FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PHOTOS CONTACT: Alyssa Mayfield, Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator 413.243.

9919 x132 amayfield@jacobspillow.org

JESSICA LANG DANCE RETURNS AFTER LAST SEASONS PILLOW DEBUT IN A DYNAMIC PROGRAM, INCLUDING A WORLD PREMIERE AND LIVE MUSIC, AUGUST 7-11 August 3, 2013(Becket, MA) From August 7-11 in the Doris Duke Theatre, Jacobs Pillow presents the highly anticipated return of Jessica Lang Dance, a contemporary ballet company led by Artistic Director and choreographer Jessica Lang. The company debuted at the Pillow during the 2012 Festival to rave reviews and sold-out performances. Jessica Lang Dance returns this season with five works, including a world premiere, that showcase Langs ingenuity as a master of visual composition" (Tresca Weinstein, Dance Magazine). The program at the Pillow begins with the world premiere of Within the Space I Hold danced to an original score by Polish composer Jakub Ciupinski, who designed an instrument that allows hand gestures to control the electronic music in real time. Contributing to the aesthetic of the piece is the set created by award-winning designers Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen of molo, based in Vancouver, Canada. The company premiere of A Solo in Nine Parts (2010) is described by Paul Horsley of The Independent as ingeniously structured and intelligently worked-out. Nine performers will grace the stage with traditional and classical ballet choreography, accompanied by Antonio Vivaldis Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons). Lang, known for using striking sets and costumes, shows in this work that she is equally adept at engineering interplay with just nine dancers on a bare stage (Lisa Jo Sagolla, Kansas City Star). An excerpt from Aria (2010), originally created for American Ballet Theatre II under the title Vivace Motifs, is also a company premiere and will be performed by three founding members of Jessica Lang Dance: Kana Kimura, Claudia MacPherson, and Laura Mead. Tim Martin of Dance Europe Magazine calls Langs White (2011), a dance on film that captures and layers dancer in real time and slow motion, groundbreakingshe hasnt just discovered some clever-effectsshe meticulously choreographs these on-screen interactions so expertly that we feel we are no longer watching film, or dance, or dance on film: its like a completely new medium. Further demonstrating Langs exploration of video and projection is the quirky i.n.k. (2011) inspired by visual artist Shinichi Maruyamas KUSHO series. Throughout the work, dancers move in relation to a backdrop with slow-motion projections of Maruyamas falling and colliding drops of paint and water. The fusion of choreography and video art creates a multimedia experience that Philip Gardner of Oberons Grove describes as compelling and poetic. The well-accomplished cast of nine dancers boasts degrees from some of the nations most prestigious institutions including The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Dance, The Ailey School/ Fordham University, and Marymount Manhattan College.

Company History: Founded in 2011, Jessica Lang Dance (JLD) is a New York City-based company dedicated to creating and performing the work of Jessica Lang. Hailed as "a master of visual composition by Tresca Weinstein of Dance Magazine, Lang incorporates design elements and transforms classical ballet language into artfully crafted, emotionally engaging contemporary works. Since the companys inception, marked by Lang receiving a Joyce Theater Residency supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, JLD has garnered significant attention and acclaim at major venues throughout the country including the full company debut at Jacobs Pillow Dance Festivals 80th Anniversary Season last summer. JLD has received support from the Jerome Robbins Foundation, The ODonnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Japan Foundation New York, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. About Jessica Lang: Jessica Lang has attained success as a choreographer by continuously working with ballet companies across the U.S. and abroad since 1999. Described as having "established a reputation for concocting ingenious choreographic interactions between dancing bodies and the movements of striking set and costume pieces" (Lisa Jo Sagolla, Kansas City Star), Lang has created more than 80 works on numerous companies including Birmingham Royal Ballet and Joffrey Ballet. American Ballet Theatre presented her work at the Metropolitan Opera House in 2008 and 2011 while her ballet Lyric Pieces, commissioned and performed by Birmingham Royal Ballet, earned a nomination for a coveted 2013 Manchester Theatre Award in the United Kingdom. She has received commissions from the Dallas Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum for Works and Process. Langs work has been performed by numerous educational institutions throughout the country. She is on faculty at American Ballet Theatres Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School as well as a teaching artist for the Make A Ballet program. Lang recently directed and choreographed Pergolesis Stabat Mater at the Glimmerglass Festival. Upcoming commissions include new works for the National Ballet of Japan and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for JLD. Lang, a graduate of the Juilliard School under Benjamin Harkarvy, is a former member of Twyla Tharp's company, THARP! Festival Connections: Jessica Lang Dance made its full company debut at the Pillow in the 2012 Festival season. PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION Jessica Lang Dance Doris Duke Theatre Wednesday, August 7 through Saturday, August 10 at 8:15pm Saturday, August 10 and Sunday, August 11 at 2:15pm Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacobs Pillow Scholar-in-Residence Suzanne Carbonneau are offered on the porch of the Doris Duke Theatre 30 minutes before every performance. A Post-Show Q&A with artistic personnel from Jessica Lang Dance will take place onstage on Thursday, August 8. Tickets $22$43. Now on sale online at jacobspillow.org, via phone at 413.243.0745, or in person at the Jacobs Pillow Box Office. Box Office hours: Sunday through Tuesday, 11am5pm; Wednesday through Saturday 11am 8pm. Jacobs Pillow is located at 358 George Carter Road in Becket, MA, 01223 (10 minutes east on Route 20 from Mass Pike Exit 2). The Jacobs Pillow campus and theatres are handicapped-accessible.

