Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington . It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dancers and hosts more than 100 performances throughout the year; it is especially known for its performance of the Stowell/ Maurice Sendak Nutcracker , which it presented from 1983 through 2014 and produced as a feature film in 1986.
29-761: In 2006, the company was chosen to perform at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and New York City Center's Fall for Dance Festival . PNB performs at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall in the Seattle Center . Pacific Northwest Ballet was founded in 1972 following the two-month residency of the First Chamber Dance Company, as part of the Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association. Under
58-653: A maintenance space. The second venue is the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, which presents the Inside/Out Performance Series, free performances of established and emerging artists from all over the world in an informal, outdoor venue set against a panoramic vista of the Berkshire hills. The Doris Duke Theatre was built in 1990 as one of three main performance spaces on Jacob's Pillow's 220-acre campus in Western Massachusetts . It
87-612: A national award of distinction. The Doris Duke Theatre, one of two indoor performance spaces, was destroyed in a fire on November 17, 2020. The Pillow presents international dance in many forms, styles, and traditions. Pillow founder Ted Shawn was instrumental in beginning the careers of Martha Graham and Jack Cole , and the Pillow has continued this mentoring role in the careers of artists such as Alvin Ailey , José Limón , and Mark Morris . Companies such as Dance Theatre of Harlem ,
116-451: A year-long residency. The Pacific Northwest Ballet School was founded in 1974. Formerly directed by Francia Russell, and now directed by Peter Boal, it has been considered to be "one of the leading, if not the definitive, professional training school in the country." The teaching is structured on that of the School of American Ballet . Pacific Northwest Ballet holds an annual summer course in
145-412: Is accessible through the Pillow's website. Blake's Barn is an 18th-century structure that was relocated and reconfigured specifically for preservation activity. This facility was donated by stage and screen dancer/actress Marge Champion and is named in honor of her late son. In addition to a central area for exhibits and lectures, the building houses a reading room with video stations providing access to
174-614: Is based out of the Perles Family Studio and is a conservatory-style curriculum of five programs: Ballet , Contemporary Traditions, Cultural Traditions, Tap /Musical Theatre, and the Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellows Program. The dancers' schedule includes six days each week with four professional-level studio classes each day, coaching sessions, weekly performances for the public, master classes with Festival artists, talks led by Scholars-in-Residence, study assignments in
203-571: The Berkshires . The facility itself was listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 2003. The site of Jacob's Pillow in Becket, Massachusetts , was originally settled in 1790 by Jacob Carter III. Due to the zigzagging road leading to the hilltop property, it became known as "Jacob's Ladder", after the Biblical story , and a pillow-shaped rock on the property prompted the farm to acquire
232-566: The National Historic Landmark site, and records the ongoing activities of the Festival. The archives is internationally recognized as a major repository of dance materials. Access to the research facility is open to the public year-round by appointment and is available during the summer season from noon until the end of each performance, six days a week. The Archives collection is electronically catalogued, and much of it
261-611: The Parsons Dance Company , and Trey McIntyre Project made their debuts at the Pillow, and international groups such as The Royal Danish Ballet , Nederlands Dans Theatre , Black Grace and Hofesh Shechter Company have made their U.S. debuts here. World premieres have been commissioned from choreographers such as Merce Cunningham and Paul Taylor , and artists such as Margot Fonteyn and Mikhail Baryshnikov have been showcased in works. Performances at Jacob's Pillow take place in two venues. The Ted Shawn Theatre which
