Jacob's Pillow

With $4 a gallon gas and a sinking economy 2008 was a challenge for arts and tourism in the Berkshires. But our contibutors covered not only the Berkshires but arts and culture in New York, Boston, London, New Orleans and Shanghai. We reflect on some of the highlights.

Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB), one of the most prominent ballet companies in the United States, will perform an exclusive Ulysses Dove program August 19 – 23, in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Dove was lauded as one of the most innovative contemporary choreographers of the past 50 years.

This is the third, self published book by artist/ entrepreneur, Eric Rudd. The superb images in this picture book were photographed by Kelly Lee who worked for ABC News and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer in D.C. before he settled in the Berkshires.

Squeezing hairy chests into tight costumes and donning feathery headpieces, these Clown Princes of Ballet in full makeup danced sur les pointes across the stage of the Hunter Center at Mass MoCA. As both merry makers and serious dancers all they want is their turn in the spotlight, and endless applause.

The Berkshire Hills are very much alive this fall. Choose from the ridiculous or the sublime, from the Ballet Trockaderos with men in tutus and on pointe to the arrival of Irina Brook at Shakespeare & Company to wrest a play from Oscar Wilde's book, The Canterville Ghost. For a complete change of pace, the Cirque du Soleil is coming to Amherst and Boston.

Berkshire residents are reveling in an amazing array of area arts offerings. Our monthly Preview serves to help guide your choices with helpful facts, insider details and handy links. The only mistake would be to procrastinate. Nothing gold can stay.

At Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, a 7.5 million fund goal was met and the Elayne Bernstein Theatre opened, Willliamstown began its Greylock Project and series of play readings, Barrington Stage is workshopping a new musical in Pittsfield, and the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge received grants for their renewal plan, and to allow extended rehearsals for their much anticipated Waiting for Godot.

Jacob's Pillow merges contemporary dance with timeless natural beauty. Here you can celebrate life and the joy of dance movement. Forget the chores. Pack a picnic lunch and make a day of it.

The awesome array of Berkshire arts events in July is astounding. Our theater, music and dance companies create their schedules one by one, but taken together it's going to be one sensational Summer Festival right here in our own backyard. Enjoy.

Part Two of our report on saving money while enjoying the Berkshire's many performing arts attractions. Theater, music and dance are available at a discount, sometimes even Free!

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez put the funky Dreamaway-Lodge, hidden in the woods of Becket, Mass, on the map when they filmed it during the Rolling Thunder tour. Now it is a popular Berkshire destination for atmospheric family style dining and entertainment.

Berkshire residents and visitors are about to enjoy the earliest and most promising arts season in years. We pick the best of the early music, theater, dance and gallery offerings, from Memorial Day to the end of June 2008.

Theater, music and dance performances are sprouting up everywhere. Here's a head's up on the most promising. After a hard winter, it's nice to see the Berkshires bloom with life again.

The recently established tradition returns to Lenox, Mass with the annual Labor Day Weekend Tanglewood Jazz Festival. Tickets to all Tanglewood events are now on sale.

While not a "best" and "worst" list in the usual sense we offer an overview of events and what proved to be moving and insightful while covering the arts in 2007.

Jacob's Pillow Dance Company has announced that it will present a special two week residence and performances by the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Dance Company of the work Chapel/Chapter starting on June 23 before the usual opening of the summer season.

After many years of working in Europe with opera and ballet Karole Armitage has retunred to New York and is touring with a company which visited Mass MoCA in a performance co presented with Jacobs Pillow.

An eclectic array of possibilities makes this the richest Fall arts season yet.

Julianne Boyd hosted an open meeting in her Barrington Stage Company theatre in Pittsfield between arts leaders and Deval Patrick, the first Democrat Governor of Massachusetts in far too long.

Over the busy Memorial Day weekend the arts were officially launched with overlapping openings all over the Berkshires. We opted to covering the events in North Adams.

Now in its 25th Year the Mark Morris Dance Company is launching a tour of 100 performances in the U.S. and Europe including a world premiere during its May schedule at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art.

James Levine will conduct eleven concerts in an ambitious season, which includes a wealth of opera performances, several distinguished musicians from the Netherlands, and Hesperion XXI.

Overcome by ennui at the prospect of coming up with that annual best and worst list.

As an encore of the now closed official season of Jacob's Pillow there is an annual collaboration with Mass MoCA. This year Ballet Hispanico was featured presenting a program of short works as well as the suite "Palladium." Caliente.