Members of the Qualia Dance Collective performing at Community Day at Jacob’s Pillow on Friday, Aug. 18. Photo by Shaw Israel Izikson.
Becket — Jacob’s Pillow hosted its annual Community Day on Friday, August 18. The event included multiple performances by Berkshire-based dancers and dance groups, including Sayer Mansfield, Ian Spencer Bell, and Fiona Scruggs’ dance troupe Qualia Dance Collective, along with the Hatchery Dance Company, Studio 860, Zehnder Dance, and 860 MVMNT.
“It was so beautiful to finally be performing at Jacob’s Pillow,” Mansfield told The Berkshire Edge in an interview after the event. “I’ve taught at Jacob’s Pillow, and I performed at the Doris Duke Theater, but it was a dream to perform on the outdoor stage. It was incredible to perform outside and perform original work.”
Mansfield said that “it’s great to have such an iconic institution in your backyard.” She explained, “To be sharing what that institution has to offer with the local community is really important. I think there are so many incredible artists in the Berkshire area. To invite them all to Jacob’s Pillow is very important. I really love how you can directly connect with the Berkshire community here.”
The afternoon also included several family-based activities, including a Zumba class with Luana Dias David, a children’s creative movement class with Emelia Sikorsky, a story time with children’s author Karen Karlberg and Cooper the Dancing Llama, and a drum circle led by Aimee Gelinas.
“It’s so great to have the community here on our campus, especially on a beautiful day like today,” Jacob’s Pillow Philanthropy Fellow Catie Robinson said. “I hope that they all like what they see and they will return to Jacob’s Pillow in the future.”
Robinson explained that she is from Ohio, while Jacob’s Pillow Company Management Fellow Spring Healy, who helped to co-organize the Community Day event with Robinson, is from California. “To me, it feels like the Berkshires is a hub for creativity,” Healy said. “Jacob’s Pillow is a wonderful place for dance lovers and for people who are new to dance as well.”
“I think Community Day is a chance for people who might not always come to the Jacob’s Pillow for regular programming to experience it in a new way,” said School Programs Fellow Lauren Bramlett.
Just like Healey and Robinson, Bramlett came from outside of the Berkshires—specifically Dallas, Texas—to work at Jacob’s Pillow this year. “This event has something for people of all ages,” Bramlett said. “What experiences will I take back with me from working here in the Berkshires? I will take back much more of an appreciation of the simple pleasures of life. I like the slower pace of the Berkshires. When it comes to Jacob’s Pillow, I will never forget how excited these audiences get about dancing. That’s not something I’ve really seen anywhere else.”
Community Day was part of the annual festival at Jacob’s Pillow, which ended in late August.
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