MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY to Perform at Jacob's Pillow Festival Week 8
Brinae Ali, Sorzano Dance Works, and HopeBoykinDance will round out the week's programming at the Berkshires venue.
Martha Graham Dance Company will return to Jacob's Pillow to celebrate their 100th anniversary with a special week of performances Wednesday, August 12 through Sunday, August 16 in the Ted Shawn Theatre.
The program will include Night Journey (1947) and Immediate Tragedy (1937) by Martha Graham, We the People (2024) by Jamar Roberts, as well as En Masse, a new work by Hope Boykin commissioned and presented by Jacob's Pillow and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. The oldest dance company in the nation, Martha Graham Dance Company anchors Jacob's Pillow's efforts this year to honor groundbreaking women who have shaped, and are shaping, dance in the United States.
As part of Martha Graham Dance Company's engagement, Jacob's Pillow's free multimedia exhibit Martha Graham: Call to Action—curated by former Graham Company member Oliver Tobin, and open to the public all summer—will be open in Blake's Barn Tuesdays and Sundays noon through 5pm; Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays noon through 30 minutes after final curtain; Fridays noon to 5:30pm.
Week 8 of the summer Festival will also include performances by tap dancer, choreographer, and vocalist Brinae Ali in the Doris Duke Theatre from Wednesday, August 12 through Sunday, August 16. Following her rousing performance on the outdoor stage in 2023, Ali will present Baby Laurence Legacy Project, developed in a 2024 Pillow Lab residency. The show explores and celebrates the artistic genius of “Baby Laurence” Jackson, an innovator whose impact on tap dance and jazz music is legendary. The performance of Baby Laurence Legacy Project on Thursday, August 13 at 8pm Eastern will also be available to the general public as a free livestream (registration is required).
During Festival Week 8, performances on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage will kick off on Thursday, August 13 with Yusha-Marie Sorzano and her company Sorzano Dance Works performing To All Our Ends; GIRL [an excerpt from THREAT]; Ember, Sister, Soldier; and This World Anew. On Friday, August 14, regional artists including Afmohip, Francesca Baron, Berkshire African Dance & Drum, Dimitri Kalaitzidis (a 2013 alum of The School at Jacob's Pillow), and Berkshire Brazil will perform a mixed program called Artists of the Berkshires during Jacob's Pillow's free annual Community Day. On Saturday, August 15, HopeBoykinDance will celebrate their Pillow debut with a variety of repertoire choreographed by writer, director, and filmmaker Hope Boykin, a former member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Visitors to Jacob's Pillow are invited to join Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of Martha Graham Dance Company, and Oliver Tobin, curator of this summer's multimedia exhibit Martha Graham: Call to Action, for a free PillowTalk in Blake's Barn on Saturday, August 15 at 4pm.
“Festival Week 8 speaks to the importance and relevance of powerful women's voices in dance,” said Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge. “We welcome Martha Graham Dance Company as an anchor to our summer of honoring groundbreaking women who have shaped or are shaping dance history, with their program in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Graham's first iteration of her company in 1926 was composed entirely of women, paving the way for female voices in early modern dance. Brinae Ali, a Pillow Lab artist in 2024, will enliven the Doris Duke Theatre with song and dance honoring the life and legacy of 'Baby Laurence' Jackson. Brinae's innovative vocal and musical skill, combined with technology and live music, really brings Baby Laurence to life. And we are eager to welcome audiences to the outdoor stage for two Pillow debuts. Sorzano Dance Works creates emotional narratives under the direction of the inspired Yusha-Marie Sorzano. And Hope Boykin makes her Pillow debut outdoors with a company of 24 performing a wide range of works that incorporate spoken-word and thrilling dancing, featuring dancers from the companies of Alvin Ailey, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, and more. This week we also host Community Day, one of my favorite days of the summer, when the campus is filled with kid-friendly activities, fun movement classes, and joy-making for children and families of all ages that culminates in a performance on the outdoor stage highlighting some of the best dance artists in our region.”
Pre-Show Talks with Pillow Scholars will be offered 30 minutes before show time for all performances in the Ted Shawn Theatre and the Doris Duke Theatre. Talks before Martha Graham Dance Company performances will be led by Scholar-in-Residence Maura Keefe, and talks before Brinae Ali performances will be led by Scholar-in-Residence Janet Schroeder. Post-Show Talks with the artists will be held onstage following Friday afternoon performances in the Ted Shawn Theatre, Thursday evening performances in the Doris Duke Theatre, and all performances on the Henry J. Leir Stage.
All performances are now on sale. Tickets to Martha Graham Dance Company begin at $71.50 in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Tickets to Brinae Ali: Baby Laurence Legacy Project in the Doris Duke Theatre begin at $61.50. Thursday and Saturday's engagements on the Henry J. Leir Stage are Choose What You Pay, allowing each ticket buyer to set the price of their purchase. Rain or Shine tickets allow ticket holders priority access to an indoor venue at Jacob's Pillow in the event of inclement weather. Rain or Shine tickets are priced at $48.50. Friday's Community Day performance is free with Rain or Shine tickets priced at $23.50.
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