History
1790-1933
1933-1942
1942-1997
1998-present
1790-1933:
From Farm to Festival
Jacob's
Pillow began in 1790 as a hard-scrabble mountaintop farm at the
crest of a twisting, climbing stagecoach road between Boston and
Albany. Local folk viewing the zig-zagging road from the bottom
of the hill thought it resembled the rungs of a ladder, so these
biblically minded New Englanders dubbed it "Jacob's Ladder." Boulders
dotted the farm pastures, among them a curiously-shaped one located
behind the farmhouse. Given the rock "pillow" and the farm's proximity
to "Jacob's Ladder," the Carter Family, who settled the property,
furthered local allusions to the Book of Genesis (which tells
of Jacob laying his head upon a rock and dreaming of a ladder
to heaven) by giving their farm the name "Jacob's Pillow."
In 1930, modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn bought the farm as a retreat.
At that time, Shawn and his wife, Ruth St. Denis, were America's
leading couple of the dance. Their Denishawn Company had popularized
a revolutionary dance form rooted in theatrical and ethnic traditions
rather than those of European ballet. Their trailblazing work
and cross-country tours paved the way for the next generation
of legendary modern dance pioneers: Martha Graham, Charles Weidman,
and Doris Humphrey were all Denishawn members. But Shawn and St.
Denis had recently separated, personally and professionally, and
in the fall of 1931, Shawn conducted the last rehearsals of the
Denishawn era at Jacob's Pillow.
Shawn had long harbored a dream of legitimizing the dance in America
as a honorable career for men. In 1933, he recruited eight men,
including Denishawn dancer Barton Mumaw and several physical education
students from Springfield College (then a men's school) for his
new company. The tall and burly Shawn and his athletic dancers
were intent on challenging the "sissy" image of men in the dance;
they forged a new, boldly muscular style in dances celebrating
Pawnee braves, toiling Black sharecroppers, and Union machinists.
In their "off-time," they built structures still used today at
Jacob's Pillow.
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1933-1942:
Festival Roots
In
July 1933, Shawn and his Men Dancers started giving public "Tea
Lecture Demonstrations" to promote their work--and to pay the
grocer! The first audience of 45 curiosity-seekers expanded weekly
so that by summer's end, people were turned away: roots for what
was to evolve into the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival were established.
From 1933 to 1940, a period Shawn termed "seven magic years,"
Shawn and his Men Dancers toured throughout the United States
and to Canada, Cuba, and England, performing more than 1,250 times
in 750 cities, and continued the summer "Tea Lecture Demonstrations"
at the Pillow. With the Selective Service Act of 1939, Shawn felt
his personal and professional crusade had been a success--public,
press, and educators were accepting the dance as an honorable
profession for men. In May 1940, The Men Dancers disbanded and
joined the armed forces.
Deep in debt, Shawn proposed selling Jacob's Pillow to Mary Washington
Ball, a dance teacher, who leased the property with the option
to buy and produced the Berkshire Hills Dance Festival on site
in 1940. Shawn credited Miss Ball for beginning the diverse programming
that was forever after the Pillow's hallmark, but the summer was
a financial disaster. Shawn leased the Pillow again in 1941, this
time to British ballet stars Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin. Their
International Dance Festival was so successful that local supporters
formed the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Committee, raised $50,000
to buy the property and to build a theatre (performances had been
held in the barn studio), and made Shawn director in 1942. Despite
wartime hardships, such as gasoline and tire rationing, audiences
climbed the hill on foot and horseback to attend a wide array
of programs: ballet, modern dance, mime, ballroom dance, and folk
and classical dance of many cultures.
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1942-1997:
America's First Dance Theatre
On
July 9, 1942, the Ted Shawn Theatre, the first theatre in the
United States designed specifically for dance, opened its doors.
Architect Joseph Franz, who also built The Music Shed at Tanglewood,
had agreed with Shawn that the theatre exterior must harmonize
with the existing farmhouse and barns. Franz also handcut the
weathervane atop the theatre, which depicts Barton Mumaw, Shawn's
leading dancer. Within the theatre and flanking the proscenium
are life-size paintings of Shawn in his Hopi Indian Eagle Dance
and St. Denis as Kwannon--the Japanese Goddess of Mercy.
Both were painted during the Denishawn era by Albert Herter (whose
son won greater fame as Governor of Massachusetts and later as
Secretary of State under Eisenhower).
Other than a year sabbatical for an Australian tour in 1947, Shawn
remained at the helm of the Pillow until his death at the age
of 81 in 1972. For a time the future of Jacob's Pillow seemed
uncertain. Shawn's designated successor, John Christian, was unable
to serve more than one year (1972) due to illness. Next was dance
critic Walter Terry (1973), but a huge deficit sent the Pillow's
board of directors searching again, and in the interim Charles
Reinhart took on the Pillow in addition to the American Dance
Festival (1974). A measure of stability came with the appointment
of Norman Walker (1975-79), who revamped and upgraded the Pillow's
educational and presentational standards.
Liz
Thompson (1980-89) initiated an artistic resurgence by welcoming
new artists and audiences. Her innovations, such as the popular
"Inside/Out" presentations and open access to the grounds and
studios, are today an integral part of the Pillow's personality,
and Thompson was also the catalyst for the construction of the
Studio/Theatre. Samuel A. Miller, who had worked in partnership
with Thompson since 1986, followed in her footsteps (1990-94)
with the sorely needed renovation and enlargement of the Ted Shawn
Theatre and the installation of Blake's Barn.
From
1995 through 1997, Sali Ann Kriegsman led the Pillow through a
difficult period, eliminating a potentially disastrous $4.8 million
debt and then orchestrating a range of new projects to celebrate
the 65th anniversary season. After Kriegsman's tenure ended successfully
in 1997, the Board launched an extensive nationwide search and
selected Ella Baff to guide Jacob's Pillow into the 21st century.
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1998-present: A Dance Continuum
Ella
Baff's record-breaking seasons have confirmed that her adventurous
ideas and wide-ranging knowledge of the field are perfectly at
home here. She is now leading the Pillow in new directions while
honoring the traditions that have made the Pillow a unique institution
for almost seven decades: to present and preserve a wide-ranging
variety of dance forms, a diversity unparalleled among American
dance festivals. The Pillow's national status was underlined in
2000 with two noteworthy distinctions: it was included on the
Dance Heritage Coalition's list of America's Irreplaceable Dance
Treasures, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2003, the federal government named Jacob's Pillow a National
Historic Landmark for its importance in America's culture and
history, thus distinguishing the Pillow as the country's first
and only Landmark dance institution.
The friendly, down-home traditions at Jacob's Pillow, such as
the ringing bell announcing that the Ted Shawn Theatre is open
for seating and pre-curtain speeches, are carried over from Shawn's
day. Likewise, through careful and considered expansions and renovations
of Jacob's Pillow programs and campus, this historic site in American
dance retains the rustic ambiance of "the farm," as Shawn called
it. By honoring the past, reveling in the present, and planning
for the future, Jacob's Pillow remains true to its founder's vision:
to present and preserve an unparalleled variety of dance forms,
a diversity unique among American dance festivals.
An illustrated history, A Certain Place: The Jacob's Pillow
Story, authored by Norton Owen, the Pillow's Director of Preservation,
is available at The
Store at Jacob's Pillow.
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