Jacob's Pillow
jacob pillow dance center school performance space located becket massachusetts berkshire facility listed national historic landmark district site jacob pillow becket massachusetts originally settled jacob carter iii due zigzagging road leading hilltop property became known jacob ladder biblical story pillowshaped rock property prompted farm acquire name jacob pillow farm purchased modern dance pioneer ted shawn dance retreat shawn wife ruth st denis led highly regarded denishawn company popularized dance form rooted theatre cultural tradition outside european ballet influential training host dance pioneer including martha graham charles weidman doris humphrey jack cole shawn objective establish dance organization american men early corp allmale company built many structure jacob pillow campus effort came end advent american involvement world war ii shawn company disbanded member joined military significant debt forced shawn consider sale property leased property dance teacher mary washington ball summer festival also financially unsuccessful british ballet star alicia markova anton dolin learned shawn financial difficulty decided acquire property financial backing fundraising support millionaire reginald wright raised purchase property construct theatre building summer dance festival revived shawn retained director death jacob pillow property declared national historic landmark district federal government exceptional cultural venue hold value american dance entity u receive honor march jacob pillow named recipient national medal art national award distinction doris duke theatre one two indoor performance space destroyed fire november pillow present international dance many form style tradition pillow founder ted shawn instrumental beginning career martha graham jack cole pillow continued mentoring role career artist alvin ailey josé limón mark morris company dance theatre harlem parson dance company trey mcintyre project made debut pillow international group royal danish ballet nederland dans theatre black grace hofesh shechter company made u debut world premiere commissioned choreographer merce cunningham paul taylor artist margot fonteyn mikhail baryshnikov showcased work performance jacob pillow take place two venue ted shawn theatre went renovation completed included new ventilation air cooling system creation orchestra pit enhanced accessibility artist backstage audience seating increased stage depth new industry standard electrical system expanded clearance height foot new indoor artist crossover new lower level flexible dressing room wardrobe space elevator accessible ramp system maintenance space second venue outdoor henry j leir stage present insideout performance series free performance established emerging artist world informal outdoor venue set panoramic vista berkshire hill doris duke theatre built one three primary performance space jacob pillow acre campus western massachusetts lost structure fire morning november began around est fire contained building noone injured building suffered damage firefighter becket fire department surrounding town responded call eyewitness arrived scene shortly thereafter pillow able commit move several onsite covidcompliant residence dance company scheduled theatre december may perles family studio yearround rehearsal space campus jacob pillow early stage planning rebuild doris duke theatre hired external consultant conduct interview artist technician audience member initial research october pillow unveiled plan rebuilt doris duke theatre designed mecanoo new yorkbased design firm marvel jeffrey gibson new theatre twice large old one feature fire pit medicinal garden nod mohican native american tribe area green roof collect rainwater reduce noise dance performance pillow also plan turn building rear area often used informal gathering place artist quadrangle slope changed accommodate performance pillow add extra seating large decorative rock along quadrangle edge jacob pillow host several longstanding community program jacob pillow curriculum motion curriculum motion institute cofounder jacob pillow curriculum motion pillow artisteducator celeste miller carole dan burack director school jacob pillow jr glover school jacob pillow based perles family studio conservatorystyle curriculum five program ballet contemporary tradition cultural tradition tapmusical theatre ann weston hick choreography fellow program dancers’ schedule includes six day week four professionallevel studio class day coaching session weekly performance public master class festival artist talk led scholarsinresidence study assignment pillow archive attendance festival performance event school jacob pillow known faculty faculty school jacob pillow included susan jaffe amanda mckerrow chet walker nikolaj hubbe annamarie holmes milton myers katherine dunham rennie harris matt mattox soledad barrio tim rushton finis jhung martin santangelo mercedes ellington stephanie saland victor plotnikov annieb parson paul lazar aszure barton helen pickett banu ogan mr wiggle marjory smarth dana moore ric ryder alumnus school include macarthur grantwinner meredith monk choreographer mia michael former alvin ailey dance theater paul taylor dance company principal linda kent artistic director royal danish ballet nikolaj hübbe recent winner fox television show think dance joshua allen robert swinston merce cunningham dance company core collection preserved archive jacob pillow originally assembled founder ted shawn material continually added since volunteer pillow board staff jacob pillow created position director preservation direct activity maintenance archive archive jacob pillow approximately film video present historic dance photo negative page unique printed material trunk costume dating book archive one component pillow preservation program organizes exhibit exploring various aspect dance oversees issue concerning national historic landmark site record ongoing activity festival archive internationally recognized major repository dance material access research facility open public yearround appointment available summer season noon end performance six day week archive collection electronically catalogued much accessible pillow website blake barn thcentury structure relocated reconfigured specifically preservation activity facility donated stage screen danceractress marge champion named honor late son addition central area exhibit lecture building house reading room video station providing access moving image collection lower level contains temperaturecontrolled storage area video production equipment jacob pillow launched jacob pillow dance interactive online resource video clip curated archive becket archive feature performance taken place festival including footage rarely seen userfriendly free resource allows user browse dance footage artist genre era director preservation norton owen curate collection entry includes video clip informative paragraph describing dancerchoreographer artist portrait list national historic landmark massachusetts national register historic place listing berkshire county massachusetts ella baff executive director jacob pillow dance festival