The British Invasion
THE ROYAL BALLET TAKES OVER JACOB’S PILLOW
From the pages of the May/June 24 Issue.
By Scott Edward Anderson
TRISTRAM KENTON
Sixty years after The Beatles launched the British Invasion with their performances on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964, another British Invasion is launching this July at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket.
The Royal Ballet of the United Kingdom will take over Jacob’s Pillow from July 3 to July 7. This will mark the first time in the festival’s history that a single company will perform on both the indoor and outdoor stages with separate programs on the same day, including the historic indoor Ted Shawn Theatre and the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage.
Hannah Grennell and Giacomo Rovero in Secret Things by Pam Tanowitz ALICE PENNEFATHER
Great Britain has a long and rich tradition in the realm of ballet. At the forefront is the revered Royal Ballet, widely considered one of the leading classical ballet companies in the world. With a lineage of legendary dancers and choreographers dating back to the first half of the 20th century, the Royal Ballet represents the zenith of technical virtuosity, artistic expression, and preservation of the art form’s rich traditions—while also exploring the boundaries of new territories in dance.
From the meticulous coaching and rehearsal process that goes into each production, to the seamless melding of dance, music, design, and storytelling, the company epitomizes excellence. Whether reinterpreting iconic works from its storied repertoire or bringing innovative new ballets to life, the Royal Ballet’s dancers possess a timeless quality that transcends borders. Their artistry has inspired generations while upholding British ballet’s global reputation for world-class talent and uncompromising standards.
Royal Ballet Artistic Director Kevin O’Hare JOE PLIMMER/ ROH
So, when this esteemed company brings its history, pedigree, and star power to the Berkshires for the first time ever this summer, it represents a truly rare treat for American audiences. For this engagement—the only time they’ll be performing in the U.S. in 2024—the Royal Ballet will bring both a world and a U.S. premiere as part of its program. The U.S. premiere of Secret Things by the American choreographer Pam Tanowitz, about which The Guardian wrote, “Created for corps de ballet dancers, Secret Things opens with the figure of a woman caught between iconic ideal and flawed corporeality. In a tunic of sunshine yellow, shins shimmering with gold and pointe shoes tipped with cobalt blue, she is at once a work of Apollonian statuary, all poise and proportion, and a coltish creature who is still discovering her body.” Tanowitz is currently an artist-in-residence at Live Arts Bard (LAB), the Fisher Center’s residency in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
As for the world premiere, the award-winning British choreographer Wayne McGregor, who is the Royal Ballet’s artist-in-residence, has created a new piece specifically for Jacob’s Pillow, “inspired by what the Pillow is all about,” says Royal Ballet Artistic Director Kevin O’Hare. In addition, the Royal Ballet will perform works by its founder choreographer Frederick Ashton, as well as its current principal choreographer Kenneth MacMillan and artistic associate Christopher Wheeldon.
Diamonds with Ryoichi Hirano and Sarah Lamb TRISTRAM KENTON
Royal Ballet principals Matthew Ball, Mayara Magri, Marcelino Sambé, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, and Sarah Lamb will perform in this engagement, along with a sizable number of the company’s corps de ballet. Lamb, who is originally from Boston, got her start with the Boston Ballet before joining the Royal Ballet in 2004. Principal dancer Natalia Osipova will perform a solo piece from Sir Frederick Ashton’s tribute to Isadora Duncan, Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, on the outdoor stage for the opening night of this engagement, Wednesday, July 3.
Based in London, the Royal Ballet was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois and has been in residence at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden since 1946. With limited time available for performances outside of London, this engagement by the Royal Ballet at Jacob’s Pillow is a real coup for the festival, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2022.
Carousel with Mayara Magri and Matthew Ball, also photo on previous spread TRISTRAM KENTON
Although the Royal Ballet has never performed at Jacob’s Pillow as a company, there is a long history of connection between the performance venue and the Ballet. Among the Royal Ballet dancers who have individually appeared at the Pillow are Richard Cragun, who was here in the 1980s, Margot Fonteyn in 1973, and Nadia Nerina and Clover Roope, who performed in the 1960s. Alicia Markova, who was the first ballerina of the Royal Ballet under Ashton’s direction, co-directed the Pillow in 1941, danced here several times, and served on the Pillow’s board of directors. Anthony Tudor served on the faculty and created several works at the Pillow, including Trio Con Brio in 1952.
