Jacob’s Pillow Dance Competition returns for its 92nd season

This summer season, Jacob’s Pillow will produce the 92^nd season of its premier worldwide dance competition, in a nine-week celebration of a few of at present’s most groundbreaking artists and dance corporations performing regionally, nationally and all over the world.

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Competition 2024 will run June 26 via August 25, and can characteristic indoor performances within the historic Ted Shawn Theatre and outside performances on the Henry J. Leir Stage. Guests to Jacob’s Pillow this summer season can even notice progress being made on the development of the reimagined Doris Duke Theatre, which is scheduled to open in 2025. 

Firms featured on this summer season’s lineup are an eclectic mixture of Jacob’s Pillow debuts and longtime viewers favorites who’ve appeared throughout greater than 50 years of the competition’s historical past. Onstage performances will span genres and kinds from ballet and trendy to hip hop, faucet, flamenco, circus, Indigenous dance, and extra. Along with U.S.-based corporations, the competition will even current corporations primarily based in Canada, England, Switzerland, Italy, Argentina, Spain, and past. Many occasions will characteristic reside music, and all are family-friendly. The competition will even embody particular occasions, events, lessons and workshops, exhibitions and talks, digital premieres, livestreams, and pop-up performances in Berkshire County. Many of those choices might be freed from cost.

The 9 corporations to carry out for one week every within the Ted Shawn Theatre are, in chronological order: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, The Royal Ballet of the UK, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Social Tango Undertaking, MOMIX, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Parsons Dance, Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Firms with multi-night runs on the outside Henry J. Leir Stage will embody M.A.D.D. Rhythms, Pathways to Efficiency (a venture of  Theresa Ruth Howard’s MoBBallet), Dancers of Damelahamid, David Dorfman Dance, and Gibney Firm.

The outside Leir Stage will even characteristic quite a few one-day-only occasions, together with efficiency ensembles from The Faculty at Jacob’s Pillow summer season applications in modern ballet, modern and musical theatre. The entire program for Competition 2024 past onstage performances (together with reveals, livestreams, PillowTalks, lessons and workshops, neighborhood occasions, and extra) might be introduced in April.

In an thrilling first, the world-renowned Royal Ballet of the UK will make its Pillow debut by staging a “takeover” of Competition Week 2 (July 3-7), with day by day performances on two phases. Audiences will have the ability to take pleasure in The Royal Ballet program on the outside Henry J. Leir Stage, then proceed the expertise by transferring into the historic indoor Ted Shawn Theatre to see a very completely different program. The indoor and outside parts of the “takeover” might be ticketed individually. This may mark the primary time within the Competition’s historical past {that a} single firm will carry out on each the indoor and outside phases with separate applications on the identical day. This engagement might be The Royal Ballet’s unique look in the USA in 2024.

“Once we describe Jacob’s Pillow as a crossroads for dance, that is the type of wide-ranging, blockbuster summer season program we’re speaking about,” mentioned Jacob’s Pillow Government and Creative Director Pamela Tatge. “The artists and firms coming to our phases right here in Becket are multi-generational masters of their type, whether or not they come from the realm of dance, theater, activism, visible design, reside music — or from many realms without delay. A few of these sensible creators have storied histories that intersect with the Pillow’s; some are new to us and simply rising into new types of dance and mission-making. A few of the artists tour broadly and have world identify recognition; some have targeted primarily on celebrating and empowering native communities. Regardless, all of them are intent on bringing their greatest work to Jacob’s Pillow, and their onstage encounters with Pillow audiences — all within the span of 9 weeks — will imply one thing unforgettable for everybody.”

The 2024 Competition was curated by Tatge and Affiliate Curators Melanie George and Ali Rosa-Salas, supported by Worldwide Advisor Cathy Levy and Producing Director Holly Jones. 

Jacob’s Pillow will maintain its largest fundraising occasion of the yr — the Season Opening Gala — on Saturday, June 22, that includes a livestream of reside performances and a presentation of the 2024 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award to this yr’s recipient, choreographer Pam Tanowitz. Neighborhood Day will even return this yr, offering free, all-ages daytime performances by regional dance artists, in addition to actions across the Pillow’s campus on Friday, August 16.

Jacob’s Pillow continues to be a house for shows of premiere works, and this yr will characteristic world premieres by Camille A. Brown and Wayne McGregor and U.S. premieres by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Pam Tanowitz, amongst others, on each the Ted Shawn Theatre and Henry J. Leir phases. Artists and firms making their Jacob’s Pillow debuts this season embody The Royal Ballet, Social Tango Undertaking and Dancers of Dahmelahamid. The Competition additionally options the return of corporations who haven’t graced our phases in many years: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, MOMIX and Parsons Dance.

As Jacob’s Pillow continues to strengthen its position in serving artists year-round, the Competition will even characteristic work developed on the Pillow Lab, a residency program now in its seventh yr. This work contains works to be carried out by Camille A. Brown & Dancers and MoBBallet’s Pathways to Efficiency venture. 

Competition 2024 will host the return of two beloved annual gatherings: Pillow Satisfaction and the All Types Dance Battle. Pillow Satisfaction — a celebration of LGBTQIA+ people and communities — might be held on the weekend of July 13-14, together with a efficiency by the MasterZ at Work Dance Household with Courtney Topanga Washington. The All Types Dance Battle might be held on the night of Friday, August 2. Tickets to events might be obtainable starting in March, in time for Member Pre-Sale.

Ticketed performances and events might be enriched by talks, exhibitions, workshops and the return of the free On the Highway efficiency sequence to cities round Berkshire County, with particulars to be introduced later this yr. Digital choices will embody PillowTalks and livestreams of a number of performances.