Jacob’s Pillow expands the world of dance
The Jacob’s Pillow dance company is back at the capital’s Hellenic American Union (HAU) for the third year running to hold a series of jazz and modern dance classes from February 10-22. Jacob’s Pillow was originally the name of a family farm in Berkshire, western Massachusetts, USA, which was purchased in 1933 by Ted Shawn, a noted modern dancer, whose troupe included the legends Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. Now, Jacob’s Pillow is an internationally celebrated center for dance that presents dance in all forms at its annual festival. It supports new work through commissions, engages the public through free performances, exhibits and lectures, educates professional dancers and has an extensive dance archive. At the HAU, classes will be taught by the director of Jacob’s Pillow’s Jazz Department, Chet Walker, and the director of the Modern Traditions Department, Milton Myers. Walker has performed extensively on Broadway since the age of 16 and is the artistic director of 8&ah1 Productions Inc, a non-profit musical theater dance company, as well as the director of the jazz workshop at Jacob’s Pillow. After Greece, Walker will be traveling to Norway, Argentina and England to award scholarships for the Jacob’s Pillow dance school. Myers was a founding member of the Joyce Trisler Danscompany, and has performed with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and Fred Benjamin. He has taught for Ballet Hispanico, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Bat-Dor, Batsheva, and Ballet Stagium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He is an instructor for the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, and has been an instructor and resident choreographer for the Philadelphia Dance Company since 1989. Myers teaches extensively throughout Europe, Israel, South America, Canada and the USA and he returns annually to the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival where he has been the director of the modern traditions workshop for over 15 years. The HAU classes run for 30 hours in total and culminate in auditions for participants in the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in early summer. Classes are aimed at dance students, choreographers and professional or amateur dancers. Participants will receive a certificate at the end. For more information, contact tel 210.368.0047, 210.368.0071.
