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Dance News: Get Enthused For Caleb Teicher, Paul Taylor Dance Company & Ilya Vidrin's Reciprocity Collaborative at Jacob's Pillow This July 24-28!

CALEB TEICHER & COMPANY PERFORM MORE FOREVER WITH CONRAD TAO AT JACOB’S PILLOW, JULY 24-28

Jacob’s Pillow presents Caleb Teicher & Company (CT&Co) in their Doris Duke Theatre debut with contemporary composer and pianist Conrad Tao, July 24-28. CT&Co and Tao collaborate in More Forever, a highly anticipated new work that explores tap, vernacular jazz, and Lindy Hop on a stage filled with a thin layer of sand, developed in part at the Pillow Lab. Acclaimed as “one of the brightest lights in tap today” (The New Yorker) and most recently nominated for the 2019 Bessie Award for Breakout Choreographer, Teicher is an alumnus of both the Tap and Musical Theatre Programs (2010) at The School at Jacob’s Pillow. More Forever was hailed as part of “Best Dance of 2018” by Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times, and considered a new peak for Teicher and his company.

“We are proud to have been a creative home for Caleb Teicher over the years. After his residency in the Pillow Lab in 2018, we knew we wanted to invite him to present the work during Festival 2019, and invite his company to have its first-ever presentation in the Doris Duke Theatre. It has been truly amazing to observe Caleb’s artistic growth that has its roots at Jacob’s Pillow, and we are thrilled to present More Forever,” says Jacob’s Pillow Director Pamela Tatge.

Caleb Teicher. Photo: Christopher Duggan.

More Forever is a harmonious, cross-disciplinary performance in which CT&Co dance on a custom-built sandbox stage to Tao’s original contemporary score for piano and electronics, performed live. The sandbox creates a space for both physical and sonic potential while blurring the line between the two, expanding the expressive capacity of both dance and music. Teicher and Tao met through the National YoungArts Foundation when they were both finalists in 2011. Tao, a Lincoln Center Emerging Artist applauded for “shaping the future of classical music” (New York Magazine), is incorporated into the work not just as a musical presence, but as a physical one, entering the sandbox with the dancers while playing a toy piano. 

In an interview with Dance Magazine, Teicher states “[More Forever] is about the passage of time and the relationships we make with other people, the sadness and beauty of watching people come and go in our lives.” Described as “both youthful and sophisticated,” More Forever “extends the sonic aspects of dance” (The New York Times) while embodying the unique, theatrical expression of humanity the company is known for. The work premiered in January 2019 and was commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim. 

DID YOU KNOW? Caleb Teicher is an alumnus of the Tap and Musical Theatre Programs (2010) at The School at Jacob’s Pillow. He also performed with Dorrance Dance at the Pillow in 2014 and 2016. CT&Co performed on the Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out stage in 2016 and 2017, shortly after the company was founded. More Forever had its early stages of creative development in a 2018 Pillow Lab residency. CT&Co and beatboxer Chris Celiz performed their iconic work, Bzzz, at Jacob’s Pillow 2019 Season Opening Gala.

Paul Taylor Dance Company. Photo: Paul Goode.

PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY PRESENTS AN ALL-TAYLOR PROGRAM AT JACOB’S PILLOW IN REMEMBRANCE OF FOUNDER, JULY 24-28

The Paul Taylor Dance Company marks its 18th Pillow appearance with The Celebration Tour, an exclusively Taylor-choreographed program to commemorate the passing of their founder, July 24-28 in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Having created 147 original works over the course of his celebrated career, Paul Taylor is remembered for dances that capture life’s joys and tackle some of society’s most complex issues. The New York Times has praised Mr. Taylor as “one of the most singular and searching imaginations of our time,” and remembers him as one who “brought a lyrical musicality, capacity for joy, and wide poetic imagination to modern dance over six decades.” The Celebration Tour’s Pillow program includes, Aureole, Concertiana, and Promethean Fire, and features archival footage of the Taylor company performing at Jacob’s Pillow. 

“Mr. Taylor’s work was the very first contemporary dance that I ever experienced,” says Jacob’s Pillow Director Pamela Tatge. “To this day, I have not forgotten that joyous and visceral performance I witnessed at the age of 13. Pillow audiences have a deep affection for this American master and I knew we had to honor the passing of the great Paul Taylor at the Pillow this summer to help ensure the continuance of his legacy, now in the hands of his hand-picked successor, Michael Novak.”

Mr. Taylor’s earliest success, the sunny Aureole, opens the program as a nod to the company’s 1964 Pillow debut. This work, set to Baroque music by George Frideric Handel, encapsulates Mr. Taylor’s serenity with a rigorous yet simple solo—originally danced by Mr. Taylor—that “alters our notion of time,” (The New York Times). With lyricism and white costumes, the work contains “downright beautiful moments in an increasingly dark world,” (The New York Times) and will “catapult you to a happier time and place” (The Huffington Post).

Mr. Taylor’s final work, Concertiana, is considered “a living flip book of dance history,” (The New York Times). Dancers are costumed in hand-painted unitards by William Ivey Long and perform to a musical score by Eric Ewazen with movement described as “a hybrid of pedestrianism” (The Berkshire Eagle).  Concertiana, which has never before been performed at the Pillow, reveals that Mr. Taylor was a choreographic genius until the end of his life. The complex, illustrious work has been received as Mr. Taylor’s parting gift.

