Pilobolus?

IT’s a fungus

In 1970, several young men enrolled at Dartmouth College, took a dance class…to fulfill a physical education requirement.  With interests as diverse as history, philosophy, and psychology, the idea of standing alone, in front of a class, and moving, was frightening.  So they “clung to one another for both moral and physical support” building dances as a collective while at the same time creating something they thought was “cool.”

Following graduation the “company without a name” headed to a member’s dairy farm in Vermont where they continued their movement discoveries; creating choreography that relied on their collective creativity, humor, and interest in telling stories with their bodies.  It was here, that PILOBOLUS was born; and audiences loved this new kind of Modern Dance.

One of the original dancers had a father who was a biologist, studying Pilobolus the fungus in his lab.  The first dance they made was inspired by the incredible physical nature of the fungus a mushroom, found in barnyards and pastures. “It’s a feisty little thing—only ¼ inch tall, the length of your fingernail—and can throw its spores nearly 3 feet!” 

The image of a spore shooting itself through the air was the perfect metaphor for the style dance they were creating, and hence, the perfect name for their new dance.

Later, when they started touring as a dance company, they needed a name for their company, they decided it was a perfect name for their dance company.

This collective creativity continues to this day. Dancers along with members of the Artistic Team and often artists from different genres, create dance collaboratively.  Their physical inventions often appear to defy gravity or create new life forms right before your eyes.

As you watch our performances, keep in mind how this company came to be. Watch for those moments of connectiveness; when one or more bodies join together to support another while moving through space; when dancers appear to transform into something completely new. In those moments, you too will become connected…to PILOBOLUS.