290-700: The New York City Ballet for 22 years, he had been a full-time faculty member at The School of American Ballet from 1995-2005. In 2013, the company and its orchestra toured to New York for the first time in sixteen years. The New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay , stated of their presentation that "This is a true company," more "unified in its understanding of Balanchine" than the New York City Ballet . In 2012, PNB brought in Twyla Tharp as its first artist in residence for
319-874: The Pillow's Archives, and attendance at all Festival performances and events. Faculty of The School at Jacob's Pillow have included Susan Jaffe, Amanda McKerrow, Chet Walker, Nikolaj Hubbe , Anna-Marie Holmes , Milton Myers, Katherine Dunham , Rennie Harris, Matt Mattox , Soledad Barrio, Tim Rushton , Finis Jhung , Martin Santangelo, Mercedes Ellington, Stephanie Saland , Victor Plotnikov, Annie-B Parson, Paul Lazar, Aszure Barton, Helen Pickett, Banu Ogan, Mr. Wiggles , Marjory Smarth, Dana Moore, and Ric Ryder. Alumni of The School include MacArthur Grant -winner Meredith Monk , choreographer Mia Michaels , former Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and Paul Taylor Dance Company principal Linda Kent , artistic director of
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#1732790116825348-573: The Royal Danish Ballet Nikolaj Hübbe , recent winner of FOX's television show So You Think You Can Dance , Joshua Allen , and Robert Swinston of Merce Cunningham Dance Company . The core collections preserved in the archives at Jacob's Pillow were originally assembled by founder Ted Shawn . Materials have been added since the 1930s by volunteers from the Pillow Board and staff. In 1991, Jacob's Pillow created
377-418: The area), and a green roof that will collect rainwater and reduce noise during dance performances. The Pillow plans to turn the building's rear area, often used as an informal gathering place, into an "artist quadrangle "; the slope will be changed to accommodate performances, and the Pillow will add extra seating and large, decorative rocks along the quadrangle's edges. In late 2024, the Pillow announced that
406-692: The directorship of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell , originally of New York City Ballet , it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. Stowell and Russell left at the end of the 2004–2005 season. A portrait by artist Michele Rushworth was painted of Stowell and Russell and installed in the Phelps Center, Seattle, to commemorate their careers and retirement. Both had studied with and danced for George Balanchine . In July 2005, Peter Boal succeeded Stowell and Russell as artistic director following their retirement. After dancing with
435-399: The month of July and is considered one of the leading summer dance education facilities in the country. Pacific Northwest Ballet is noted for choosing dancers that have physique, expressivity and a variety of body shapes. --> }} --> }} --> Jacob%27s Pillow Jacob's Pillow is a dance center , school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts , in
464-534: The moving image collection. The lower level contains temperature-controlled storage areas and video production equipment. In 2011, Jacob's Pillow launched Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive, an online resource of video clips curated from the Archives in Becket. The archive features performances that have taken place at the festival from 1937 to 2010, including footage rarely seen. This user-friendly free resource allows
493-456: The name "Jacob's Pillow". The farm was purchased in 1931 by modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn as a dance retreat. Shawn and his wife, Ruth St. Denis , led the highly regarded Denishawn Company , which popularized dance forms rooted in theatre and cultural traditions outside European ballet. They were influential in training a host of dance pioneers, including Martha Graham , Charles Weidman , Doris Humphrey , and Jack Cole . Shawn's objective
522-647: The new theater would open on July 9, 2025. Jacob's Pillow hosts several long-standing community programs, such as Jacob's Pillow Curriculum in Motion and the Curriculum in Motion Institute. The co-founders of Jacob's Pillow Curriculum in Motion are Pillow Artist-Educator Celeste Miller , and The Carole & Dan Burack Director of the School at Jacob's Pillow, "J.R." Glover. The School at Jacob's Pillow
551-475: The position of Director of Preservation to direct the activities and maintenance of the Archives. The Archives have approximately 6,000 films and videos from 1894 to present, 45,000 historic dance photos and negatives, 313,000 pages of unique printed materials, 27 trunks of costumes dating from 1915, and 2,000 books. The Archives is one component of the Pillow's Preservation Program, which organizes exhibits exploring various aspects of dance, oversees issues concerning
