PillowVoices: Dance Through Time

Arts & Culture Podcasts

PillowVoices: Dance Through Time brings listeners closer to notable dance artists connected with Jacob's Pillow, from 1933 to today. Each piece exemplifies Jacob's Pillow's mission to 'support dance creation, presentation, education, and preservation; and to engage and deepen public appreciation and support for dance' by utilizing archival recordings brought to life in the personal stories and narration of current thought-leaders and scholars. Jacob's Pillow, lauded by The New York Times as "the dance center of the nation," is a National Historic Landmark, a recipient of the prestigious National Medal of Arts, and home to America’s longest-running international dance festival, located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. PillowVoices is directed and produced by Jennifer Edwards. Ellis Rovin and James Sleeman are our composers and engineers. Music for the opening is by J.S. Bach and the closing theme is by Jess Meeker, both performed by Meeker. Content curator is Norton Owen, and associate curator is Patsy Gay.

Location:

United States

Genres:

Arts & Culture Podcasts

History Podcasts

Description:

PillowVoices: Dance Through Time brings listeners closer to notable dance artists connected with Jacob's Pillow, from 1933 to today. Each piece exemplifies Jacob's Pillow's mission to 'support dance creation, presentation, education, and preservation; and to engage and deepen public appreciation and support for dance' by utilizing archival recordings brought to life in the personal stories and narration of current thought-leaders and scholars. Jacob's Pillow, lauded by The New York Times as "the dance center of the nation," is a National Historic Landmark, a recipient of the prestigious National Medal of Arts, and home to America’s longest-running international dance festival, located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. PillowVoices is directed and produced by Jennifer Edwards. Ellis Rovin and James Sleeman are our composers and engineers. Music for the opening is by J.S. Bach and the closing theme is by Jess Meeker, both performed by Meeker. Content curator is Norton Owen, and associate curator is Patsy Gay.

Language:

English

Website:

https://pillowvoices.org

Episodes

Dancing Puppets & Emerging Technology

4/27/2024

Lisa Niedermeyer hosts this episode exploring the connections between puppetry in contemporary dance and emerging technologies such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence and spatial computing. The episode focuses on a piece titled "Underground River" which was conceived and directed by Jane Comfort and developed in residency at Jacob’s Pillow. We hear from puppet artist Basil Twist, the director and choreographer Jane Comfort, and one of the performers, Stephen Nunley. Watch an excerpt of Underground River: https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/jane-comfort-and-company/underground-river/

Duration:00:26:14

Susan Marshall and Ralph Lemon: A Compelling Conversation

3/30/2024

Jacob's Pillow Associate Archivist Patsy Gay hosts this episode featuring excerpts of a 1998 PillowTalk. In this conversation between choreographers Ralph Lemon and Susan Marshall, we hear insights about their own beginnings in dance along with their individual ways of creating work.

Duration:00:19:50

Spoken Word in Dance

2/24/2024

Poet and dance writer Karen Hildebrand hosts this episode focusing on how text and spoken word are used in dance. Included are examples from works by Liz Lerman, Joe Goode, and Carmen de Lavallade. Hildebrand is the former editorial director for Dance Magazine, and a past editor in chief of Dance Teacher magazine. *Of note: the music that underlies Martha Wittman's monologue in Liz Lerman's piece, "Of Fertile Fields," was composed by Robert Een.

Duration:00:24:52

The Dance Between Choreography & Technology

1/27/2024

Christy Bolingbroke, Executive / Artistic Director of the National Center for Choreography - Akron, hosts this episode focused on the the relationships of choreographic practice and various technologies. Referenced in this episode are works by David Parsons, David Rousseve, Compagnie Kafig, Rennie Harris/Puremovement American Street Dance Theater, and Ragamala Dance Company. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive David Parsons Caught David Rousseve/REALITY Stardust

Duration:00:23:46

Remembering Gus Solomons jr

12/30/2023

Jennifer Edwards hosts this episode honoring Gus Solomons jr, the celebrated choreographer, writer, and teacher. As the first Black dancer in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Solomons was both a trailblazer and a trendsetter, forming his own company and making more than 150 works before his death in August 2023 at the age of 84. In this episode: Excerpts from Mondays with Merce: Episode 14 Merce as Model (2010). Director/Producer: Nancy Dalva. (c) Merce Cunningham Trust. All rights reserved. Resources: Mondays with Merce #14: Merce as Model, with Gus Solomons, Jr. Remembering Gus Solomons Jr. 1938 - 2023 Gus Solomons Jr., 84, Dies; a Rare Black Presence in Experimental Dance Choreography in Focus: Wendy Perron and Gus Solomons Jr.

Duration:00:25:28

Trisha Brown: Choreographer and Visual Artist

11/25/2023

Jennifer Edwards hosts this episode focused on Trisha Brown, one of the most celebrated choreographers to emerge from Judson Dance Theater and the postmodern era. Brown is in conversation with Deborah Jowitt, the influential choreographer, scholar, dance critic, and educator. We also hear from art historian and Brown specialist Susan Rosenberg. Essay on Trisha Brown: https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/themes-essays/women-in-dance/trisha-brown/

Duration:00:36:17

Creating with the Cosmos

10/28/2023

Many choreographers draw inspiration from their ancestors, nature, and the spiritual world, and Teena Marie Custer explores some examples with help from Sandra Laronde, Christopher K. Morgan, Ananya Chatterjea, Michelle N. Gibson, and others.

