Bereishit at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
What happens when you put 20 international dance companies, over 40 emerging companies, 100 school participants, and 33 interns in the hills of the Berkshires over the course of ten weeks? Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival happens, and let me tell you, it’s magical.
After graduating from the University of Minnesota and saying goodbye to my wonderful Northrop coworkers, I packed up my life and drove out east for my summer internship at Jacob’s Pillow. I knew I would see a lot of amazing dance in my time there, but I had no idea quite how incredible it would be. I also did not anticipate that I would see one of my favorite performances of my life within the first two weeks of the festival. And lucky for all of you reading this, you can see this performance, too!
Bereishit Dance Company from Seoul, South Korea is a contemporary dance company unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The dancers are fluid and strong. They achieve partnering I have never seen before with an ease and focus that is simply unparalleled.
Bow-control is a powerful duet between two men, delicately finding new and inventive ways of exploring a simple bow—as if they had never seen a bow before. They allowed the audience in so we were able to discover it with them for the first time, too. The piece escalated into incredible feats of balance and strength, taking the themes of the bow into the physical body.
Balance and Imbalance is a larger group work with live Korean musicians. Each section grew in not only number of dancers but also energy. Each movement was more challenging and more impressive than the next. And yet the dancers moved as if they had water flowing inside them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen dancers as focused as these.
This is truly a performance you do not want to miss. It’s a brief performance, but it leaves you begging for more. Not to mention how special it is to be able to experience contemporary dance from across the globe. I saw a lot of dance this summer, and this still stands out as my favorite. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. You won’t be disappointed.