IN THE TED SHAWN THEATRE, AUGUST 7-11 O Vertigo Danse Ted Shawn Theatre

Wednesday, August 7- Saturday August 10, 8pm Saturday, August 10 & Sunday, August 11, 2pm From Montral, O Vertigo presents La Vie Qui Bat (The Beat of Life), an award-winning contemporary work danced to Drumming by pioneering composer Steve Reich, performed live by members of the Quebec Contemporary Music Society. Following the flow of the acclaimed musical score, this powerful dance unfolds in a play of oppositesgraceful, rigorous, subtle, and bold. FREE EVENTS AT JACOBS PILLOW, AUGUST 7-11 Inside/Out Performance: Ephrat Asherie Dance Henry J. Leir Stage and Marcia & Seymour Simon Performance Space Wednesday, August 7, 6:15pm Ephrat Asherie Dance (EAD) was formed in 2011 to explore a new movement language that combines the rawness of underground styles, such as breaking, house, hip-hop, and vogue, with more traditional forms of dance. Creating work that speaks to our universal human experience, EAD is dedicated to bringing dance to audiences who often do not have the opportunity to see live performance. FREE Inside/Out Performance: lauren edson + dancers Henry J. Leir Stage and Marcia & Seymour Simon Performance Space Thursday, August 8, 6:15pm lauren edson + dancers strive to create work that is innovative, collaborative, challenging, engaging, and emotionally evocative. Led by Boise-based choreographer Lauren Edson, a celebrated former company member of Trey McIntyre Project, this group of talented and diverse artists performs Edson's choreography throughout the nation. FREE PillowTalk: Summer Shorts Blakes Barn at Jacobs Pillow Friday, August 9, 5:00pm Several short dance films will be screened with commentary by the filmmakers, including two entries from this year's Dance on Camera Festival in New York and other surprises. FREE Inside/Out Performance: The Steps Repertory Ensemble Henry J. Leir Stage and Marcia & Seymour Simon Performance Space Friday, August 9, 6:15pm The Steps Repertory Ensemble commissions internationally acclaimed choreographers, both established and emerging, to restage repertory as well as create new works for the company. The Ensemble performs nationally and internationally throughout the year. The Ensembles repertory includes work by Aszure Barton, Camille A. Brown, Sean Curran, Larry Keigwin, and Benoit-Swan Pouffer. FREE PillowTalk: Dancing to Steve Reich Blakes Barn at Jacobs Pillow Saturday, August 10, 4:00pm Steve Reich's music has been heard here in dances by Lar Lubovitch, Eliot Feld, Shen Wei, and now O Vertigo Danse. Artistic Director Ginette Laurin talks about her approach while screening other examples. FREE Inside/Out Performance: The School at Jacobs PillowJazz/Musical Theatre Dance Henry J. Leir Stage and Marcia & Seymour Simon Performance Space

