Armitage Gone! Dance Performs THREE THEORIES 7/13-18

Jacob's Pillow Dance presents Armitage Gone! Dance in Three Theories, July 14-18, a new contemporary ballet work choreographed by Artistic Director Karole Armitage and inspired by physicist Brian Greene's best-selling book The Elegant Universe. A former member of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Armitage has worked with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Merce Cunningham, and Madonna, and her dance repertoire ranges from ballet to a Tony Award nomination for the Broadway show, Hair.

In June, Armitage will create a world premiere on the dancers of Ballet Program of The School at Jacob's Pillow in just four days, which will premiere at the Season Opening Gala on June 19. This new work, titled Red, features a music score by Boston-based composer Christine Southworth and will be performed by 22 dancers of the Ballet Program hailing from Argentina, Canada, Finland, France, and across the U.S.

"Karole is in the first rank of contemporary dancemakers internationally. Her new work, Three Theories, is a dynamic, full-throttle celebration of movement. The dancers in this company are among the best in the world - and they must be the best to deliver the smart, exacting, full-out dances Karole creates," comments Pillow Executive Director Ella Baff.

Greene's book The Elegant Universe details the inherent conflict between the two great pillars of modern theoretical physics, quantum mechanics and Einstein's general theory of relativity. It ventures into the ideas emerging from attempts to resolve the conflict, particularly string theory. Using concepts specific to each theory as a springboard to generate inventive movement, Armitage has created a contemporary ballet work in three distinct sections. Each section, Relativity, Quantum, and String, is defined by its own dance structure and musical language. For Armitage, contemporary physics is replete with visual metaphor and she uses such principles as a means for exploring new possibilities in movement and spatial patterning.

A work for eleven dancers, Three Theories is set to a commissioned score by maverick composer Rhys Chatham, Sangeeta Shankar's South Indian Classical Carnatic violin music, and John Luther Adams's evocative "Dark Waves." The dance features stark lighting design by longtime collaborator Clifton Taylor and costumes by DeAnna Berg.

In the first section, Relativity, Armitage furthers her exploration of bending and twisting the vertical and horizontal lines of classical ballet, intricately weaving the dance into Shankar's "Raga Jag, Vilambit Ektaal." The seven-note scale of Carnatic music, where the use of tones and pitches produce "warping" sounds not present in Western tempered tunings, influences a recurring gestural language. Relativity is a serene dance, reflecting Einstein's perception of the universe as a place of fundamental order.

The second section is fueled by the description in quantum mechanics of the volatility of the universe. In response, Armitage has created four precarious, high-speed duets, set to Chatham's driving original score for 100 massed guitars specifically tuned to produce micro-tones.

The last section draws from string theory, which maintains that the fundamental matter of the universe is a virtually infinitesimal vibrating string. Here, the choreography is shaped by morphing, tangled group formations that shift in response to individual contact. Set to Adams's "Dark Waves," the score "plays with the simple interval of the perfect fifth - the basic building block of harmony...to suggest a huge entity of indeterminate shape" (Alex Ross, The New Yorker).

Karole Armitage began her career in 1973 as a member of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Switzerland-a company devoted at the time exclusively to the repertory of George Balanchine-and she later danced with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Throughout the ‘80s, she led her own New York-based company and in 1987, Rudolf Nureyev asked Armitage to create a work for Paris Opera Ballet. Its success led to many European commissions and in 1990 Armitage chose to maintain her company on a project basis to pursue work with major European ballet and opera companies. She has created dances for numerous companies including the White Oak Dance Project, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Lyon Opera Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and most recently, Bern Ballet and Kansas City Ballet. She has directed operas from the baroque and contemporary repertoire for many of the prestigious houses of Europe including Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Lyric Opera in Athens, and Het Muzik Theater in Amsterdam. She has worked on several feature films, including The Golden Bowl and The White Countess by filmmakers Merchant and Ivory and has choreographed for pop icons Madonna and Michael Jackson. Over the years Armitage has collaborated with a distinguished array of visual artists including Thomas Adès, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Jeff Koons, Christian Lacroix, David Salle, and Brice Marden.

In 2004, Armitage returned to New York and launched Armitage Gone! Dance in 2005. In 2009 she was nominated for a Best Choreography Tony Award for the Broadway hit Hair. Armitage Gone! Dance has performed in the Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob's Pillow in 2006 and as part of a Jacob's Pillow/MASS MoCA co-presentation in 2007.

