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Campus
Life
Daily
Life in The School
The
Setting
Campus Life
The
Festival
A
Community of Artists
History
Photo
Tour of Jacob's Pillow
Daily
Life In The School
Expect
to work in the studio with artist faculty 9am to 5pm, six days
a week. Dancers perform weekly for Pillow audiences, study in
the Archives, and attend Festival performances, master classes,
artist discussions, and cast parties. Schedules vary slightly
to meet the professional standards and curricular needs of each
program, but in general run as outlined below.
8:00-9:00am
Breakfast or Community Ballet/Modern/Pilates/Yoga class (varies
daily, Mon-Fri)
9:00-10:30am
Technique class with Program Director
10:45-12:15am
Repertory class with Program Director
12:15-1:15pm Campus
lunch hour for artists, faculty, staff, and interns
1:15-1:30pm
Executive Director's Welcome: meet performers, faculty, and visiting
VIPs (Wed)
1:30-2:00pm
Seminars, lectures, or Archives study to learn about faculty,
related program topics, Pillow history, and Festival artists
2:15-5:00pm
Repertory rehearsal with Guest Artist Faculty
5:00-6:00pm
Dinner in Stone Dining Room or picnic at the outdoor stage
6:30-7:20pm
Outdoor performances by Festival artists (Wed-Fri)
Outdoor
presentations by The School (Sat)
7:30-8:00pm
Pre-Performance Talks by Scholars-in-Residence, held at both theatres
8:00pm
Festival performances, Archives study, or free time (Mon-Sun)
10:00pm
Post-Show Talk: choreographers, collaborators, and performing
artists speak about their work, travels, and the dance field (weekly)
Later...Rehearse
or dance jam (studios open 24/7), chat, or rest before another
full day
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Students
in Class.
Photo:
Chris Duggan
“I
traveled so many miles to come to Jacob’s Pillow and
yet when I set foot in
The
School I felt like I was coming home.”
–Effrossyni
Dimopoulu, Jazz 2002 and
Contemporary
Traditions 2003,
National Greek Opera Ballet company member
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The
Setting
Jacob's
Pillow is located in the town of Becket in the Berkshire hills
of western Massachusetts (2¾ hours from New York City and
2½ hours from Boston). The Berkshires are noted for a beautiful,
natural, and historic environment and world-class cultural institutions,
including Clark Art Institute, Norman Rockwell Museum, Tanglewood,
Williamstown Theatre Festival, Shakespeare & Company, Hancock
Shaker Village , and MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary
Art).
The
163-acre Pillow campus includes two theatres; an outdoor
stage;
four dance studios; Archives
with rare holdings encompassing over a century of dance, video-viewing
stations, library, and exhibition
galleries;
campus
store;
food venues; health center; campus center; gardens; and woodlands.
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Campus
Life
Nestled
away from public pathways are rustic wood-framed cabins, where
artists, faculty, students, interns, and Festival staff live.
Cabin walls are lined with archival photographs and mementos of
dancers who studied and performed at the Pillow. Students are
housed two per room and provided three meals a day in the historic
Stone Dining Room, hand-built in 1937 by Shawn's Men Dancers.
Registered nurses assist with daily body maintenance and coordinate
care with area physicians as needed. Pillow drivers fill requests
for sundry supplies from town and shuttle dancers to the laundromat.
The centrally located Campus Center provides a place for students
and interns to relax during time off.
When
Ted
Shawn's
students and company members lived on site in the 1930s, they
built housing and studios, and maintained the property, from roads
to wells. This spirit continues today with everyone accepting
responsibility for the total campus environment – from living
spaces to working spaces – to preserve the beauty and integrity
of what surrounds and supports us.
Take
a photo
tour of Jacob's Pillow.
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Participants celebrate a birthday.
Photo: Jessica Thelen
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The
Festival
Jacob’s Pillow augments studio learning by ensuring that all School
participants attend Festival performances and campus events free
of charge. The Festival provides an unparalleled opportunity to
see a wide range of movement styles, choreographic approaches,
world traditions, classics of the dance canon, and new work from
all over the world. Few schools immerse their students in such
a diverse and comprehensive international dance environment. Such
exposure is critical to artistic development and pivotal to
career decision making. In the course of the 10-week Festival,
150 performances
are presented on three stages by companies from around the world
representing contemporary, modern, ballet, dance theater, jazz,
hip-hop, tap, and culturally-specific dance. More than 200 free
events—open rehearsals, outdoor performances, open studios, daily
talks by Scholars-in-Residence, exhibits, film and video showings,
and panel discussions—deepen understanding of the art form, the
Pillow’s history, and its past and current artists. Books, videos,
programs, photographs, and other materials are readily available
for study in the Archives. Program participants may take or observe
public master classes and community classes free of charge.
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“It
was really helpful to see the company
perform
the same work we are learning.
It
solidified the movement for me. Now, in
the
studio, we can make choices based off
the
performance. It changed the way I
personally
approached the movement.”
–Marc
Macaranas,
Contemporary Traditions 2004
Lakshmi Vishwanathan teaches a Master Class in bharata
natyam Indian dance to the Pillow community.
Photo:
Márta Fodor |
A
Community of Artists
Major
dance figures from around the world have come to the Pillow every
year since the 1930s. Encounters with dance celebrities, artistic
directors, choreographers, critics, scholars, artistic collaborators,
and dedicated dance supporters abound. You might find yourself
browsing in the bookstore beside Desmond Richardson, having lunch
with Susan Jaffe, mingling with Mark Morris at a cast party, or
chatting with Shen Wei after a Q&A session. The School’s student
body is known for its international mix of professionals and
pre-professionals. Many have already earned recognition in the
field as Grand Prix finalists, Presidential Scholars in the Arts,
company members, and apprentices. Pillow alumni include
well-known artists Linda Kent, Nikolaj Hübbe, Meredith Monk,
Mia Michaels, and alumni currently perform with Batsheva Ensemble,
Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Garth Fagan Dance, Alonzo King's
LINES, Mark Morris Dance Group, Paul Taylor Dance Group, Twyla
Tharp, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Broadway shows,
and many other choreographers and companies.
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A student with choreographers Roger C. Jeffrey
and
Robert Battle at a Cast Party.
Photo: Márta Fodor
“In
the past week, the wonderful faculty
and
staff have already opened my eyes to
many opportunities that I did not know
existed in dance and also in life.”
–Xiaolin
Fan, Ballet Program 2005
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