Jacob's Pillow Will Host Annual Pillow Pride Weekend 2025

Jacob's Pillow has announced the return of Pillow Pride Weekend, a three-day itinerary of events centered on LGBTQ+ joy and visibility that will run as an extension of Pride month from Friday, July 11 through Sunday, July 13. While the longstanding dance festival has hosted a one-night-only Pride-themed dance party in recent summers, this will be the organization's first time hosting a three-day destination Pride celebration since 2019.

Audiences living locally, as well as those traveling from across New England and further afield, are invited to immerse themselves in a colorful and genre-blending weekend of dance, music, cutting-edge art, and community, with a variety of queer-oriented events in indoor and outdoor performance spaces, as well as special exhibits, the annual Pillow Pride Dance Party featuring musical artists The Illustrious Blacks, and a Sunday brunch. 

Pillow Pride Weekend festivities coincide with the opening of the new Doris Duke Theatre, built to become one of the most technologically advanced theaters in the world dedicated to dance. Built on the site where Jacob's Pillow lost a studio theater to fire in 2020, the reimagined theater's Opening Week Celebration will include state-of-the-art performances and multimedia installations that explore the intersections of dance, technology, and the human body.

“Jacob's Pillow is thrilled to expand Pillow Pride into a celebratory weekend that will enrich audiences and celebrate the brilliance of LGBTQ+ communities,” said Jacob's Pillow Artistic and Executive Director Pamela Tatge. “Countless queer artists have left an indelible mark on our festival, and have inspired our visitors and dance lovers for many decades.”

Since its founding in the 1930s, Tatge said, Jacob's Pillow has served as a safe haven for members of the gay community to exist, make art, and be themselves. “This was first exemplified by our founder Ted Shawn and the cultivation of his Men Dancers,” Tatge said. “As they toured the world, they forged a new performance style for men, and proved that dance could be an honorable profession for men in the United States. We are pleased to continue the Pillow's legacy of welcoming and elevating the queer community on our campus throughout our summer festival.”