Schedule of Events:

5:30pm: Orlando Hernández at Henry J. Leir Stage

Pillow Debut Live Music:
Lauded as "a onetime tap prodigy who's grown into a history-mining experimentalist' (The New Yorker), Orlando Hernández is a performer, choreographer, theater-maker, musician, and writer who came up in the tap dance community in New York. He now presents a variety of stories and performances that thrillingly blend live music, tap dance, theater and storytelling, and embodied rhythm. His play La Broa' (Broad Street), composed of real-life stories from Latino communities in Rhode Island, was recently produced at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, in a run The Boston Globe called "heartwarming and magical.'

As a member of the New York-based tap dance and live music company Music From the Sole, Hernández has performed at Jacob's Pillow, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, The Joyce Theater, Fall For Dance at New York City Center, and Vail Dance Festival. He is also a member of the Boston-based tap dance company Subject:Matter, directed by Ian Berg, and dances with Michela Marino Lerman's Love Movement.

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7:30pm: Stephen Petronio Company at Ted Shawn Theatre

First Appearance Since 2003:
This summer, Jacob's Pillow is honored to welcome acclaimed director and choreographer Stephen Petronio to present the final performances of the Stephen Petronio Company (SPC), while also marking the culmination of SPC's 40th anniversary. Petronio, who is regarded as "one of the few contemporary dance makers who have created an instantly recognizable style infused with emotional texture and wit" (The New York Times), will sunset an accomplished 40-year run with his company as he moves into his next creative endeavor: Petronio Projects.

The company's Festival 2025 program in the Ted Shawn Theatre will include Chair Pillow by Yvonne Rainer as well as some of Petronio's signature works, including MiddleSexGorge (1990), BUD (2005), Broken Man (2002), the critically acclaimed American Landscapes (2019), and a new iteration of Petronio's solo Another Kind of Steve (2024). This appearance comes exactly 40 years after the company's Pillow debut in the first of three consecutive seasons when they were Artists-in-Residence here.

A recipient of numerous awards, including a New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award, SPC focuses on the creation and presentation of Petronio's existing and new works, alongside legacy initiatives meant to preserve the history of postmodern dance lineage. The company also advances the future of postmodern dance through new works that honor and extend the history, offering a platform for a greater inclusivity of artistic voices. SPC has performed in 40 countries throughout the world with numerous New York City engagements, including 25 seasons at The Joyce Theater.

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2:30pm: Elle Sofe Company at Doris Duke Theatre

U.S. Debut U.S. Premiere Live Music:
Hailing from Norway, Elle Sofe Company make their U.S. debut with Vástádus eana – the answer is land, a "powerful" (Vancouver Sun) and critically-acclaimed performance that combines dance with yoik, a traditional singing style of the Sámi people who are Indigenous to the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

Supported by polyphonic music and costumes inspired by traditional clothing, the piece is inspired by political demonstrations, Sámi spiritual practices, and formation dance. Vástádus eana – the answer is land explores community and kinship between people, nature, and the earth. The yoik, composed specifically for the performance, serves as a musical pillar throughout a performance that reflects on the power of standing together and the awareness of the earth we all stand on and share.

Company founder Elle Sofe Sara is a featured artist at the Arctic Arts Festival in Harstad and a winner of the 2019 Moon Jury Award at the Imagine Native Film Festival. Now coming to the U.S. for the first time, Vástádus eana – the answer is land has toured internationally, and received the 2021/2022 Norwegian Critics Award for Dance.

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