Rasta Thomas News

The Jacob's Pillow 85th Anniversary Season kicks off with the Season Opening Gala, the Pillow's signature fundraising event, Saturday, June 17. The event embodies the start of the summer season in the Berkshires, and features exclusive programming, unique and delicious food and drink, and plenty of dancing and live music.

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival has added two more opportunities for audiences to experience Trisha Brown Dance Company. Originally a five-performance run, August 16-19 in the Ted Shawn Theatre, the Pillow has added a Thursday matinee to the company's schedule. Members of Trisha Brown Dance Company will also perform the site-specific work Trisha Brown: In Plain Site at the Clark Art Institute on Sunday, August 13, a co-presentation of Jacob's Pillow Dance and the Clark. An icon of American dance with extensive Jacob's Pillow connections spanning more than 30 years, choreographer Trisha Brown died March 18, 2017. In a New York Times obituary, chief dance critic Alastair Macaulay wrote “Few dance inventors have so combined the cerebral and sensuous sides of dance as Ms. Brown did, and few have been as influential. Her choreography…helped shape generations of modern dance creators into the 21st century.”

Closing out this season at Encores! is The Golden Apple- the John Latouche and Jerome Moross' cult classic. The Golden Apple will star Mikaela Bennett (Penelope), Ashley Brown (Mrs. Juniper/Madame Calypso), Carrie Compere (Lovey Mars/The Siren), Jason Kravits (Menelaus/Scylla), Alli Mauzey (Miss Minerva Oliver/The Scientist), Lindsay Mendez (Helen), N'Kenge (Mother Hare), Ryan Silverman (Ulysses), and Rasta Thomas (Paris).

Encores! Artistic Director Jack Viertel today announced casting for the Encores! production of The Golden Apple, John Latouche and Jerome Moross' cult classic.

The 2017 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award, a prestigious honor that carries a $25,000 cash prize, will be presented to choreographer, performer, writer, educator, and speaker Liz Lerman in acknowledgement of her vision and outstanding contributions to the dance field.  Long ago dubbed the “Democrat of Dance” by Alan M. Kriegsman of The Washington Post, Lerman's extraordinary career of the past four decades includes a wide range of groundbreaking work. Established in 2007, the Jacob's Pillow Dance Award's previous recipients include the legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham; MacArthur Fellows Michelle Dorrance and Kyle Abraham; and choreographer, performer, and artistic director Camille A. Brown, among others.

Jacob's Pillow Dance announces a major expansion of its popular curated online video collection, Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive. Beginning today, the site will feature a series of multimedia essays from renowned dance scholars on three distinct themes: Tap, Women in Dance, and Dance of the African Diaspora.

2016 Bessie Award-winning choreographer Joya Powell brings her Movement of the People Dance company to the premiere International Human Rights Art Festival, New York City's first arts-advocacy festival of its kind.

The search is over! Following a nationwide man-hunt, casting for the highly-anticipated production, MAGIC MIKE LIVE LAS VEGAS is now finalized. Inspired by the ever-popular Magic Mike film franchise and conceived by the film's star Channing Tatum, MAGIC MIKE LIVE LAS VEGAS will feature 13 of the hottest and most talented males from around the country. Preview performances for the sizzling production will begin on Thursday, March 30 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino inside of the mythic Club Domina. The show will celebrate its official opening night on Friday, April 21.

Boston-based contemporary dance theater company Danza Organica, directed by choreographer and Jacob's Pillow Dance Creative Development Residency Artist Marsha Parrilla, will host a free Dance for Social Justice Movement Workshop followed by a lecture/demonstration performance of Parrilla's work Running in Stillness.

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival invites artists of all styles to participate in the first ever Inside/Out: Chance to Dance viewers' choice contest. An exciting opportunity to perform on the Pillow's iconic outdoor stage, the Chance to Dance contest is a viewer-selected online competition that allows the public, peers, and fans of artists to vote on their inclusion in the Inside/Out Performance Series for Festival 2017.

Cultural partners Jacob's Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA present two solo works created in response to and performed within Nick Cave's monumental exhibition Until, currently installed in MASS MoCA's largest gallery.

Cultural partners Jacob's Pillow Dance and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) present a one-night-only work-in-progress showing of performing artist, choreographer, and TEDGlobal Oxford Fellow Richard Move's XXYY on January 20 at 8pm in MASS MoCA's Hunter Center.

2016 Bessie Award-winning choreographer Joya Powell brings her Movement of the People Dance company to the premiere International Human Rights Art Festival, New York City's first arts-advocacy festival of its kind.

Cultural partners Jacob's Pillow Dance and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) present a one-night-only work-in-progress showing of performing artist, choreographer, and TEDGlobal Oxford Fellow Richard Move's XXYY on January 20 at 8pm in MASS MoCA's Hunter Center.

Artistic Director Julie Kent is delighted to announce The Washington Ballet's participation in the 85th Anniversary Season of the 2017 Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival at the invitation of Jacobs Pillow Director Pamela Tatge.

Following the critical acclaim and record-breaking attendance of Festival 2016, Jacob's Pillow Dance announces its 85th Anniversary Season of exciting programming featuring world premieres, commissions, site-specific work, international artists, live music, and Pillow-exclusive engagements.

In the summer of 2017, The School at Jacob's Pillow, a world renowned center for professional dance training will present Professional Advancement Programs in Ballet, Contemporary, Musical Theatre Dance, and a Tap Program led by Michelle Dorrance.

Following the record-breaking success of Festival 2016 and in the midst of a robust artist residency season, Jacob's Pillow Dance is planning its momentous 85th Anniversary Festival.

Jacob's Pillow Dance, home to the longest-running international dance festival in the U.S., is accepting applications for its 2017 Summer Internship Program. More than 30 interns from around the world are selected, following a competitive application review and interview process, to help produce the field's most comprehensive and engaging festival of dance.

Strengthening its role as a center for artist research and development, Jacob's Pillow Dance announces an active, year-round season with its expanded 2016-2017 Creative Development Residency program. This season brings new additions to the program including two technical residencies, cross-genre collaborations, and invited audiences of college students, as well as a diverse roster of 10 artist residencies, the Pillow's largest residency season yet.