Performance and Ticket Information
Ted Shawn Theatre
Wednesday, July 14 through Saturday, July 17 at 8pm
Saturday, July 17 and Sunday, July 18 at 2pm

Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob's Pillow Scholars-in-Residence are offered in Blake's Barn 30 minutes before every performance. A Post-Show talk will take place after the performance on Thursday, July 15.
Tickets $58-63. On sale now online at jacobspillow.org, via phone at 413.243.0745 or in person at the Jacob's Pillow Box Office.

Box Office hours: Monday through Friday, 10am-5pm.
Jacob's Pillow is located at 358 George Carter Road in Becket, MA, 01223 (10 minutes east on Route 20 from Mass Pike Exit 2). The Jacob's Pillow campus and theaters are handicapped-accessible.

Free Events at the Pillow July 14-18

Free "Inside/Out" Performance - Nimbus Dance Works and Taipei Crossover Dance Company
NEW TIME Wednesday, July 14, 6:15pm
Inside/Out
Artistic Directors Samuel Pott, a member of Martha Graham Dance Company, and Taiwanese choreographer Xiao-Xiong Zhang bring their companies together in a new work centered around the ideas of self-invention and recreation, drawing on the diverse backgrounds of the dancers.

Free "PillowTalk" Discussion - Thailand's Traditions Today
Thursday, July 15, 5pm
Blake's Barn
Although Jacob's Pillow has long focused on traditional dances of many cultures, Pichet Klunchun's engagement marks the first presentation of Thai dance here. This discussion of Thailand's dance traditions also touches on how contemporary work is built on the timeless foundations handed down to us.

Free "Inside/Out" Performance - Lara Wilson
NEW TIME Thursday, July 15, 6:15pm
Inside/Out
An alumna of The School at Jacob's Pillow, Lara Wilson's inspirations are historic and contemporary stories of women. Dancers perform Early Morning Comes, an upbeat work set to swinging, soulful music, and Figment, in which movement interacts with whispered dialogue.

Free "Inside/Out" Performance - Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup
NEW TIME Friday, July 16, 6:15pm
Inside/Out
Choreographer Stefanie Nelson presents excerpts of Proximity Spiral, in which Nelson moves the dancers' bodies into instinctual, rowdy movement. Originating from an idea born while in residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, this "ferocious" (New York Times) work is based on the Fibonacci sequence of numbers and builds with unrelenting intensity.

Free "PillowTalk" Discussion - Pilates at the Pillow
Saturday, July 17, 4pm
Joseph Pilates taught at the Pillow during the 1940s and 50s, developing a system of body conditioning now practiced throughout the world. Some of his former students and associates reminisce in a PillowTalk program that focuses on Pilates himself and recalls his pioneering work.

Free "Inside/Out" Showing - The School at Jacob's Pillow - Contemporary
NEW TIME Saturday, July 17, 6:15pm
Inside/Out
The three-week Contemporary Program directed by master teacher and choreographer Milton Myers covers a range of diverse contemporary choreographers. This first week concludes with dancers showing excerpts from Ronald K. Brown's acclaimEd Grace, staged by the choreographer himself.

The 2010 Gallery Exhibits
All exhibits are free and open to the public June 23-August 29.

Lois Greenfield: Imagined Moments
Blake's Barn
Open Tues-Sun, noon-after the show
With a recognizable style that is frequently emulated, Lois Greenfield has been at the forefront of dance photography for more than three decades. She collaborates with dancers to create photographic moments that are improvised and often risky, capturing bodies in mid-air. This new exhibition, the most extensive of the 2010 offerings, features Greenfield's unique body of photography, and is exclusive to the Pillow. Featured dance artists include legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater artist Carmen de Lavallade, Martha Graham dancer and LAFA & Artists co-founder Fang-Yi Sheu, choreographer Shen Wei, American Butoh artist Maureen Fleming, Invisible Wings creator Joanna Haigood, and Festival 2010 artist Bill T. Jones.

Arnie Zane on Bill T. Jones
Ted Shawn Theatre Lobby
Open 30 minutes prior to Ted Shawn Theatre performances
The early career of choreographer Bill T. Jones was shaped by his relationship with dancer, choreographer, and company co-founder Arnie Zane (1948-1988). Zane was also a provocative photographer, whose works were exhibited in prominent venues in the 1970s and collected in a posthumous catalog and retrospective exhibit which debuted in 1999. Some of Zane's early photos of Jones are on display in this exhibit, saluting the founders of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.

Pilates at the Pillow
Doris Duke Theatre Lobby
Open 30 minutes prior to Doris Duke Theatre performances
Joseph Pilates is widely recognized as originating one of the world's most popular forms of exercise, but his connection with dance and the Berkshires is not well known. He taught at the Pillow in the 1940s and 50s, and for many years owned a house nearby in Becket. Debuting this season is an exhibit of rare artifacts from his pioneering work at the Pillow, including correspondence, class schedules, and photographs of Pilates himself demonstrating his signature technique.

