Political analyst Rachel Maddow speaks with Pillow scholar Suzanne Carbonneau in a 2009 PillowTalk. Maddow humanizes the political context of the early years of Jacob's Pillow and then offers her personal perspective on the meaningful role that the arts play within an evolving democracy.

In this excerpt from a 2004 PillowTalk, choreographer Shen Wei speaks with dance scholar Suzanne Carbonneau about his love of abstraction when making movement, stripping away narrative from musical scores, and integrating visual art into his stage works. Shen Wei also shares about his upbringing in the traditions of Chinese Opera and his early years after emigrating to New York City.

Christian Warner hosts this episode focused on the human body’s capacity to navigate collective grief, moving toward not only healing, but self-actualization. Warner is a Black interdisciplinary performer, choreographer, and director. He shares his own experiences as well as excerpts from conversations with dance artists Dormeshia, Camille A. Brown, Ronald K. Brown, and their collaborators.

In this episode of PillowVoices, we bring you an interview with choreographer Yin Mei. PillowScholar Suzanne Carbonneau sat down with Yin Mei to discuss her work titled Empty Traditions / City of Peonies in August, 1999.

In this episode, professor and choreographer Silvana Cardell contextualizes the work of the Mimulus Dance Company through the lens of adjacent histories and influences: Cardell from Argentina and Mimulus from Brazil.

Jennifer Edwards hosts this episode honoring the life and legacy of former New York City Ballet dancer, Jacques d'Amboise, in his own words. Recorded during his only Pillow appearance in 2008, d'Amboise reflects on his beginnings as a dancer and his efforts to welcome more young people into his beloved art form.

Lisa Niedermeyer hosts this episode exploring the connections between puppetry in contemporary dance and emerging technologies such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence and spatial computing. The episode focuses on a piece titled "Underground River" which was conceived and directed by Jane Comfort and developed in residency at Jacob’s Pillow. We hear from puppet artist Basil Twist, the director and choreographer Jane Comfort, and one of the performers, Stephen Nunley.

Jacob's Pillow Associate Archivist Patsy Gay hosts this episode featuring excerpts of a 1998 PillowTalk. In this conversation between choreographers Ralph Lemon and Susan Marshall, we hear insights about their own beginnings in dance along with their individual ways of creating work.

Poet and dance writer Karen Hildebrand hosts this episode focusing on how text and spoken word are used in dance. Included are examples from works by Liz Lerman, Joe Goode, and Carmen de Lavallade. Hildebrand is the former editorial director for Dance Magazine, and a past editor in chief of Dance Teacher magazine.

Christy Bolingbroke, Executive / Artistic Director of the National Center for Choreography - Akron, hosts this episode focused on the the relationships of choreographic practice and various technologies. Referenced in this episode are works by David Parsons, David Rousseve, Compagnie Kafig, Rennie Harris/Puremovement American Street Dance Theater, and Ragamala Dance Company.

Jennifer Edwards hosts this episode honoring Gus Solomons jr, the celebrated choreographer, writer, and teacher. As the first Black dancer in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Solomons was both a trailblazer and a trendsetter, forming his own company and making more than 150 works before his death in August 2023 at the age of 84. In this episode: Excerpts from Mondays with Merce: Episode 14 Merce as Model (2010). Director/Producer: Nancy Dalva. (c) Merce Cunningham Trust. All rights reserved.

Jennifer Edwards hosts this episode focused on Trisha Brown, one of the most celebrated choreographers to emerge from Judson Dance Theater and the postmodern era. Brown is in conversation with Deborah Jowitt, the influential choreographer, scholar, dance critic, and educator. We also hear from art historian and Brown specialist Susan Rosenberg.

Many choreographers draw inspiration from their ancestors, nature, and the spiritual world, and Teena Marie Custer explores some examples with help from Sandra Laronde, Christopher K. Morgan, Ananya Chatterjea, Michelle N. Gibson, and others.

In this second part of a 2-episode series, Dr. C. Kemal Nance examines the movements, meaning, and structure of the contemporary African dance technique known as Umfundalai.

Dr. C. Kemal Nance hosts this episode honoring Dr. Kariamu Welsh and celebrating the dance technique that she developed called Umfundalai.

Jennifer Edwards hosts this episode honoring the life and legacy of teacher and choreographic mentor, Bessie Schönberg. Included are excerpts of D.A. Pennebaker's documentary film entitled "Bessie: A Portrait of Bessie Schönberg," with remembrances from Merce Cunningham, Jerome Robbins, Meredith Monk and from Schönberg herself.

With the help of his colleague Elise Bernhardt, Stephan Koplowitz traces his early years at Jacob's Pillow, where ideas were planted that led to a fruitful, life-long career and his book entitled “On Site: Methods for Site-Specific Performance Creation.” Featured are inside looks at Dancing In The Streets and Grand Central Dances, as well as Joanna Haigood's thoughts about her work process as a site choreographer.

Poet and dance writer Karen Hildebrand hosts this two-part podcast, focusing on dramaturgy and dance. In this second part, Hildebrand explores how dramaturgs have worked with choreographers at the Pillow, focusing on works by Bebe Miller, Jane Comfort, and Rennie Harris. Hildebrand is the former editorial director for Dance Magazine, and a past editor in chief of Dance Teacher magazine.

Poet and dance writer Karen Hildebrand hosts this two-part podcast focusing on dramaturgy and dance. In this first part, Hildebrand defines the role of a dramaturg, drawing extensively upon a 2014 PillowTalk with dramaturg Anne Davison and Scholar-in-Residence Maura Keefe.

Dr. Iquail Shaheed offers a personal reflection on the life, work, and profound impact of his teacher and mentor, Milton Myers. Shaheed frames this exploration with thinking from his recent doctoral dissertation on Myers, a mainstay of The School at Jacob’s Pillow since 1985.

Visual artist Yve Laris Cohen reflects on his exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art entitled 'Studio/Theater' with Jacob's Pillow Director of Preservation Norton Owen. The exhibition featured remnants of the Pillow's Doris Duke Theatre, which was destroyed by fire in November 2020. This is a sequel to Episode 44 with MoMA curator Martha Joseph and former Pillow Director Liz Thompson.

Crystal U. Davis, dancer, movement analyst, scholar, and author of Dance and Belonging: Implicit Bias and Inclusion in Dance Education, unpacks implicit and explicit bias as it relates to the relationship between audiences, dance-makers, and styles of dance.

The remains of the Pillow's Doris Duke Theatre were memorialized in an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art by visual artist Yve Laris Cohen. In conversation are exhibition curator Martha Joseph and two participants in related performance events, former Pillow Director Liz Thompson and Preservation Director Norton Owen.

In this episode, we join Pillow Scholar Theresa Ruth Howard in conversation with Lourdes Lopez on the occasion of her tenth anniversary as artistic director of Miami City Ballet.