauline’s distinctive voice telling me “I made a video for your archives today”—and indeed she did. She had long before retired from performing, but this improvisation shows that she remained a dancer at heart.
Next:
Dayton Contemporary Dance Company
Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder, 1990
Donald McKayle was one of the greats of 20th century dance, and I loved working with him both here and at the Limón Dance Company. He had danced this work here in the 1960s and supervised this staging three decades later.
Next:
David Parsons
Caught, 1989
While this work always seems fresh and exciting (as evidenced by its most recent performances here in 2024), the early presentations by David Parsons himself are especially thrilling.
Next:
Judith Jamison
Scene Seen, 1988
During the brief time when Judith Jamison directed her own company, she commissioned this solo from Garth Fagan. To my knowledge, this in-studio showing is the only documentation of this work in existence.
Next:
Mark Morris Dance Group
Deck of Cards, 1987
Witnessing performances by Mark Morris himself was always a special treat, and this gender-bending solo is no exception.
Next:
Marge Champion and Blake Champion
Dancing, 1986
It wasn’t until we began actively sharing our videos in the early 2000s that Marge became aware of this precious footage—the only known recording of her dancing with her son Blake, who was killed in a car accident only a year after this performance (and the namesake of Blake’s Barn).
Next:
Clive Thompson DanceCompany
Four Cornered Moon, 1985
This is such a good example of the “surprises” that are hiding in plain sight within the Pillow Archives—a work by David Gordon, commissioned and performed by Ailey star Clive Thompson (husband of former Pillow director Liz Thompson). A little-known gem!
Next:
Blondell Cummings
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, 1984
This recording of an iconic Blondell Cummings solo became all the more precious after her death in 2015, as she left behind painfully few recordings of her groundbreaking stage work.
Next:
Bill Irwin
Post-Modern Studies, 1983
Liz Thompson introduced Pillow audiences to Bill Irwin long before he earned wider fame as a Tony-winning actor on stage and screen. While he has returned to the Pillow numerous times (including this 2023 appearance), here’s one of his first Pillow performances.
Next:
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
Soaring, 1982
This 1920 dance by Doris Humphrey and Ruth St. Denis was one of several classic works that were revived to commemorate the Pillow’s 50th anniversary season, alongside another St. Denis dance.
Next:
Barton Mumaw
O Brother Sun and Sister Moon (A Study of St. Francis), 1981
I remember this performance as the first time I had seen this classic Ted Shawn solo, created in 1931 and performed by Shawn himself until the 1960s. This also serves as a record of Barton’s final performances at the Pillow.
Next:
The Washington Ballet
Double Contrasts, 1980
The Singapore-born Choo-San Goh (1948-1987) would have given the dance world so much more if he hadn’t succumbed to AIDS at the age of 39. He was both teaching and choreographing at the Pillow during the same summer when The Washington Ballet presented one of his ballets here.
Next:
Indrani
Tarangam, 1979
Because we have so few moving images from the 1960s and ’70s, we’re especially fortunate that the filmmakers creating a documentary on Pillow photographer John Lindquist captured footage such as this, memorializing the final Pillow appearance of Indrani, who had made her U.S. debut here two decades earlier.
Next:
Joyce Cuoco
Le Corsaire Pas de Deux, 1978
Though the video quality is poor, it’s still an enormous gift to have this record of the incomparable Joyce Cuoco—whose Pillow appearance the previous season led The New York Times to laud “those fabulous turns and balances.”
Next:
Dancers
Etude aux Objets, 1977
We were lucky that the PBS station in Springfield produced a documentary about Dennis Wayne’s company known simply as Dancers, recording this stage performance in an era when that was still a rarity.
Explore Playlists
Jacob's Pillow Dancers
Echoes from The Tempest, 1976
I was in the cast of this work created by Norman Walker (as proven by the printed program) but not captured in these brief film fragments. How lucky we were that the filmmaker’s daughter donated this footage along with dozens of other films that were completely unknown to us until 2016.