Ted Shawn News

Following a milestone anniversary year, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival will celebrate its 91st season this summer.

After the tragic loss of the Doris Duke Theatre to a fire in November 2020, Jacob’s Pillow has announced that the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has awarded a $10 million grant —the largest received in Jacob’s Pillow’s 90-year history—toward the building of a new, reimagined Doris Duke Theatre, slated to open in 2025.

Multi-Award Winning Director/Choreographer Chet Walker passed away peacefully on  ​​​​​​​Friday, October 21, 2022, at his home in Cornelius, North Carolina, from a glioblastoma tumor.  His devoted husband Jack, their beloved daughter Charlie, and close family were at his side.

Kaatsbaan Cultural Park is pleased to announce new leadership appointments effective this month. Tricia Reed will be Kaatsbaaan's Managing Director, effective October 17; Adam Weinert will join as Artistic Associate, also beginning October 17; and Paloma Herrera will be Artistic Director for Kaatsbaan Ballet Intensive 2023, effective immediately, with Kevin McKenzie stepping into the role of Artistic Advisor.

The tenth and final week of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2022 welcomes Miami City Ballet to the Ted Shawn Theatre, from Aug. 24-28, when the theater's new orchestra pit will be used for the first time.

Returning to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival for the first time since 2002, Denver-based modern dance company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, will perform in the Ted Shawn Theatre from Aug. 17-21, with pieces enriched in emotion, femininity, war, race, and elegance.

The eighth week of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2022 welcomes Hubbard Street Dance Chicago to the Ted Shawn Theatre, from Aug. 10-14. Week 8 of the Festival will also feature Dance Heginbotham on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage from August 10-14, and a performance by Liz Lerman with her new evening-length dance theater piece, Wicked Bodies, on the Jacob's Pillow grounds from August 10-13.

At the forefront of artistic innovation in contemporary ballet, San Francisco's Alonzo King LINES Ballet celebrates its 40th Anniversary in the Ted Shawn Theatre with a range of works showcasing their remarkable company of dancers.

The sixth week of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2022 welcomes New Zealand-based company Black Grace to the Ted Shawn Theatre, from July 27-31.

Limón Dance Company will celebrate part of its 75th anniversary season at the Pillow in the fifth week of Festival 2022 from July 20-24. The program will feature works by Limón, Doris Humphrey, and Olivier Taparga. In addition, Music From The Sole will perform tap's afro-diasporic roots on the Henry J. Leir stage from Wednesday through Sunday.

The fourth week of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2022 will welcome A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, performing An Untitled Love in the Ted Shawn Theatre, from July 13-17.

In the third week of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2022, audiences in the Ted Shawn Theatre will be treated to live music and the best of the swing dance world in SW!NG OUT. Also in Week 3, JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble, Prakriti Dance, Bill Shannon, and The New York Korean Performing Arts Center will take to the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage.

Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE will return to Jacob’s Pillow in Week 2 of the Dance Festival this year from June 29-July 3. The company will perform several works, including the world premiere of The Equality of Night and Day, with noted jazz composer Jason Moran playing live for each performance.

The world premiere Pillow-exclusive engagement, America(na) to Me, will kick off Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2022 in the opening week of the Festival – as the first week-long performance in the newly renovated Ted Shawn Theatre – from June 22-26.

Jacob's Pillow has announced its full schedule of programming for this summer's Dance Festival, including 10 weeks of performances, talks, community events, exhibitions, and more. This year marks the 90th Anniversary Season of the Dance Festival, which will celebrate the reopening of the renovated Ted Shawn Theatre and a return to indoor performances at Jacob's Pillow.

Jacob’s Pillow has announced Belgian and Moroccan choreographer, dancer, and director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui as the recipient of the 2022 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. Cherkaoui will accept this award and present a new work at the season-opening Gala on June 18. 

Jacob’s Pillow has announced the full season lineup for Festival 2022, featuring world premieres, new commissions, 90th Anniversary Season celebrations, Pillow-exclusive engagements, and work developed at the Pillow Lab. 

Arts On Site (AOS) has announced December performances, featuring dance, music, and film in the heart of the East Village at Studio 3R, 12 St. Mark’s Place, NYC. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online

A special edition of the STREB Extreme Action Company’s 2021 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival performance, featuring a unique retrospective of Elizabeth Streb’s work from the 70s and 80s alongside bonus behind-the-scenes content and archival footage, will be available as part of a Holiday Stream offered through the Pillow this holiday season.

HENNING RÜBSAM, choreographer and artistic director of SENSEDANCE, will teach a dance history/appreciation course for the general public on “ICONIC DANCE PARTNERSHIPS”.