Then O’Hare came to the Pillow in 2023. This engagement was long in the works, according to Pamela Tatge, executive and artistic director of the Pillow. She originally traveled to London to pitch the idea in 2018. Then the Royal Ballet’s artistic director Kevin O’Hare came to the Pillow in 2023, where he saw not only the performance spaces, but also got a history of the interconnections between the Royal Ballet and Jacob’s Pillow from archivist Norton Owen.
“Kevin’s first stop was in the archives,” Tatge says, noting that Owen “had put together a presentation of all the dancers from the Royal Ballet who had been to the Pillow, and all the connections we’ve to that company starting in the 1940s. He was so impressed with that history.”
O’Hare also saw two performances at the festival, including the Tulsa Ballet performing on the outdoor stage, and that’s where the idea for the takeover began.
Natalia Osipova as Kitri in Don Quixote; and, below, Natalia Osipova in the Tchaikovsky pas de deux. ANDRE J USPENSKI
“It’s a place with a magical name and feeling about it,” says O’Hare. “And when the opportunity came up to go there, it just seemed an opportunity not to be missed.”
The Pillow also found an advocate in the Royal Ballet’s current company and tour manager Rachel Vickers. “I went to Jacob’s Pillow when I was a dance counselor at [Hinsdale’s] Camp Taconic and thought it was a really magical place,” says Vickers. “I have kept my eye on the festival over the years, and it is a full-circle moment to come back nearly 30 years later in a professional capacity.”
“We’re bringing a snapshot of the Royal Ballet today,” O’Hare notes. A good mix of contemporary and classics will highlight the talent of the current company, he says. “There is such talent across the ranks.”
The last time the Royal Ballet performed in America was in 2015, with performances in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The company’s “take-over” of Jacob’s Pillow this summer will be the only place to see the Royal Ballet in the U.S. in 2024.
HELEN MAYBANKS
“If you are a ballet lover, and you maybe can’t get yourself to London,” offers Tatge, “you’ll have the opportunity to see these dancers who are part of such an incredible legacy of both choreography and dance. I feel that because of their artistry, they’re a company that everyone wants to try to see at least once in life.”
Will the Royal be back after this engagement? “I’d love for it to be a regular thing for us,” O’Hare says. Better to catch them now when you have the chance at Jacob’s Pillow this July.
The Royal Ballet of the United Kingdom will perform Wednesday to Sunday, July 3 to 7, both in the indoor Ted Shawn Theatre and outdoors on the Henry J. Leir Stage.
The Season Opening Gala kicks off the festival on Saturday, June 22. Festival 2024 will host the return of two beloved annual gatherings: Pillow Pride and the All Styles Dance Battle. Pillow Pride—a celebration of LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities—will be held the weekend of July 13–14, including a performance by the MasterZ at Work Dance Family with Courtney Topanga Washington. The All Styles Dance Battle will be held on Friday evening, August 2.
Other Pillow performances include the following in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Each will run from Wednesday to Sunday:
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo: 50th anniversary season; last appeared in 2010; June 26–30. (See page 52.)
Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève: Switzerland; U.S. premiere; last appeared in 2011; July 10–14.
Social Tango Project: Argentina; Pillow debut; July 17–21.
MOMIX: Washington, Connecticut; last appeared in 2002; July 24–28.
Camille A. Brown & Dancers: NYC; world premiere; last appeared in 2017; July 31–Aug. 4.
Parsons Dance: NYC; last appeared in 1999; Aug. 7–11.
Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca: NYC and Spain; last appeared in 2001; Aug. 14–18.
Dance Theatre of Harlem: NYC; last appeared in 2019; Aug. 21–25.
And outdoors on the Henry J. Leir Stage:
M.A.D.D. Rhythms: Chicago; Pillow debut; Thur.–Fri., June 27–28.
MoBBallet: Creating Pathways to Performance: Pillow debut, Wed.–Thur., July 10–11.
Dancers of Damelahamid: West Vancouver, BC, Canada; Pillow debut; Fri.–Sat., July 26–27.
David Dorfman Dance: NYC, last appeared in 2011, Sat.–Sun., Aug 3–4.
Gibney Company: NYC, Pillow debut, Wed.–Sun, Aug. 7–11.