Wednesday, September 16, 2026

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

Alex Bloomstein

Alex Bloomstein began dancing in 1977. He studied ballet, modern, composition and choreography with many teachers over the years. Alex performed his choreography, as well as the choreography of others, at numerous venues, including the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and Dance Theater Workshop (now New York Live Arts) in New York City. Alex has taught ballet technique and pointe, modern technique, composition and choreography, improvisation, social dancing and movement for actors in a wide variety of settings, and he still regularly teaches. From 2006 to 2021, Alex was the Artistic Director of Ballet Arts Studio, a conservatory-level ballet and dance school in Beacon, New York. Between 1986 and 1988, Alex wrote dance reviews for The Berkshire Eagle, The North Adams Transcript, and The Schenectady Gazette. Alex is also a lawyer who practices in Hillsdale, New York.

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Shamel Pitts receives the 2026 the Jacob’s Pillow Men Dancers Award

The biennial award recognizes choreographers of exceptional vision who create innovative works for men dancers. Pitts received the honor during a week in which his company, TRIBE, performed a piece he and his team developed during a 2020 Pillow Lab residency.

Celebrate the Fourth of July, and America’s 250th, with the Urban Bush Women at Jacob’s Pillow

This country is complex; it has produced both lofty and terrible history. It has also produced great art, and the great artists that make it. Occasionally, and thankfully, all of that sometimes comes together, as it does this week at Jacob’s Pillow.

Jacob’s Pillow’s 94th festival season opened Wednesday evening with Paul Taylor Dance Company

Taylor’s genius was his ability to see all aspects of a dance at the same time, the visual and pictorial, the physical, the musical and, critically, the intellectual, analytical, and even the mathematical, and fit all the parts together seamlessly.

The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2026 begins with a gala!

True to Pillow history, and to Ted Shawn’s legacy, the Gala performance last Saturday featured a wide range of dance, from New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Tiler Peck, to tap collective M.A.D.D. Rhythms, and pretty much everything in between.

DANCE REVIEW: Hari Krishnan/inDANCE closes Jacob’s Pillow’s inaugural spring season

On May 2, 2026, I made my first sojourn to Becket to see a fully open-to-the-public performance by a professional dance company at Jacob’s Pillow as part of the Pillow’s first-ever “spring season.” And it was worth the trip!

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival announces its 2026 Festival season performance schedule

The Pillow has just announced its 2026 season schedule, the 94th season in its illustrious history, and, as usual, the docket is full.

2025 Annual Festival coming August 30th to Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, New York

Spread over five weekends, from Saturday, August 30th through Saturday, September 27th, Kaatsbaan’s sixth annual Festival will include dance performances, film, interactive and interdisciplinary performances, storytelling and the spoken word, arts walks, Q & As with performers, and more.

DANCE REVIEW: The Paul Taylor Dance Company at PS21

Taylor’s genius was his ability to see all aspects of a dance at the same time—the visual and pictorial, the physical, the musical, and, critically, the intellectual and analytical—and fit all the parts together seamlessly.

DANCE REVIEW: Elle Sofe Company from Norway has its U.S. debut at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

“vástádus eana — the answer is land” by Elle Sofe Company reminds us of just how very similar all our experiences as human beings on this planet are, even though they often seem so vastly different.

DANCE REVIEW: After a 40 year run, Stephen Petronio Company has its final performances at Jacob’s Pillow this week

The swan song for the Stephen Petronio Company at Jacob’s Pillow features outstanding dancers moving to beautiful music; it is educational; it is poignant and bittersweet; and it is a little challenging politically. In short, it is powerful, exceptional, one-of-a-kind entertainment very much worth seeing.

DANCE REVIEW: Andrew Schneider at Jacob’s Pillow’s Doris Duke Theatre

The Doris Duke Theatre at the Pillow is officially open. It is a stellar addition to the many performance venues in Berkshire County and a wonderful, comfortable place to watch dance and other live performance.

DANCE REVIEW: Kyle Marshall’s ‘Femenine’ at PS21

PS21 has been making a name for itself through its audacious programming in music, circus, dance, and theater. It is clear that trend will continue under new Artistic and Executive Director Vallejo Gantner.

DANCE REVIEW: Trinity Irish Dance Company at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

A Trinity Irish performance consists mostly of what we generally call “Irish step dancing.” It is striking to watch because, when done well (and these dancers were virtuosic across the board), it is entirely incongruous, seeming to have both a naturalness and an unnaturalness at the exact same time. It is confounding and wonderful.

The Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow rises from the ashes

The first official week of the season for the new, reimagined Duke Theatre begins next Wednesday, July 16, with performances by Andrew Schneider, and both this summer and the future look very bright indeed for this jewel of a theater.

DANCE REVIEW: BODYTRAFFIC at Jacob’s Pillow

Seeing this company will bring a smile to your face and get your blood—and maybe your feet—moving, and that is always a good thing.

Dance and Music Students from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee perform at Tanglewood Learning Institute

How these dancers were able to connect to the music and the musicians, and vice versa, was nothing short of amazing.
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