580-430: The property to dance teacher Mary Washington Ball, but her summer festival was also financially unsuccessful. British ballet stars Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin learned of Shawn's financial difficulties and decided to acquire the property. With financial backing and fundraising support from millionaire Reginald Wright, $ 50,000 was raised to purchase the property and construct a theatre building. The summer dance festival
609-414: The user to browse dance footage by artist, genre, and era. The Director of Preservation, Norton Owen, curates the collection. Each entry includes a video clip, an informative paragraph describing the dancer/choreographer, and an artist portrait. Anton Dolin (ballet dancer) Sir Anton Dolin (27 July 1904 – 25 November 1983) was an English ballet dancer and choreographer. Dolin
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#1732790116825638-771: Was a principal there from 1924. It was Diaghilev who gave Patrick his stage name: at that time the most powerful impresario in world ballet, Diaghilev 'russified' names of his star dancers to keep up the tradition of his company. In the 1930s, Dolin was a principal with the Vic-Wells Ballet . There he danced with Alicia Markova , with whom he went on to found the Markova-Dolin Ballet and the London Festival Ballet . In 1933, he spotted Vera Zorina and introduced her to Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo in 1934. He joined Ballet Theatre when it
667-587: Was born in Slinfold in Sussex as Sydney Francis Patrick Chippendall Healey-Kay (generally known as Patrick or Pat Kay to his friends). He was the second of three sons of Henry George Kay (1852-1922) and his wife, Helen Maude Chippendall Healey (1869-1960), from Dublin. He trained at Serafina Astafieva's school at The Pheasantry in London's King's Road . He joined Sergei Diaghilev 's Ballets Russes in 1921,
696-496: Was destroyed by fire on the morning of November 17, 2020, which was reported at around 7 am EST. In October 2023, the Pillow unveiled plans for the rebuilt Doris Duke Theatre, designed by Mecanoo , New York-based design firm Marvel, and Jeffrey Gibson . The new theatre will be twice as large as the old one and will feature a fire pit , a medicinal garden (both as nods to the Mohicans and other Native American tribes in
725-535: Was formed in 1940 and remained there as a dancer and choreographer until 1946. Dolin wrote several books, including his "reminiscences" in Divertissement (1931), the autobiography Ballet Go Round (1938) and Alicia Markova: Her Life and Art (1953). He was knighted in 1981. He is featured in the documentary film A Portrait of Giselle . He was the subject of This Is Your Life in April 1978 when he
754-426: Was renovated in 2022 and included a new ventilation and air cooling system, the creation of an orchestra pit, enhanced accessibility for artists backstage and audience seating, increased stage depth, a new industry standard electrical system, expanded clearance height to 25 feet, a new indoor artist crossover, and a new lower level with flexible dressing rooms, wardrobe spaces, an elevator, and accessible ramp system, and
783-471: Was revived, and Shawn was retained as its director until his death in 1972. In 2003, the Jacob's Pillow property was declared a National Historic Landmark District by the federal government as "an exceptional cultural venue that holds value for all Americans". It is the only dance entity in the U.S. to receive this honor. In March 2011, Jacob's Pillow was named a recipient of the 2010 National Medal of Arts ,
812-529: Was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at London's Royal Academy of Dance. Upon Dolin's death, dancers Jelko Yuresha and Belinda Wright inherited the rights to his choreography of Giselle , Pas de Quatre , and his acclaimed original ballet, Variations for Four . Yuresha and Wright danced—and later staged—productions of these ballets with dance companies around the world, designing original costumes and sets for those performances. In 2017, Yuresha (rights holder) and Philip Ronald Kay (Dolin's nephew and heir) founded
841-466: Was to establish a dance organization for American men. The early corps of his all-male company built many of the structures on the Jacob's Pillow campus. This effort came to an end in 1940 with the advent of American involvement in World War II ; Shawn's company disbanded and most of its members joined the military. Significant debt forced Shawn to consider a sale of the property. In 1940, he leased
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