Another Dance to Jules Feiffer
Blake's Barn
Open Tues-Sun, noon-after the show
The ground-breaking exhibition of dance imagery by the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and writer Jules Feiffer, which debuted last summer, receives an encore in this collection of original watercolors and drawings. Feiffer's memorable solo dancer in a black leotard returns along with new art works.

John Van Lund
Bakalar Studio
Open Tues-Sun, whenever classes are not in session
As Festival photographer at the Pillow beginning in the late 1940s, John Van Lund (1916-2009) captured generations of important dancers on film. As a memorial tribute to his many years of faithful service and the donation of his complete collection of negatives and prints to the Jacob's Pillow Archives, highlights of his vast output are on view in Bakalar Studio, where founder Ted Shawn's Men Dancers performed for the first Pillow audiences.

Other Activities at Jacob's Pillow
The Archives are open to the public and allow impromptu visitors to view videos, browse through books, access the Pillow's catalog, or peruse Permanent Collections of Pillow programs and photographs. Pillow Interactive, a popular touch-screen kiosk, provides instant interlinked access to rare film clips ranging from the present day back to the 1930s. Open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon until after the last show.

Patrons are invited to explore the historic grounds to discover all the reasons why the Pillow was named a National Historic Landmark, with Guided Tours leaving from the Welcome Center every Friday and Saturday at 5:30pm. Self-guided tour maps are always available as well.

Visitors can also relax in the historic Tea Garden, where Ted Shawn's Men Dancers welcomed the first Pillow audiences in the 1930s, as they peek into the Bakalar Studio to watch rehearsals; picnic on the grounds, or stroll through several ecological zones on the Wetlands Trail, created as part of the Pillow's responsible stewardship of its 163 acres of rural environment.

Dance Opportunities

Morning Jumpstart Classes offered in Pilates, Ballet, Modern, and more, Mondays through Thursdays at 8am. All experience levels, 16 and older, fees apply. Ruth St. Denis Studio. Call the Education Hotline at 413.243.9919 x5

Weekly Master Classes are led by Festival artists on Sundays from 10-11:30am for intermediate and advanced dancers, $15 fee applies. Pre-registration is required. Call the Education Hotline at 413.243.9919 x5

The School at Jacob's Pillow featuring world renowned faculty is open to walk-in public observation Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9am-5pm, at no charge. Groups of four or more should confirm space availability by calling 413.243.9919.
Dining

The Pillow Café offers fine dining with wine service and a full bar under the tent on The Great Lawn. Wednesdays through Saturdays, dinner is served 5-7pm. Reservations are required, call 413.243.2455.

The Pillow Pub offers casual family fare, takeout for picnics, and full bar service. Wednesdays through Fridays 5pm-midnight, Saturdays noon-midnight, and Sundays noon-5pm.

The Coffee Bar and Ice Cream Bar are open pre-performance and during intermissions.

Sample menus for each dining venue are available at jacobspillow.org. Pillow Patrons are also invited to bring picnics and relax at one of many picnic areas on the Pillow grounds.

As of March 2010, major support for Jacob's Pillow has been provided by: Asian Cultural Council; The Barrington Foundation, Inc.; The Cricket Foundation; the Cultural Services of the French Embassy; The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Frances Alexander Family Fund; The Howard Gilman Foundation; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; The Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation, Inc.; The Leir Charitable Foundations, In Memory of Henry J. Leir; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; Evelyn Stefansson Nef Foundation; National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts; Leading for the Future Initiative, a program of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation; Bessie Pappas Charitable Foundation, Inc.; The Prospect Hill Foundation; Royal Danish Ballet; RoBert Wood Johnson Foundation Matching Gifts Program; The Roxe Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; Trust for Mutual Understanding; The Walbridge Fund, Ltd.; Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; MassDevelopment; Mass Humanities; National Endowment for the Arts; National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius; American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; Save America's Treasures; CEC ArtsLink and the Open World Leadership Center; ALEX®; The Legacy Banks Foundation; Pilgrim Inn; Quality Inn; Rodeway Inn; Super 8 Motel Lee; Jacob's Pillow Business Alliance; and Jacob's Pillow Members.

Major endowment support is provided by The Barrington Foundation, Inc.; The William Randolph Hearst Foundation; The Leir Charitable Foundations, In Memory of Henry J. Leir; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Onota Foundation; The Prospect Hill Foundation; Talented Students in the Arts Initiative, a collaboration of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Surdna Foundation; and Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.