Puppetry & Circus Arts
Each of these videos conjures its own world and invites the viewer to expand the definition of “dance.”
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Cirque Barcode and Acting for Climate Montréal
Branché, 2021
This Canadian ensemble sees performance as a way to call attention to climate change and other cultural issues, situating their Pillow presentations in wooded areas not usually experienced by the public.
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Circa
What Will Have Been, 2019
Although it’s a small-scaled work—just three performers and an onstage violinist—the impact of this performance was considerable. Five years had passed since this Australian ensemble’s previous Pillow engagement (though they conducted a Pillow Lab residency in 2018), and audiences were once again astounded by Circa’s virtuosity.
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Hubbard Street 2 / Manual Cinema
Mariko's Magical Mix: A Dance Adventure, 2016
Choreographer Robyn Mineko WIlliams performed with Hubbard Street for 12 seasons, and she collaborated with the performance collective known as Manual Cinema in creating this inventive excursion which employs shadow puppetry along with other technology.
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Doug Elkins and Friends
Fräulein Maria, 2012
In addition to serving as Co-Director, Michael Preston performed various roles in this inventive production inspired by The Sound of Music, here using a puppet to blend into the line-up of Von Trapp children. Stay tuned for a glimpse of Doug Elkins’ show-stopping solo as the Mother Superior.
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Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM
Dark Matters, 2011
The first act of Crystal Pite’s full-evening work is dominated by a seemingly-human figure who reveals himself to be a malevolent being. Dark matters indeed!
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Jane Comfort and Company
Underground River, 2011
Although this segment is a striking example of Jane Comfort’s work, it would be hard to call it typical because this versatile artist has transcended genres since the 1970s. Underground River, a work created in part at the Pillow, utilized a puppet devised by Basil Twist, further explored in this PillowVoices podcast.
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Barak Marshall's MONGER
MONGER, 2010
Here you can see how a pair of Barak Marshall’s dancers seem to conjure a flirty female presence out of thin air. Which leg is which, and whose hands are wandering where they shouldn’t be? You have to watch very carefully to figure it out, but all is revealed in the end.
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Aurélia Thierrée
Aurélia’s Oratorio, 2007
A great-granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, Aurélia Thierrée knows how to get the audience’s attention in this opening sequence from a 70-minute presentation. Thierrée’s work employs dreamlike imagery, aerial work, and mime without words or a clear narrative.
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Project Fukurow
Ozma, 2005
Seen here in his U.S. debut, Fukurow Ishikawa is a Tokyo-based kinetic artist who brings organic materials to life with technology.
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Basil Twist
Petruchka, 2002
It was a stroke of brilliance to adapt this classic Ballets Russes story centering on a puppet (a role created for the great Nijinsky) into a presentation with an all-puppet cast. Even the timeless Stravinsky score is here transformed, performed live by identical twin Russian pianists.
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Inbal Pinto
Oyster, 2001
Set to an elevator-music rendition of “Around the World in 80 Days,” this quirky trio from Israeli choreographer Inbal Pinto offers something completely different. And while there’s a circus-like aspect to these two leashed creatures, their identity is ambiguous.
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The Seven Deadly Sins
Gluttony, 2001
In Lawrence Goldhuber’s section of this wide-ranging anthology, we see dancers costumed as drumsticks and a hot dog. Does this qualify as puppetry? You decide!
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Teatro Hugo & Inés
Short Stories, 1999
Although this is one of the longer offerings included in our online collection (at just over two minutes), the segment seen here is already highly distilled. These two Peruvian-based artists illustrate the cycle of life, managing to somehow “create” a believable character who ages before our very eyes from a robust and energetic youth to one who must confront the ravages of time.
Explore Playlists
The Flying Karamazov Brothers
The Gypsy and His Son, 1985
Part of a tradition sometimes known as “new vaudeville,” this group first came to prominence in the 1970s—a time when Bill Irwin, Avner the Eccentric, and other unique performers burst onto the scene.