Jacob's Pillow dance center to unveil new theater in western Massachusetts, rebuilding after fire
The new theater at , the top dance center in the United States, opens this week in western Massachusetts.
Some of the best dancers from around the world are set to perform in the center's 93rd season. For nine weeks every summer, Jacob's Pillow comes alive with performances, events, workshops and more.
Longest-running dance festival in country
"Jacob's Pillow is the longest-running dance festival in the nation and the only national historic landmark dedicated to dance," said Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge.
The newly-constructed theater will host its first performance on July 9.
"Functionally, the intimate space needs to be a black box. It needs to be a flexible space. In theater, we call it a black box," said Tatge. "But we wanted to make it different. We wanted it to resonate with the landscape."
That means honoring the Stockbridge, Muncie and Mohican land the theater sits on, highlighting the curves that are so important to Indigenous culture.
Original theater destroyed in fire
"Everyone who is anyone in dance history, nationally, internationally, has made their way to Jacob's Pillow," said Tatge. "It's where companies come to do their very best work."
But in early 2020, the pandemic put that work on hold. And in November of that year, a devastating fire destroyed the main theater.
"It was like the physical manifestation of everything we'd lost," said Tatge.
The newly-imagined Doris Duke Theater keeps the intimacy of the original space, while adding the technology that will be key in the future.
"We weren't going to rebuild what we had," said Tatge. "We had to rebuild a place that would serve us into the next century."
Now there is a special sound system, a sliding entrance, advanced lighting and projection capabilities, as well as flexible seating options. Tatge said the ability to livestream is also a priority.
"We have remote cameras here so that they can be shooting from multiple angles," said Tatge. "It really enhances the communication of the art around the world. And it helps us fulfill our mission of access."
Where does the name Jacob's Pillow come from?
"In the 1790s, the road that went from Boston to Albany, which is now Route 20, was called Jacob's Ladder Road," said Tatge. "So when the Carter family came here to this land, they found this beautiful, big boulder. And in the Book of Genesis, when Jacob lays his head down and dreams of going to a ladder up to heaven, the Carter family thought, well, maybe this boulder was Jacob's Pillow."
The name stuck and is now recognized all around the world.
"When I get to make a call to a company and invite them to come to Jacob's Pillow and fulfill a lifelong dream, there's nothing better. It's such joy."
