PillowVoices: Dance Through Time

By Jacob's Pillow ArchivesSociety & Culture Arts History Performing Arts

PillowVoices: Dance Through Time episodes

April 27, 2024 Dancing Puppets & Emerging Technology
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/
27 min
March 30, 2024 Susan Marshall and Ralph Lemon: A Compelling Conversation
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.
20 min
February 24, 2024 Spoken Word in Dance
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.
25 min
January 27, 2024 The Dance Between Choreography & Technology
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
24 min
December 30, 2023 Remembering Gus Solomons jr
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.

27 min
November 25, 2023 Trisha Brown: Choreographer and Visual Artist
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/

37 min
October 28, 2023 Creating with the Cosmos
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.
26 min
September 30, 2023 Umfundalai Technique with Dr. Kemal Nance, Part 2
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
27 min
August 26, 2023 Kariamu Welsh, Founder of Umfundalai, with Dr. Kemal Nance, Part1
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
19 min
July 29, 2023 Remembering Bessie Schönberg
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
23 min

About PillowVoices: Dance Through Time

From the publisher's feed

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.