UP! at LA Music Center

Pilobolus was thrilled to bring the Umbrella Project to the community of downtown Los Angeles. Partnering with the Music Center LA, we brought 6 opportunities to experience collaborative community art-making. In addition to these events, we also worked with two performing groups, Straight Up Abilities, and the Grand Arts dance program. We made new pieces with these groups that were shared in a performance on the plaza for community, family and friends.

Pilobolus presents UP! in Los Angeles

UP! THE UMBRELLA PROJECT with Music Center LA

October 21, 2021

In collaboration with the Music Center LA and MIT, Pilobolus brings  UP! The Umbrella Project, a free interactive community event where Angelenos get to connect with each other in a large-scale, live nighttime art experience using LED umbrellas. Through careful choreography, we will illuminate Downtown Los Angeles by changing the colors of MIT-designed umbrellas, showcasing a shifting landscape of brightly colored figures within a one-hour session. The Music Center’s large LED screens on Jerry Moss Plaza will display the colors, patterns and shapes so everyone can see their movements in real time. The innovation and combination of dance and technology make UP! The Umbrella Project a memorable colorful spectacle you will never forget.

In addition to the nightly UP experiences, Pilobolus teaching artists are creating new works with local dancers, Straight Up Abilities, and Cortines High School, Grand Arts dancers. Both pieces will premiere on the Jerry Moss Plaza Saturday, October 23, 2021.

Pilobolus Kicks off Big Five- Oh! Tour

October 8 2021

Asheville, NC

Pilobolus returns to the stage at the Diana Wortham Theater to kick off the Big Five-Oh! For this 50th anniversary celebration, presenting its world premiere in Asheville, Pilobolus questions its own “givens,” turns its traditions sideways, and brings its past into the future – in a thoroughly engaging new way. As fresh and vibrant as ever, Pilobolus –that feisty arts organism– puts the “Oh!” in BIG FIVE-OH!, and continues to morph its way thrillingly into audiences’ hearts and minds.

The celebration includes the vintage classic, Untitled, the high-voltage Megawatt, signature shadow works, and a few concepts that have never been seen before!

Big Five-OH! Kick off in Asheville

Pilobolus was thrilled to be back on tour with the celebration of fifty years of Pilobolus. The tour kicked off at the Diana Wortham Theater in Asheville, NC. The shows were filled with fans young and old who came to see Pilobolus classics, fan favorites and new pieces.

PILOBOLUS PRESENTS BLOOM: A JOURNEY

PILOBOLUS PRESENTS BLOOM: A JOURNEY

JULY 21-25, 2021

Washington Depot, CT – Internationally celebrated Washington Depot-based dance company Pilobolus will return to Litchfield County, Connecticut this Summer (July 21-25, 2021) with its second annual roving car safari.  This one-of-a-kind driving adventure brings attendees on a journey through the woods to be fully immersed with multiple stages of performance across several disciplines.

“After a year in which we have been separated from the people and the activities that we love and our expressions of art have been but a whisper,  we are proud to once again bring an opportunity for our community to come together for a  joyful and engaging experience,” said Renée Jaworski, Co-Artistic Director, Pilobolus. “We are hard at work gathering our team of talent to create this summer’s one-of-a-kind creative celebration, which will of course follow all guidance from the State of Connecticut, CDC and WHO to offer a safe, healthy and inspiring environment for our guests.”

“We are excited to share two big changes to our event this year: the name and venue,” added Matt Kent, Co-Artistic Director, Pilobolus.  “While the Five Senses Festival has enjoyed three wonderful and creative summers at Spring Hill Vineyards, our vision for our second annual roving performance brought the team to a different type of landscape – think expansive open fields, straight and narrow paths and apple orchards.  To fulfill this creative vision, the team hit the road to location scout and found our performance space for the 2021 event at Sunny Meadow Farm in Bridgewater, Connecticut.  We continue to collaborate with the team at Spring Hill Vineyards, and honor this ongoing energetic and artistic relationship.”

“In 2018, we created our first Five Senses Festival, offering three weekends of magical performances, thought-provoking installations and wellness experiences to activate and delight the senses,” said Emily Kent, Education Director.  “As we began planning this year's event, we dreamed of an inclusive odyssey of personal emergence experienced safely from individual vehicles. I am delighted to announce the event will be called BLOOM: A Journey, a come-as-you-are event for all ages and members of our community as we, together, emerge from a long dark winter.”

Each morning over the five days of the event will feature wellness programs with meditation and movement classes led by local practitioners.  The ticketed sessions will be held in socially-distanced, outdoor spaces.

The car safari will offer timed-tickets for a limited number of cars to travel together through the experience in a pod, enjoying the performances at six stations from the safety and comfort of their personal vehicle, or standing alongside their vehicle. 