Mr. Taylor’s Promethean Fire, premiered in 2002, is accepted by some as his greatest accomplishment. This unabashed work set to the orchestral arrangements of Bach features 16 dancers costumed in black velvet. While Promethean Fire does not portray a specific historical event, the complex architectural patterns matched with the dancers’ powerful emotion resonates with many cruel moments in history, including the tragedy of September 11th, that occurred the year before the work’s premiere. Examining the vast array of emotional colors within the human condition, the work “suggests that we're strong enough to prevail” (The Los Angeles Times).

Beyond dance-making, Paul Taylor was an infinitely creative artist in multiple media. Jacob’s Pillow salutes his memory with Assemblages, an exhibit on display in the lobby of the Ted Shawn Theatre for the duration of Festival 2019 featuring his own idiosyncratic visual works, some on public display for the first time. Assembled mostly from found objects, Mr. Taylor’s artworks are joyful, haunting, humorous, bawdy, ingenious, and just as memorable as the dances for which he is best known. 

Michael Novak, only the second Artistic Director in the history of the Paul Taylor Dance Foundation upon the death of Founding Artistic Director Paul Taylor, will participate in a PillowTalk on July 27 where he will discuss what lays ahead for the company. 

Photo © Boston-based Reciprocity Collaborative
 

ALSO THIS WEEK: Special Event: Partnering & Science Lab: Reciprocity Collaborative, July 24-28 
 

Sommers Studio transforms into an interactive research laboratory where movement becomes the primary tool of research. Harvard Fellow Ilya Vidrin’s Reciprocity Collaborative brings together expertise of Argentinian Tango, Latin/Ballroom Technique, Classical Pas de Deux, and Contact Improvisation to further develop mobile interface technology that investigates the aesthetic ideals and ethical dimensions of partnering. Key collaborators are individuals with diverse perspectives on partnering including Wendy Whelan, Brian Brooks, and Sylvain Lafortune, among others. 

Boston-based Reciprocity Collaborative develops technology that stimulates a mindful understanding of bodily movement and sensitizes users to their own modes of physical and verbal communication. Their work manifests in research in clinical care, community engagement, site-specific performance, interactive art, and more. The collaborative’s current research investigates wearable technology for use in movement interventions for diverse populations in artistic, clinical, and professional settings, including professional performers, patients with movement disorders, and individuals who seek to develop strategies to communicate effectively, efficiently, and ethically.

Observation is welcome and encouraged; open observation hours to be announced. Excerpts of the laboratory can be seen as part of the Inside/Out Performance Series and evening performances.

Inside/Out Performance Series: Tethered by Reciprocity Collaborative
Wednesday, July 24 at 6:15pm
FREE

Join Ilya Vidrin’s Reciprocity Collaborative in the midst of their week-long research as they break down their movement technology for audiences through performances of a series of duets and an open demonstration that brings together expertise of Argentinian Tango, Latin/Ballroom Technique, Classical Pas de Deux, and Contact Improvisation. 

Demonstration: Sylvain Lafortune & Annick Hamel 
Thursday, July 25 at 8:30pm
FREE

Sylvain Lafortune performed with major classical and modern dance companies around the world before pursuing Graduate and Doctorate studies in the theoretical and practical understanding of partnering. To showcase his research, he brings excerpts from L’un L’autre, a stunning new duet originally choreographed with long-time partner Esther Rousseau-Morin. Tickets available June 15. This demonstration has limited availability, RSVP is required; call Jacob’s Pillow Box Office at 413.243.0745 to reserve a space.

PillowTalk: The Art & Science of Partnering
Friday, July 26 at 5pm
Blake’s Barn
FREE

Canadian dancer/teacher Sylvain Lafortune and Boston-based artist/researcher Ilya Vidrin are both examining the role of partnering in dance, sharing their approaches in this collaborative conversation. 

Tango Playground
Friday, July 26 after evening performances
FREE

Join ACE and HOLA award-winning Tango choreographer, Valeria Solomonoff, and 2019 USA Stage Tango Champion, Orlando Reyes, as they lead a game-filled evening designed to spark creativity and cultivate connection. For tango and non-tango dancers alike, no previous experience required. This event has limited availability, reservation required; call Jacob’s Pillow Box Office at 413.243.0745 to reserve a space.

Demonstration: Wendy Whelan & Brian Brooks
Saturday, July 27 at 5pm
FREE

Associate Artistic Director of New York City Ballet and Pillow Trustee Wendy Whelan and choreographer Brian Brooks have been collaborators since Whelan transitioned from a career in ballet to contemporary dance. They revisit their contemporary partnering duets for Reciprocity Collaborative research laboratory. Tickets available June 15. This demonstration has limited availability, RSVP is required; call Jacob’s Pillow Box Office at 413.243.0745 to reserve a space.

Partnering in Action: Swing Dance Party
Saturday, July 27 after evening performances
FREE

Amidst a week of the aesthetic ideals and ethical dimensions of partnering, Jacob’s Pillow celebrates all of the ways dancers partner in swing dance. Caleb Teicher & Company and Festival artists join in this fun and casual evening of swing dance in the Perles Family Studio. 

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