Numerical Titles
Many types of dances include numbers in their titles and here’s a generous sampling. Because of his momentous centennial year, Merce Cunningham leads off with a reconstructed clip from his Pillow debut, and three more newly-created clips follow. After that you’ll find lots more arranged in reverse chronological order, beginning with two clips from the 2018 season. Even though this is our most extensive Playlist yet, there are still more numerical titles not on the list. Use the Browse function to hunt for others!
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Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Septet, 1955
Merce Cunningham took the title of his work from the number of sections in Satie’s music. This dance was recorded on silent film in 1955, with music now added so that this rare footage may be enjoyed more widely.
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Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie
See #1, 2007
This world premiere by James Kudelka was designated as “#1” because he envisioned a dozen different dances based on an unaccompanied violin sonata by the 17th century Bohemian composer, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Subsequent dances in this series have been created for a range of dancers over the past decade.
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Donald Byrd/The Group
"Jazz 1" from Jazz Train, 1998
The three sections of Donald Byrd’s ambitious Jazz Train each had a commissioned score by a different jazz composer—this one by Max Roach. You’ll see two brief excerpts edited together here, as we found the group section especially compelling but wanted to also share some of the jazz music referenced in the title.
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Contraband
Mira, Cycle II... The Fall, 1994
Inspired by the 16th Century Hindu poet, Mirabai, The Mira Cycle was a trilogy exploring the mystic and the journey to a higher self. In this particular section, emphasis was on Mirabai’s theme of the “dark one,” delving into the unseen part of the psyche.
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Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
The 40s, 2018
This evocation of the 1940s was a signature work for both Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and its founder, Lou Conte. It was included on the first seven programs Hubbard Street presented at the Pillow between 1983 and 1995, and therefore seemed like the perfect way to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary in 2018.
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Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Eastman
Fractus V, 2018
Although it started out as a trio, this work by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui became a quintet by the time it premiered in 2015. In spite of the number reference in its title, Cherkaoui had remade it as a sextet by the time it was seen at the Pillow in 2018.
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The Washington Ballet
Seven Sonatas, 2017
There’s no great mystery to this title, since Alexei Ratmansky chose seven piano sonatas by Scarlatti to be played live onstage to accompany this ballet. ABT’s Julie Kent was in the cast when it premiered, and she chose it to be among the first new works to be acquired by Washington Ballet after she took over as director.
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Wendy Whelan & Brian Brooks
Some of a Thousand Words, 2016
Brian Brooks and Wendy Whelan had worked on a previous duet as part of Restless Creature (with another numerical title, First Fall), and wanted to extend their partnership in this full-evening work. The section seen here is a solo for Whelan, though the onstage cellist adds a strong presence.
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BalletX
Sunset, o639 Hours, 2016
The real-life inspiration for this ballet is reflected in the specificity of the title, which refers to the inaugural trans-Pacific airmail flight. The ballet is a collaboration between American choreographer Matthew Neenan and New Zealand composer Rosie Langabeer, linking their two cultures through the concept of transcontinental aviation.
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Ira Glass, Monica Bill Barnes, Anna Bass
Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host, 2015
This title’s numbers tell the audience exactly what to expect in terms of personnel—though there were still plenty of surprises emanating from the combined talents of Ira Glass, Monica Bill Barnes, and Anna Bass.
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BODYTRAFFIC
The New 45, 2015
The standard medium of the jukebox era, single-song vinyl records spun at 45 rpm and were familiarly known as 45s. It’s easy to see why Richard Siegal selected this title for a dance that is set to vintage tunes and possesses something of a jukebox flavor.
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Pacific Northwest Ballet
TAKE FIVE...More or Less, 2014
The musical inspiration for this work is Dave Brubeck’s classic “Take Five,” which was written in the unusual time signature of 5/4. Choreographer Susan Stroman riffed on Brubeck’s title in naming her dance, though she makes it a comment on the instructions a dancer might be given for a rehearsal break.
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Ephrat Asherie Dance
Step 4.2, 2014
Presented on the same program as Decadance’s 4 (yes, another numerical title!), this duet marked the debut of Ephrat Asherie in one of the Pillow’s ticketed venues, following her initial appearance on Inside/Out in 2013.
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La Otra Orilla
El12 (el doce), 2013
The number in this particular title is more than incidental, as the work was conceived as a multi-media exploration of the number twelve and its many symbolic and mystical associations.
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3e Étage
Quatre, 2011
Here’s a double-whammy, as both the company name and the dance title are numerical. While the dance’s title comes from the French word for the number of people onstage, an injury in 2011 confusingly reduced the number of dancers to three. The full cast was present when the company returned two years later.
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Henri Oguike Dance Company
Second Signal, 2007
The Taiko drums and onstage drummers dramatically increased the visceral impact of this London-based company, presenting the work of a Nigerian/Welsh choreographer.
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Martha @ The Pillow
Debate 2002 / Three Seascapes, 2002
Here’s a mashup of two different works, each with numbers in their titles. Debate 2002 was the name given to an extraordinary conversation between postmodern pioneer Yvonne Rainer and Richard Move’s evocation of Martha Graham, while Three Seascapes is an excerpt from one of Rainer’s revolutionary works from the 1960s.
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Compagnie Käfig
Dix Versions, 2001
This title is a play on words, which may be interpreted as “diversions” or simply the ten sections of this work, formatted to allow the ten dancers to display individual specialties.
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Bill T. Jones
Three Dances, 2000
We don’t see all three dances here, of course, but this vintage Bill T. Jones solo offers a tantalizing taste of what has made this trailblazing creative artist such a formidable force in the performing arts world since the 1980s.
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Trisha Brown Dance Company
Five Part Weather Invention, 1999
This world premiere commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow was based on a new composition by trumpeter Dave Douglas, organized into five parts. One of the sections that Trisha Brown created was known informally as “weather,” and the entire work had elements of improvisation embedded in it. Hence the title.
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Stephen Petronio
#3, 1987
Not only is there a number in this dance title, but also in the title of the music—Lenny Pickett’s “Dance for Borneo Horns #5.”
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Ted Shawn's Men Dancers
Sixth Prelude from The Well Tempered Clavichord, 1933
Proving once again that everything new at Jacob’s Pillow has some kind of precedent, here’s one of the very first dances ever presented by Ted Shawn’s Men Dancers—with a numerical title taken directly from the music.