Jacob's Pillow Welcomes San Fran Ballet
BECKET, Mass. — The San Francisco Ballet will return to Jacob's Pillow this summer for the first time in seven decades.
Its residence will feature Hans van Manen, Helgi Tómasson, Tamara Rojo, George Balanchine, Akram Khan, and William Forsythe at the Ted Shawn Theatre Wednesday, Aug. 5 through Sunday, Aug. 9.
Deemed "strikingly modern [and] technically stunning" by the Daily Californian, the nation's longest-running professional ballet company will return to the site of its heralded East Coast debut in 1956. The company is currently led by Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, formerly the artistic director of London's English National Ballet.
In an expansive two-stage engagement, San Francisco Ballet will also perform on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage in the same week. The company will perform different programs on the outdoor and indoor stages. The outdoor program will include pieces by Ben Stevenson, Hans van Manen, Liam Scarlett, Marius Petipa, and Sir Frederick Ashton. Audiences interested in attending both programs — in either order — will be able to do so in one visit with staggered showtimes.
In a collaboration, the Grammy Award-winning Albany (N.Y.) Symphony will provide live accompaniment with its 22-person orchestra for select works of San Francisco Ballet's engagement.
In the Doris Duke Theatre from Wednesday, Aug. 5, through Sunday, Aug. 9, Ephrat Asherie Dance will perform "Shadow Cities," a piece originally created in collaboration with Grammy-winning pianist and composer Arturo O'Farrill. Performed by seven dancers and four musicians, "Shadow Cities" is a contemplative, raucous, celebratory reflection on the unexpected ways we encounter our most enlivened selves.
During Festival Week 7, visitors are also invited to join a PillowTalk with Tamara Rojo, the artistic director of San Francisco Ballet, on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 4 p.m. Rojo will discuss her experiences since becoming artistic director in December 2022 and her dance career leading up to that moment.
Preshow talks with Pillow Scholars will be offered 30 minutes before showtime for all performances in the Ted Shawn Theatre and Doris Duke Theatre, and Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday on the Henry J. Leir Stage. San Francisco Ballet's talks will be led by Scholar-In-Residence Janine Parker, and Ephrat Asherie's will be led by Scholar-In-Residence Ahtoy Juliana. Postshow talks with the artists will be held onstage following Friday afternoon performances in the Ted Shawn Theatre, Thursday evening performances in the Doris Duke Theatre, and Friday evening on the Henry J. Leir Stage.
All performances are now on sale here.
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