Summer dance is about to take center stage at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts, kicking off a vibrant season along our local dance corridor. Featuring renowned international and national companies and bold emerging voices, the 2025 program is as rich and far-reaching as ever. Jacob’s Pillow, a cornerstone of American dance, leads the way.
Under the leadership of Director Pam Tatge, Jacob’s Pillow — widely regarded as the most prestigious summer dance venue in the United States, and arguably the world — has once again assembled a compelling season. The program spans Cultural Roots, Heritage, Indigenous, International, and Circus traditions, as well as Club, Ballet, Contemporary, and Americana styles.
Beginning June 25, over 50 companies will perform across three venues: the historic Ted Shawn Theatre, the newly constructed Doris Duke Theatre, celebrating its grand opening on July 9, and the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage. What makes Jacob’s Pillow a true destination for dance lovers, beyond the stellar performances, are its many offerings: special events, community classes, workshops, exhibits, talks, tours, family-friendly programs, and, of course, food.
Among this season’s standouts:
- Sekou McMiller & Friends: Afro-Latin Jazz and Soul artist Sekou McMiller presents Urban Love Suite, a rhythm-charged celebration of urban landscapes from Chicago to Harlem, Dakar to São Paulo. “Last year, people were up on their feet,” says Tatge. “This year, audiences will be invited to join the company on stage and dance.”
- Shamel Pitts: A 2024 MacArthur Fellow and Doris Duke Award recipient, Pitts brings his company, Tribe, to inaugurate the new Duke Theatre with Touch of RED. Co-performed with the exceptional Tushrik Fredricks, the piece explores masculinity through boxing, Gaga technique, Lindy Hop, and club culture. Performed in the round and enhanced with immersive projections that become “a character in the work,” observes Tatge, it promises to be a powerful and boundary-pushing experience.
- Faye Driscoll: The multi-award-winning choreographer brings Weathering, also staged in the round. Developed during a 2022 Pillow Lab residency and premiered at New York Live Arts, Weathering is one of the most compelling works I saw that year. As I wrote in my review for The Dance Enthusiast, “Weathering is a riveting, engrossing performance—an artistic triumph that equates the human condition with the dissolution of our natural environment.” The piece offers a visceral meditation on the fragility of our planet and ourselves, immersing the audience in a sensory experience that confronts the inescapable reality of environmental collapse. Tatge adds that the work “is about interdependence and how we lean on each other—how we hold on when the world spins out of control.” Weathering is not to be missed!
Reflecting on her decades of curating, Tatge says, “I actively listen to my associate curators, to my cohort across the country and the world.” It’s this collaborative approach that keeps Jacob’s Pillow “engaged and visionary,” she says.
Catherine Tharin danced with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company touring nationally and internationally. She teaches dance studies and technique, is an independent dance and performance curator, choreographs, writes about dance for Side of Culture and Interlocutor, and is a reviewer for The Dance Enthusiast. She also writes for The Boston Globe. Catherine lives in Pine Plains, New York and New York City.
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