Duration:00:25:34

Umfundalai Technique with Dr. Kemal Nance, Part 2

9/30/2023

In this second part of a 2-episode series, Dr. C. Kemal Nance examines the movements, meaning, and structure of the contemporary African dance technique known as Umfundalai. https://www.umfundalai.net

Duration:00:26:56

Kariamu Welsh, Founder of Umfundalai, with Dr. Kemal Nance, Part1

8/26/2023

Dr. C. Kemal Nance hosts this episode honoring Dr. Kariamu Welsh and celebrating the dance technique that she developed called Umfundalai. https://www.umfundalai.net

Duration:00:18:13

Remembering Bessie Schönberg

7/29/2023

Jennifer Edwards hosts this episode honoring the life and legacy of teacher and choreographic mentor, Bessie Schönberg. Included are excerpts of D.A. Pennebaker's documentary film entitled, "Bessie: A Portrait of Bessie Schönberg," with remembrances from Merce Cunningham, Jerome Robbins, Meredith Monk and from Schönberg herself. Schönberg speaking about how to watch dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaAI6uyUn0Y

Duration:00:22:40

On Site Dance with Stephan Koplowitz

6/24/2023

With the help of his colleague Elise Bernhardt, Stephan Koplowitz traces his early years at Jacob's Pillow, where ideas were planted that led to a fruitful, life-long career and his book entitled “On Site: Methods for Site-Specific Performance Creation.” Featured are inside looks at Dancing In The Streets and Grand Central Dances, as well as Joanna Haigood's thoughts about her work process as a site choreographer. Book, "On Site: Methods for Site-Specific Performance Creation" https://www.stephankoplowitz.com/onsitebook Video, "Fenestrations" (1987) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxCkkMPypGc Video, "Fenestrations2" (1999) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcMW78qRuSo

Duration:00:41:05

Dramaturgy at Jacob’s Pillow

5/20/2023

Poet and dance writer Karen Hildebrand hosts this two-part podcast, focusing on dramaturgy and dance. In this second part, Hildebrand explores how dramaturgs have worked with choreographers at the Pillow, focusing on works by Bebe Miller, Jane Comfort, and Rennie Harris. Hildebrand is the former editorial director for Dance Magazine, and a past editor in chief of Dance Teacher magazine.

Duration:00:33:52

What is Dramaturgy in Dance?

4/29/2023

Poet and dance writer Karen Hildebrand hosts this two-part podcast focusing on dramaturgy and dance. In this first part, Hildebrand defines the role of a dramaturg, drawing extensively upon a 2014 PillowTalk with dramaturg Anne Davison and Scholar-in-Residence Maura Keefe.

Duration:00:15:39

Black Joy & Milton Myers with Dr. Iquail Shaheed

4/1/2023

Dr. Iquail Shaheed offers a personal reflection on the life, work, and profound impact of his teacher and mentor, Milton Myers. Shaheed frames this exploration with thinking from his recent doctoral dissertation on Myers, a mainstay of The School at Jacob’s Pillow since 1985.

Duration:00:28:53

'Studio/Theater' at MoMA with Yve Laris Cohen

2/25/2023

Visual artist Yve Laris Cohen reflects on his exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art entitled 'Studio/Theater' with Jacob's Pillow Director of Preservation Norton Owen. The exhibition featured remnants of the Pillow's Doris Duke Theatre, which was destroyed by fire in November 2020. This is a sequel to Episode 44 with MoMA curator Martha Joseph and former Pillow Director Liz Thompson.

Duration:00:41:41

Dance and Belonging with Crystal U. Davis

1/28/2023

Crystal U. Davis, dancer, movement analyst, scholar, and author of Dance and Belonging: Implicit Bias and Inclusion in Dance Education, unpacks implicit and explicit bias as it relates to the relationship between audiences, dance-makers, and styles of dance.

Duration:00:33:44

Yve Laris Cohen's 'Studio/Theater'

12/17/2022

The remains of the Pillow's Doris Duke Theatre were memorialized in an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art by visual artist Yve Laris Cohen. In conversation are exhibition curator Martha Joseph and two participants in related performance events, former Pillow Director Liz Thompson and Preservation Director Norton Owen.

Duration:00:29:10

Artistic Directorship: Lourdes Lopez with Theresa Ruth Howard

11/26/2022

In this episode, we join Pillow Scholar Theresa Ruth Howard in conversation with Lourdes Lopez on the occasion of her tenth anniversary as artistic director of Miami City Ballet. The entire talk can be experienced here: PillowTalk: Celebrating Lourdes Lopez *This episode was produced by Lisa Niedermeyer.

Duration:00:22:45

The ‘Secret’ Gay History of Jacob’s Pillow

10/29/2022

Hosted by Brian Schaefer, this episode is an exploration of how gay history is intertwined with the Pillow’s very beginnings, often hiding in plain sight. Related episodes of PillowVoices: https://pillowvoices.org/episodes/barton-mumaw-a-cornerstone-of-the-pillow https://pillowvoices.org/episodes/ted-shawn-jacobs-pillow-founder-in-his-own-words *This episode was produced by Lisa Niedermeyer.

Duration:00:18:20

The Legacy of Katherine Dunham

9/24/2022

A recording of a conversation that took place in 2002, moderated by Reginald Yates. We hear the voices of Donald McKayle, Cleo Parker Robinson, and Julie Belafonte in addition to insights and reflections from Katherine Dunham herself.

Duration:00:40:11