A VIP fundraising event, entitled “Full Moon at the Meadow,” will be held the evening of Friday, July 23.  The event will allow guests to experience the safari, enjoy live music, libations and farm-to-table fare in an open air barn on the farm under the full moon.

“I’m so glad the drive-through idea that we created together in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic has inspired Pilobolus to develop the idea further across different landscapes. It’s exciting, timely, deeply creative, and the Spring Hill family joins me in looking forward to what they have in store.” said Stephanie Ingrassia, Spring Hill Vineyard.  “The Vineyard also looks forward to providing a home for Pilobolus’s staged performances in the future.”

The full programming line-up and tickets will be available on the Company’s website in the coming weeks (www.pilobolus.org).  Rain dates are being held July 26 – 27, 2021 on the chance of inclement weather.

Pilobolus Premieres Bloom

Washington Depot, CT – Internationally celebrated Washington Depot-based dance company Pilobolus is returning to Litchfield County, Connecticut this Summer (July 21-25, 2021) with “BLOOM: A Journey,” its second annual roving car safari.  This year’s all-new, one-of-a-kind driving adventure brings attendees on a journey through nature at Sunny Meadow Farm to be fully immersed and interactive with multiple stages of performance across several disciplines.

Highlights from the 2021 event include (schedule subject to change):

• Full Moon at the Meadow, in support of Pilobolus, will take place on Friday, July 23 from 7-10pm.  The festivities will begin with a VIP experience through the car safari, followed by live music, libations and farm-to-table hors d'oeuvres from local culinary icon Cassandra Purdy in an open-air barn on the farm under the full moon.  Tickets – including a donation to Pilobolus – begin at $500.

• Morning Wellness Programming throughout all five festival days, taking place 8-10 am.  Pilobolus once again brings outdoor wellness classes - yoga, meditation, balance, tai chi and family classes - led by Connecticut-based wellness practitioners.  Mats and equipment will not be provided on-site; participants are encouraged to bring their own mats, blocks, cushions and blankets.  Tickets are $30 per person, per session.

• This year’s car safari will take place July 21 – 25 with start times ranging from 10:00 am – 5:45 pm.  Guests will be invited to drive through an idyllic New England Farm, offering scenery of an apple orchard, sprawling fields of wildflowers, ponds, woodland and more, while enjoying live, 365-degree performances from artists including Stuart Bogie, Kat Edmonson, Rob Kapilow, Darlene Kascak, Litchfield County Choral Union, dancers from Pilobolus, Ben Sollee and local student musicians.  Cars will travel in pods of 10-12 vehicles, and guests will be invited to enjoy the performances from their vehicle, or step out to be fully immersed in the art.  Timed-entry tickets for the 75-minute interactive experience begin at $50 per vehicle.  An option to add on a curated snack box from Chef Purdy is also available to pre-purchase for $10.

“Last year we were able to pivot and transform our Festival into a safe and engaging experience like no other, and in response to the incredible feedback from sold out audiences, we hit the road to scout out a new site for this year’s roving performance,” said Renée Jaworski, Co-Artistic Director, Pilobolus.  “This year is a celebration of our journey around the sun. Much has transpired. Much has been learned. As we move into a more normal summer, we want to celebrate our victory, while acknowledging our failures. We plan to encourage connection while remembering what we lost.”

“Our goal with BLOOM is to create a journey of our shared human experience; I promise that you can expect the unexpected with Pilobolus with a little something for the whole family,” added Matt Kent, Co-Artistic Director, Pilobolus.  “There will be performances floating on water and flying through the sky.  There will be music on the water, dancers in the woods, colors in the trees. There will be stories, secrets and surprises along the way. This year provides new opportunities to exit your car, enjoy the call of birds and be bathed in healing sounds.”

Tickets will officially go on sale June 7 on the Company’s website – www.pilobolus.org - through TodayTix. On the chance of inclement weather, rain accommodations on July 26-27 will be communicated to ticket holders in advance of their arrival. 

Event FAQs – including the pet policy, safety guidelines, directions and more – are available at www.pilobolus.org/bloom.

ABOUT BLOOM: A JOURNEY

BLOOM: A Journey is a one-of-a-kind driving adventure bringing attendees on a journey through the woods to be fully immersed with multiple stages of performance across several disciplines on a sprawling farm in Litchfield County, Connecticut.  Produced by Pilobolus, an internationally-celebrated dance company, this all-ages event invites a limited number of cars to travel together through the experience in a pod, enjoying the performances at multiple stations from the safety and comfort of their personal vehicle, or standing alongside their vehicle.  Outdoor wellness programming will also be offered each morning of the event.