Rasta Thomas News

The School at Jacob's Pillow, a world-renowned center for artistic growth and excellence, announces 2020 professional advancement programs in Contemporary Ballet, Street & Club Dances, Contemporary, and Musical Theatre Dance; and professional development programs in Choreography and Dance Photography. Situated in the heart of Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the longest-running dance festival in the United States, The School has been instrumental in furthering the careers of dance artists for over 80 years and offers innovative programs each year with its roster of renowned and sought-after choreographers and dance leaders who serve as faculty. Dancers selected to attend The School at Jacob's Pillow join one of the most influential international dance networks in the field. 

'Dionisio - La Vid I Mil Noches' ('Dionisio - the Vines and 1000 Nights') is the name of Rafael Amargo's latest crossover dance show. This production will soon continue its international tour due to an invitation to the 65. International Theatre Festival in Mérida/Spain. The only two performances at the historic Teatro Romano de Mérida (constructed in the years 16 to 15 BCE) will take place July 16th and 17th, 2019 and are expected to be sold out quickly. Presales got already started, tickets bought before May 31st can be purchased with a discount of 30%.

Bryan Arias, Artistic Director of ARIAS Company, receives the Jacob's Pillow Fellowship at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post. The fellowship includes a $15,000 grant, a residency at the Pillow Lab, and a residency at LIU Tilles Center. The newly established Fellowship represents a shared vision between the two organizations to broaden resources that allow artists to thrive and bring new work to stages in Massachusetts, New York, and beyond.

In advance of the full Festival announcement in mid-December, Jacob's Pillow announces four companies that will be presented in 2019. Following the record-breaking ticket sales of Festival 2018 and amidst a robust season of artist residencies in the Pillow Lab and new programming which serves Berkshire County's year-round population, America's longest-running dance festival gears up for its 87th consecutive summer, June 19-August 25. Compañia Irene Rodriguez brings a particular vision of flamenco that is both Spanish and Cuban, featuring a world premiere; Caleb Teicher & Company presents More Forever, a highly anticipated new collaboration with innovative composer/pianist Conrad Tao; the Martha Graham Dance Company celebrates female power with Graham classics, a suite of Lamentation Variations, and a new work by Maxine Doyle and Bobbi Jene Smith; and Boston Ballet returns for the first time in over a decade with works by William Forsythe, resident choreographer Jorma Elo, and twentieth century Russian choreographer Leonid Yakobson.

The monumental world premiere of the Mozart Requiem with US guest star Rasta Thomas and the Cuban Contemporary Dance Company (Danza Contemporanea de Cuba) conquers the 'Auditorio Nacional' theater in Mexico City in front of 12,000 spectators

Todo se encuentra listo para que la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (OSN) del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA) ofrezca su mejor papel en el espectáculo de danza, música y multimedia Réquiem, de Mozart, el 7 de noviembre a las 20:30 en el Auditorio Nacional.

Jacob's Pillow announces the participants of the 2018 National Dance Presenters' Forum, a three-day dance leadership development intensive held on its site in Western Massachusetts, July 12-14. Reinstated after over a decade and developed in collaboration with key partners from across the U.S., the immersive experience is framed as a catalytic opportunity for emerging dance presenters. The Forum will provide a learning environment for participants to discuss critical issues, strengthen curatorial practice, grow professional networks, and bolster support for the field of dance. The 2018 Forum planning committee selected 17 emerging dance presenters with diverse backgrounds as curators, cultural organizers, and service providers to artists and audiences, from a pool of over 71 applicants from 25 states and the District of Columbia.

A special night filled with ballet at Bryant Park, featuring a master class led by American Ballet Theatre's Cynthia Harvey and Richard Toda, a discussion with ABT Principal Dancers Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo, and performances with CONTINUUM Contemporary/Ballet, Doug Baum & Artists, and Da' Von Doane & the Artists of the Shift!

Dig Dance Weekend Series | Hooray for the Zany — Beverly Blossom is in Town!

Dance We Must: Treasures from Jacob's Pillow, 1906-1940 explores the contributions of Jacob's Pillow founder Ted Shawn and the iconic Ruth St. Denis to American modern dance. Gathering over 350 materials, including more than 30 costumes and accessories, over 200 photographs, five original antique costume trunks, and a dozen original artworks from both the Jacob's Pillow Archives and Williams College Special Collections, the exhibition contextualizes the pioneering work of Shawn and St. Denis within the scope of American art history through artifacts that have never been seen before. Dance We Must will be on view at Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) from June 29 through November 11, 2018. The opening celebration will take place on July 2, featuring performances by Adam H. Weinert and Williams College Artist-in-Residence in Dance Erica Dankmeyer.

Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presents Ephrat Asherie Dance: Odeon on Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 7:30pm.

Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presents Ephrat Asherie Dance: Odeon on Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 7:30pm.

Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presentsEphrat Asherie Dance: Odeon on Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 7:30pm.

Faye Driscoll, hailed as “a postmillenium postmodern wild woman” (Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice) for her work that is a “tour de force of performance and direction” (Brian Seibert, The New York Times), receives the 12th Annual Jacob's Pillow Dance Award. The Bessie Award-winning choreographer, director, and alumnus of The School at Jacob's Pillow joins a group of honorees that includes Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar of Big Dance Theater, Kyle Abraham of Abraham.in.Motion, Michelle Dorrance of Dorrance Dance, Camille A. Brown of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and Liz Lerman of Dance Exchange. The Award will be formally presented as part of the Jacob's Pillow Season Opening Gala on June 16, 2018 followed by the presentation of Driscoll's work at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival for the second consecutive summer, August 1–5.

Ephrat "Bounce" Asherie, Artistic Director of Ephrat Asherie Dance, is awarded the inaugural Jacob's Pillow Fellowship at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post. The fellowship includes a $15,000 grant, a one-week residency at Jacob's Pillow's new Pillow Lab, and a residency at LIU Tilles Center. Executive Vice Chairman Roger Tilles was integral in making this new partnership between Jacob's Pillow and Long Island University possible.

Jacob's Pillow invites dance artists across all genres to participate in the Inside/Out: Chance to Dance viewers' choice contest.

Jacob's Pillow announces the return of The National Dance Presenters Forum at Jacob's Pillow, organized with key partners in response to field-wide demand and in support of the Pillow's commitment to facilitate and host discourses in dance development as outlined in its five-year strategic plan, Vision '22. The National Dance Presenters Forum was first established at Jacob's Pillow in August 1996 and was held annually through 2006. The forum was widely recognized for its lasting impact on the professional development of performing arts presenters and the national growth and interest in the presentation and touring of dance.

Jacob's Pillow announces the launch of The Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellows Program in summer of 2018, marking continued implementation of Vision '22, the institution's five-year growth plan to support and expand its role as a year-round center for dance creation and research.

Dance Magazine reports that the newly formed American National Ballet in Charleston, SC quietly let go 23 of its performers on Monday evening ahead of what is said to be a planned merger with another unnamed company, planned by new management.

Jacob's Pillow Dance celebrates the impact of its visionary 85th Anniversary Festival and the achievement of important milestones marked by Director Pamela Tatge's first programmed season. The 2017 Festival season boasted over 500 free and ticketed performances, events, classes, Pillow Pop-Up performances, and new initiatives, culminating in over 111,000 festival experiences, the highest number ever accounted for.