PillowVoices: Dance Through Time

Dance scholar Cynthia Williams guides a deep dive into two different political works made by choreographer Jane Comfort in the 1990s, revealing the striking connections to American social injustices escalating today.

*This episode was directed by Lisa Niedermeyer.

Ellen Chenoweth hosts this exploration into the work of influential dance artist Liz Lerman, including the voices of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, James Frazier, and Pamela Tatge, as well as numerous passages in Lerman's own words.

In this episode, hosted by dance and costume historian Caroline Hamilton, we learn about the summer of 1941 and the events that led to the incorporation of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and the building of the Ted Shawn Theatre.  

As a founding presence at Jacob's Pillow from 1931 to 2001, Barton Mumaw embodied much of the institution's history, brought into the light by episode host Lisa Niedermeyer with Mumaw's own words.

Pillow Scholar Jennifer Edwards considers the imprint left by Martha Graham at Jacob's Pillow, with reflections from those she impacted, the work of Richard Move, and the words of Graham herself. 

Pillow Scholar Nancy Wozny explores the history of regional ballet in America through conversations and stories of three distinct ballet companies. Featured are artists with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Houston Ballet - three companies who came together here in 2021 for a program called 'Ballet Coast to Coast.'

Additional Resources: 
Read - Point Spread: The Marvel of Regional Ballet, by Nancy Wozny

Watch - (clip) Pacific Northwest Ballet, Second to Last

Watch - (clip) Houston Ballet, Reflections 

Watch - (clip) Boston Ballet, Home Studies

As an artist, technologist, and former dancer with Doug Elkins and Friends, Lisa Niedermeyer reflects on her time with the company and her embodied memories of performing in Fräulein Maria, the uproarious and joyful dance based on The Sound of Music. We also hear from Elkins himself, recorded during two different Pillow engagements.

https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/doug-elkins-and-friends/fraulein-maria/

Hosted by Jacob's Pillow Associate Archivist Patsy Gay, this episode explores the intersection of dance and technology, diving into both history and current practice. Through the voices and perspectives of Marjani Forté-Saunders, Sydney Skybetter, Brian Brooks, Lily Baldwin, and Ilya Vidrin, we hear how technology can both hinder and enforce a dancer's embodied awareness.

Paloma McGregor remembers the life, work, and legacy of Blondell Cummings. McGregor frames this exploration through Cummings' dance work titled "Chicken Soup", designated as an American Masterpiece by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2006.

https://www.dancemagazine.com/remembering-blondell-cummings-1944-2015/

https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/blondell-cummings/chicken-soup/

https://www.xartistsbooks.com/books/blondellcummings

PillowVoices composer and audio engineer Ellis Rovin ruminates on some of the ways that dance has been seen on film, drawing upon a PillowTalk by David Gere and considering examples from Fred Astaire to Merce Cunningham. 

Special thanks to New England Public Media, for their support of this episode of PillowVoices.