The Adams Theater Presents Omar Román de Jesús & Boca Tuya

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ADAMS, Mass. — The Adams Theater will host an artistic residency for Omar Román de Jesús and his dance company Boca Tuya from April 20–May 2, 2026, with a special preview on May 2.

The show starts at 7:30pm at The Adams Theater, 27 Park Street, Adams, MA, 01220. Tickets start at $20 and are available here; a free student option is available.

According to a press release: 

Centered around the events at the Kennedy Center that continue to challenge both the memory and the future of arts in America, this project features an interweaving of narrative collage, archival work, sound engineering, and movement guided by the central question: What does it take to care about one's neighbor, one's environment, and one's past beyond an individual sense of gain?

Boca Tuya comes to Adams through a Works & Process residency. Works & Process supports artists and their creative process from studio to stage, collaborating with over a dozen residency partners in six states, to develop work and give audiences an intimate look into the artistic process. This residency is a key developmental part of YAHAIRA YAHAIRA, an interdisciplinary project led by de Jesús that preserves institutional memory and chronicles political change through audiovisual recordings, a live dance performance, and a Docu-Dance film.

"Our residency program at the Adams Incubator in partnership with Works & Process was designed to be a sanctuary for theatre and movement artists with boundary-pushing ideas, such as Omar's," said Yina Moore, founder and artistic director of The Adams Theater. "It is a space for those looking to step away from the noise and find the focus required for the rigorous, messy, and beautiful process of development, allowing the choreography and the environment to evolve in tandem."

Boca Tuya will also host a master class, Move & Groove, date and time to be announced. No experience required. This accessible, high-energy class is designed for all bodies and all levels, focusing on cardio, coordination, and rhythm. Think follow-along fun that will get your heart pumping and your body moving.

Omar Román de Jesús is a choreographer and the director of the NYC-based Cultural Movement Collaborative BOCA TUYA. He is the inaugural Baryshnikov Arts Center Fellow at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, a 2025 Works & Process residency recipient, and a former Artist in Residence with 92NY. Omar is also a 2023 Dance Magazine Harkness Promise Awardee and was recently awarded the Alan M. Kriegsman Residency at Dance Place and the Kennedy Center. His accolades include the 2022 Princess Grace Award in Choreography, the 2022 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Choreography, the 2022 Palm Desert Choreography Festival Grand Prize, and the 2020 Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob's Pillow.

He has created works for over 20 companies and pre-professional programs, including the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Charlotte Ballet, The Juilliard School, Ballet Hispánico, BalletCollective, St. Louis Dance Theater, Joffrey Ballet Concert Group, Whim W'Him, Parsons Dance, The Ailey School, and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. His Papagayos, commissioned by Ballet Hispánico, premiered at New York City Center and later appeared at the American Dance Festival in North Carolina. Most recently, Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight was presented in celebration of the 92NY 150th anniversary.

Omar's stage and screen works have been presented internationally, earning recognition through the Joffrey Academy's Winning Works, Whim W'Him's Choreographic Shindig, The Dance Gallery Festival, Reverb Dance Festival, and the International Dance Festival of Puerto Rico, where he received the Ambassador of Dance Medal. His film Los Perros del Barrio Colosal has reached audiences in over 20 countries and won Best of Screen Dance International, as well as Best Choreography and Best Narrative at the ReThink Dance Film Festival. Over the past five years, he has toured internationally to Colombia, Panama, and the Canary Islands, and presented work across the U.S. in New York, Georgia, Washington, Pennsylvania, and California.

 

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State, Local Leaders Celebrate Funding Boost For Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Extension

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

ADAMS, Mass. — State officials and local leaders kicked up their kickstands and took a ride along the final stretch of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail on Thursday to celebrate new investments in rural communities.

Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office (FFIO) Director Quentin Palfrey joined local leaders, including State Rep. John Barrett III and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) Executive Director Laura Brennan, in Adams to highlight the newest round of FFIO funding. The grant will provide BRPC with $64,700 in state funds to help advance the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail expansion.

"When Governor Healey came into office, one of her big day-one commitments was to make sure that Massachusetts was fighting for every dollar possible coming out of Washington," Palfrey said, speaking about FFIO, a program created in 2023 to help the state aggressively pursue and coordinate federal funding opportunities.

This builds on a $17.3 million federal award secured last year for the project, dubbed the A2A project, which supports the design of a 9.3-mile shared-use path connecting the existing Ashuwillticook Rail Trail to the Williamstown Mohican Path.

"One of the things that she emphasized to me when we set up the Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office was that we need to make sure that these resources not only come into Massachusetts, but benefit all of Massachusetts," Palfrey added.

The additional $64,700 will allow BRPC to gather information about transportation needs in northern Berkshire County to help inform the design of the trail expansion. BRPC will partner with Williams College and Luminary Evaluation, LLC to use the University of Michigan's Transportation Security Index (TSI).

Brennan said BRPC will deploy a 16-question survey that will allow them "to research local and regional perspectives and surface the needs of our neighbors when it comes to transportation in the Berkshires."

"The best-case scenario would be if the survey turned up results that all needs are met and that everyone has access to the places and the things that they need to travel to – but we know that is not true," Brennan said. "We know that folks in Berkshire struggle to get to their place of employment, to be able to access important medical appointments, [and] other engagements. So, the transportation security index is going to help us really hone in on those specific needs, identify pockets of needs or areas where there is a strong concentration or depth of need."

She said FFIO's investment offers a "wonderful augmentation" to BRPC's current plans for the bike trail extension. It's also an investment that will make the region more competitive for other transportation opportunities.

"This is an incredibly multifaceted and valuable investment, and we deeply appreciate it," she said.

Barrett said these investments drive growth in the Berkshires.

"I've always found that if you're going to grow an area, you grow with what you have here to grow. You don't bring something in. We have a natural beauty. We have an environment that's second to none, and that's what we are going to grow on," he said.

Barrett said that in the First Berkshire District alone, 4,000 new people moved to the area.

"We're seeing that migration here. They're going to have activities. They're going to have jobs, and we're going to have a great educational system that goes with it with our two colleges that are here," he said.

Palfrey said it was clear during the initial creation of FFIO that federal funding often went to wealthier and more urban communities with larger planning departments and greater access to consultants. He added that FFIO helps reverse this trend and get projects in rural communities off the ground.

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