Welcoming the World

Africa played an important role in the very first season of the Ted Shawn Theatre, which featured the pioneering Sierra Leone dancer Asadata Dafora. Recognized as the first artist to present Indigenous African music and dance in a theatrical setting, Dafora paved the way for many others to transfer traditional dances to the concert stage. In 1987, a minifestival brought together many different groups to present “Dance and Music of Africa,” and the Pillow has also presented contemporary dance companies such as Janti-Bi and Vincent Mantsoe.

For more see Dance of the African Diaspora Themes | Essays

The Indigenous cultures who thrived on this land for millennia before the arrival of European settlers have long been celebrated at the Pillow, beginning with Tom Two Arrows and the Laubins in the 1940s and finding new currency with recent efforts such as The Land on Which We Dance. Meanwhile, many artists on our continent have maintained the rich traditions of their ancestors for generations after relocating in the Americas.

For more see Indigenous Dance of the Americas playlist

Beginning in the 1940s with artists from China, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, up through recent visitors from Hong Kong and Japan, Asian artists have been frequent presences at the Pillow. Among the more impactful engagements was the presentation of Korea’s Taik Won Cho and Sun Yong Kim in the midst of the Korean War, making a statement that the importance of the arts transcends political conflicts. Throughout the 1990s, the Pillow sponsored a number of initiatives to support Cambodian dance after an estimated 90% of that country’s dancers had been murdered by the Khmer Rouge. The Japanese-American artists Eiko & Koma have also pursued various projects here over the past 30 years.

For more see Asian and Asian-American playlist

As the birthplace of classical ballet, Europe has exported its culture widely throughout the world. Even so, the very individualized brand of ballet promoted by the Danish balletmaster August Bournonville had never been seen in America until the Pillow first presented the Royal Danish Ballet in 1955. Other European traditions have been represented here as well, such as the kilts and bagpipes employed by the Celtic Ballet of Scotland in its U.S. debut. More recently, Finland’s Tero Saarinen Company twice presented Borrowed Light, their insightful meditation on the American Shakers. And Europe has long been the source for many other nonballet groups like the current season’s Gauthier Dance and Compagnie Käfig.

For more see European Ballet and European Contemporary Dance playlists

Although India is geographically part of South Asia, the large number of Indian artists who have performed at the Pillow suggests devoting an entire section to this region. Since 1953 when Shivaram made his U.S. debut to the current season’s engagement of U.S.-born Mythili Prakash, Indian dance has seldom been far from view. Prominent Indian artists who have performed here for the first time in America include Balasaraswati, Indrani, Ritha Devi, and contemporary choreographer Chandralekha.

For more see Contemporary Bharatanatyam at Jacob’s Pillow multimedia essay

Although the Jerusalem-born dancer Hadassah may have been the first Middle Eastern artist to perform at the Pillow (in 1951), strong connections to the region have proliferated in recent decades. Especially after Batsheva’s Pillow debut in 1995, Israeli artists have been increasingly present, including companies such as Vertigo and Inbal Pinto. The strong influence of Ohad Naharin is also visible in Israeli artists now based elsewhere, like UK-based Hofesh Shechter and California’s Danielle Agami.

For more see The Israeli Delegation: Artists from the Holy Land multimedia essay

Island nations like Samoa and the Philippines that are thousands of miles apart may seem to have little in common, but some have been extensively represented at the Pillow along with the major Oceanic cultures including Australia and New Zealand. And though it is now part of the United States, Hawaii has played its part in Pillow programming since the 1950s, including a 1990 Hula initiative. Black Grace may be the most familiar representative of this region, making their U.S. debut at the Pillow in 2004 and returning as recently as 2022.

TANISHA JONES

“There is no other venue that has been as enduring and prolific a showcase of dance from around the world as Jacob’s Pillow. The countries and cultures that have graced the Pillow’s stages over the last nine decades are diverse and many. However, what became immediately evident in shaping this exhibition with my esteemed co-curators was how do we respectfully and effectively present the multifaceted cultural dynamics represented within these important artists. Through thoughtfully selected images, Welcoming the World celebrates the Pillow’s long-standing commitment to dance in all its forms.”

Tanisha Jones is an independent archivist and project manager with a specialization in dance and audio and moving image archiving. From 2007-2022, Tanisha worked for the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

HARI KRISHNAN

“How do we critically and ethically unpack representations of diversity and excellence in dance at the magical Pillow, as we seek to acknowledge the complexity of the divisive world we currently inhabit? It has been a pleasure engaging in rich, substantive conversations with Norton and Tanisha, as we delicately deciphered some of these issues through the unique global prism of the Pillow. Welcoming the World is a love letter of sorts, representing a capsule of the vast range of exceptional global and American dance artists Ted Shawn and his successors have invited to the Pillow.”

Hari Krishnan is a choreographer and dance scholar, who is also current Chair and Professor of Dance at Wesleyan University and Artistic Director of inDANCE.

Norton Owen

Can we visually represent all the many cultures who have enlivened Pillow stages since 1940 when the programming first shifted away from the works of founder Ted Shawn? That has been the challenge undertaken with my two knowledgeable and broad-minded fellow curators, grappling with complexities that mirror the increasingly multi-cultural aspects of many countries throughout the globe. While it’s impossible to spotlight all the many hundreds of relevant artists within the few dozen images shown here, it’s our hope that this sampling indicates how Jacob’s Pillow has been welcoming the world for most of its 90+ seasons.

Norton Owen is Director of Preservation at Jacob’s Pillow, where he has created more than a hundred exhibitions since 1990.

Published June 2024