Saturday, August 10, 6:15pm As part of their study in the Jazz/Musical Theatre Program, dancers of The School at Jacob's Pillow present jazz/musical theatre dance variations coached by program director Chet Walker. FREE Sunday Film Event: Never Stand Still Blakes Barn at Jacobs Pillow Sunday, August 11, 4:30pm Legendary dancers and choreographers appear alongside new innovators to reveal the passion, discipline, and daring of the world of dance in Never Stand Still. Filmed at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, this thrilling documentary took home "Best Documentary" honors at Dance Camera West and the San Francisco Dance Film Festival and features amazing performances by world-renowned artists interwoven with intimate interviews, behind-the-scenes insights, and rare archival footage. Tickets $10 Exhibit: Shooting Stars Blakes Barn at Jacobs Pillow Open June 19 Aug 25 Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 10pm, Tuesday and Sunday, noon to 6pm To experience dance through the eyes of other dancers is a rare treat, and this exhibit encompasses uncommon sights and vantage points, photos taken by professional dancers, that will be totally new to most viewers. New York City Ballet star Wendy Whelan reveals what goes on in the dressing rooms of New York City Ballet while Miguel Anaya shares his backstage view from last seasons production From the Horses Mouth: The Men Dancers, and much more. FREE Exhibit: Jordan Matter: Dancers Among Us Ted Shawn Theatre Lobby Open 60 minutes pre-performance By showing dancers in everyday surroundings, photographer Jordan Matter demonstrates just how extraordinary the human body can be. There's no photo manipulation here--no trampolines, no gimmicks, no tricks--which makes these images of roadside leaps and high kicks on the subway all the more remarkable. Including recognizable dance figures and relative unknowns, this collection truly communicates the excitement of having dancers among us. FREE Exhibit: Christopher Duggan: Inside/Out Doris Duke Theatre Lobby Open 60 minutes pre-performance As the Pillow's Festival Photographer since 2006, Christopher Duggan has now documented literally thousands of indelible dance moments. Focusing specifically on Inside/Out for an exhibit last summer at Saratoga's National Museum of Dance, these images are now coming home for the first time. Duggan's superb extra-large prints show off an incomparable setting in an unforgettable way. FREE Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival Archives Blakes Barn at Jacobs Pillow Open June 19 Aug 25 Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 10pm, Tuesday and Sunday, noon to 5pm

This informal library and reading room allows Pillow visitors to view videos, browse through books, access the Pillow's computer catalog, or peruse permanent collections of Pillow programs and photographs. Pillow Interactive, the popular touch-screen kiosk, provides instant access to rare film clips ranging from the present day back to the 1930s, and the Dance Heritage Coalition's new Secure Media Network features videos from other archives throughout the country. FREE ###
Jacobs Pillow, marking its 81st Festival in 2013, is a National Historic Landmark, recipient of the National Medal of Arts, and home to America's longest running international dance festival. The Festival includes more than 50 national and international dance companies and 350 free and ticketed performances, talks, tours, classes, exhibits, and events. The School at Jacobs Pillow, one of the most prestigious professional dance training centers in the U.S., encompasses the diverse disciplines of Ballet, Cultural Traditions, Contemporary, and Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance, as well as an Intern Program in various disciplines of arts administration, design, video, and production. The Pillows extensive Archives, open year-round to the public, chronicle more than 80 years of dance in photographs, programs, books, costumes, audiotapes, and video. Year-round Community Programs enrich the lives of children and adults through public classes, residencies in area schools, and more than 200 free public events. Through Jacobs Pillow Curriculum in Motion, a nationally-recognized program, artist-educators work with Berkshire County teachers and students grades K-12, transforming curricula such as biology, literature, and history into kinesthetic and creative learning experiences. Creative Development Residencies, in which dance companies are invited to live and work at the Pillow and enjoy unlimited studio time; choreography commissions; and the annual $25,000 Jacobs Pillow Dance Award all support visionary dance artists and choreographers. Virtual Pillow is aimed at expanding global audiences for dance and offers the opportunity to experience dance and Jacob's Pillow from anywhere in the world via online interactive exhibits, global video networks, and social media. As part of the Virtual Pillow initiative, Jacobs Pillow Dance Interactive is a curated online video collection of dance highlights from 1936 to today. On March 2, 2011, President Obama honored Jacobs Pillow with a National Medal of Arts, the highest arts award given by the United States Government. Jacobs Pillow is the first dance presenting organization to receive this prestigious award. For more information, visit www.jacobspillow.org.