Jacob’s Pillow Returns With First Fall Performance After Tragic Cancellation of Summer Festival
For the first time Jacob's Pillow will extend programing into the fall.
Dancers open the Doris Duke Theatre earlier this summer.
Jacob’s Pillow is set to stage dance on its campus for the first time since the cancellation of its 93rd annual summer festival, which was called off in July after the accidental workplace death of an employee. The decision to cancel the remainder of the season was unprecedented for the storied institution. Now, the Pillow looks to turn a page with a milestone: its first fully-produced fall program, staged in the newly opened Doris Duke Theatre.
From October 24–26, acclaimed dancers and creative partners Caleb Teicher and Nic Gareiss will perform an evening-length concert that fuses tap, jazz, swing, Lindy Hop, Appalachian clogging, and Irish step dance. Their show, simply titled “Caleb Teicher & Nic Gareiss,” will christen the Doris Duke Theatre’s role as a year-round venue.
“Our show is all singing and dancing, a meeting of our backgrounds,” Teicher says. “My background in tap, jazz, and swing comes together with Nic's background in traditional folk music and dance. The show is virtuosic, funny, and heartfelt.”
Caleb Teicher and Nic Gareiss. Photo by Hillary Rees.
The state-of-the-art Doris Duke Theatre, unveiled this summer, restored the Pillow’s footprint for the first time since 2019, following the devastating fire that destroyed the original building. Pamela Tatge, the Pillow’s executive and artistic director, emphasized that the new space was built to expand the Pillow’s scope beyond its flagship summer festival.
“Dance companies and artists from all backgrounds have a home and an audience here,” Tatge says. “While our newest theater is designed as a space for experimentation and development of new works, it has also been designed as a year-round venue to unite beloved artists with our region’s sizable dance audience outside of the summer months. To host Pillow alum Caleb Teicher with Nic Gareiss is a great joy, and to have our campus ring with dance in the autumn is something to celebrate.”
Caleb Teicher and Nic Gareiss. Photo by Hillary Rees.
The October performances are part of a broader push to keep Jacob’s Pillow active throughout the year. That initiative begins later this month with “ZAZ” by SOLE Defined, which will be staged at Williams College on September 26 and 27. It continues into winter with Deborah Hay’s “Short-sighted” at MASS MoCA, scheduled for Thursday, December 11. Tickets for both programs are already available through the Pillow’s website.
