Bryan Arias Is Awarded 2018-19 Jacob's Pillow Fellowship At Tilles Center For The Performing Arts At LIU Post

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.

"Support for artists, both in residency time and financial support towards the creation of a new work, is essential for moving the field forward. This robust Fellowship, made possible by Roger Tilles, will have a profound impact on the development of Bryan's work," says Jacob's Pillow Director Pamela Tatge.

"We're thrilled to continue this collaboration with Jacob's Pillow and even more excited to bring Bryan's talents to the LIU Dance students and surrounding community. It's important for our mission to give students the opportunity to improve their skill on a higher level," says William Biddle, Executive Director of Tilles Center.

"I am honored and grateful to Jacob's Pillow and Tilles Center for the Performing Arts for supporting me in this way. Receiving this grant is allowing me to grow my company and put it on a more secure financial footing," says Bryan Arias.

The residency supports the development of Arias' newest work WATCH, inspired by WATCHMEN, an American science-fiction comic book by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, which is widely one of the most significant works of 20th-century literature. Examining what superheroes would be like in a real and credible world, WATCH focuses on the personal development of modern heroes through interrogating power and deconstructing hero concepts and manifestations within society. With contemporary meaning, the work questions the trust that is put in political leaders who guard the world's fate through their power. WATCH will premiere on June 19, 2019 at Colours Dance Festival in Stuttgart, Germany.

Lauded as "an expressive young powerhouse dancer" by The New York Times, Arias has performed with multiple high-profile contemporary dance companies including Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Crystal Pite's Kidd Pivot, and Nederlands Dans Theater. ARIAS Company was established in 2013. The company's first major evening-length work, a rather lovely thing, was co-commissioned by Jacob's Pillow, developed in part at a residency at the Pillow, and premiered at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 2016.

Executive Vice Chairman Roger Tilles is integral in making the partnership between Jacob's Pillow and Long Island University possible. Ephrat "Bounce" Asherie was the inaugural recipient of the Fellowship.

Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Bryan Arias moved with his family to New York City at the age of nine. While growing up Arias was exposed to many urban and social dance styles, receiving his formal dance training at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts.

As a dancer, Arias performed with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, The Netherlands Dance Theater (NDT), and Crystal Pite's company Kidd Pivot. He has originated roles in and performed in works by notable choreographers including Jirí Kylián, Ohad Naharin, and Crystal Pite.

As a choreographer, Arias is the recipient of the First Place and Audience Choice awards for his work Without Notice at the Sixth Copenhagen International Choreography Competition, nominated for the Rolex Mentor and protégé award, and a 2017 recipient of the Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Award. He has choreographed for the Juilliard School, Netherlands Dance Theater 2, Ballet Vorpommern (Germany), The Scottish Ballet, Tanz Lucerne Theater, Ballet Theater Basel, The Paul Taylor Dance Company, Charlotte Ballet, and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.

Arias' first choreographic work for his company a rather lovely thing was co-commissioned by Jacob's Pillow, developed in part through a residency at the Pillow, and had its world premiere at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 2016.

The Jacob's Pillow Fellowship at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post awards artists with a $15,000 grant and secures two artistic residencies in support of the development of a new choreographic work-one at Jacob's Pillow's Pillow Lab and one at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. The partnership 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.

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post in Brookville is Long Island's premier concert hall. For almost 40 years, Tilles Center has been host to more than 70 performances each season by world-renowned artists in music, theater, and dance. Tilles Center was the first to bring the New York Philharmonic to Long Island and Bruce Springsteen's legendary "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" was recorded onsite. For more information, tillescenter.org

Jacob's Pillow is a National Historic Landmark, recipient of the National Medal of Arts, and home to America's longest-running international dance festival, currently in the midst of its transition to becoming a year-round center for dance through a five-year strategic plan titled Vision '22. Each Festival includes more than 50 national and international dance companies and over 500 free and ticketed performances, talks, tours, classes, exhibits, events, and community programs. The School at Jacob's Pillow, one of the most prestigious professional dance training centers in the U.S., encompasses the diverse disciplines of Contemporary Ballet, Contemporary, Tap, Photography, Choreography, and an annual rotating program (Flamenco and Spanish Dance in 2019). The Pillow also provides professional advancement opportunities across disciplines of arts administration, design, video, and production through seasonal internships and a year-round Administrative Fellows program. With growing community engagement programs, the Pillow serves as a partner and active citizen in its local community. The Pillow's extensive Archives, open year-round to the public and online at danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org, chronicle more than a century of dance in photographs, programs, books, costumes, audiotapes, and videos. Notable artists who have created or premiered dances at the Pillow include choreographers Antony Tudor, Agnes De Mille, Alvin Ailey, Donald McKayle, Kevin Mckenzie, Twyla Tharp, Ralph Lemon, Susan Marshall, Trisha Brown, Ronald K. Brown, Wally Cardona, Andrea Miller, and Trey McIntyre; performed by artists such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Carmen De Lavallade, Mark Morris, Dame Margot Fonteyn, Edward Villella, Rasta Thomas, and hundreds of others. On March 2, 2011, President Barack Obama honored Jacob's Pillow with a National Medal of Arts, the highest arts award given by the United States Government, making the Pillow the first dance presenting organization to receive this prestigious award. For more information, visit www.jacobspillow.org.