“The silent concentration of the dancers, their precision, the transformation of their performance into shadow images is no less fascinating than the poetic dream in black and white; both become an homage to the imagination.” – Stuttgarter Nachrichten
Read the full review:
“Playing with the imagination only works if the movements are precise - and the athletic actors of the Pilobolus Dance Theater have this down to a tee. In addition to the apparent weightlessness, there is a lightness that lends this interplay of shadowy forces a poetry that is characteristic of great art.” – Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten
Read the full review our Dresden performance of Shadowland:
“Astonishing, virtuosic, amazing!” – Dresdner Morgenpost
Read the full review of our Shadowland performance in Dresden, Germany—click the image below.
Click the image to read the review!
“In artistic terms, this is no slick mainstream, but rather quite weird art that is aware of its proximity to sideshow and circus - and also exhibits this in an elaborate revue scene.“ - Hamburger Abendblatt
Read more about our Hamburg show:
Dance captains Nathaniel Buchsbaum and Quincy Ellis took time during rehearsals of Shadlowland to speak with Buten un Binnen ahead of their performance at Metropol Theater in Bremen, Germany.
Watch the Interview Now
“The best thing is simply to let yourself go and immerse yourself in the fairytale world [...] An evening that is as poetic as it is entertaining, with which the ensemble counters the omnipresent digital sensory overload with simply the best handmade theatre magic. With a finale that once again serves up a fast-paced best-of the show, after which there is really only one wish left unfulfilled: for an encore as soon as possible.” – Muenchner Merkur
Read more about our Munich performance of Shadowland:
Click the image to read the full review.
“This piece [Shadowland] focuses on change, from illusion to reality, from girl to woman, from shadow play to dance. It is an ambitious performance with fascinating shadow acrobatics and modern dance elements, which the dancers master with aplomb." – Abendzeitung
Click the image to read the full review of Shadowland in Munich.
Click the image to read the full review.
This October we kicked off our re:CREATION tour with a return to Portland, Oregon to our longtime presenters, White Bird. Read the review of the show in Oregon Arts Watch!
This May we returned to Dallas, TX for an encore performance of Pilobolus in the Garden at the Nasher Sculpture Garden. In a presentation by TITAS/Dance Unbound, Pilobolus worked with students from the Booker T Washington High School for Performing and Visual Arts to create a unique experience of our piece Branches inspired by the natural world.
Read more here.
The Helen Hayes Awards recognize outstanding achievement from professional theatres and theatre-makers across the Washington, DC region. Named for the legendary First Lady of the American Theatre, Helen Hayes, the awards celebrate the artists and companies whose work makes the Washington, DC-area a thriving, nationally recognized theatre community. We were thrilled to be selected as winner of Outstanding Choreography in a Play for 2023.
Pilobolus collaborated on the production of this play initially in 2015, and revived the production with RoundHouse Theater in 2022.
This collaboration with Teller and Aaron Posner (directors) has been an exciting and fulfilling one. The idea to cast Caliban as two actors, physically intertwined was a moment of inspiration during a period of creation with Penn & Teller on the Pilobolus dance piece, [esc]. This production’s Caliban was played by Hassiem Muhammad and Ryan Sellers, who together won the Helen Hayes award for Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Play. This is a first for the awards. Recipients have tied for awards before, but this is the first time that two performers have jointly received a Helen Hayes Award for playing a single role shared between multiple people.
Read more here. And check out our fun award unboxing video here!
Caliban Photo by Scott Suchman
Check out the podcast on the Movement Architects website to hear all about Reneé’s story of coming to dance, and how she looks at making dance. https://themovingarchitects.org/movers-shapers-renee-jaworski/
Pilobolus Artistic Director, Matt Kent spent a week in residence at Chapman University working with the Dance majors. In this extended residency, Matt taught students the Pilobolus creative process of improvisation and collaborative choreography, our signature partnering techniques and advised students on their Senior dance performance pieces.
In addition, the company performed at the Musco Theater and our dancers participated in student and faculty luncheons and talkbacks.
Below see some feedback from students who participated.
“I remember watching videos of Pilobolus on YouTube during our Intro to Dance Studies course first semester and thinking that they were a phenomenal group. However, seeing Pilobolus live in the Musco theatre was truly otherworldly. Within 5 works, Pilobolus was able to convey multiple stories and prompt various emotions from the audience including laughter, awe, fear, and a journey back towards childhood. The community within Pilobolus’ company and love towards their craft was evident during the master classes we had, as well as the conversations we had after the show. This is showcased not only in the trust they have in one another sharing weight and executing nearly impossible lifts, but with the collective laughter during their conversations. Pilobolus has a very humane and personable nature about their company. I have so many takeaways from Pilobolus’ residency, but if I were to select one it would be one of the quotes Matt described in our class. He recalled Leonardo da Vinci’s quote, “art lives from constraint and dies from freedom.” This sentiment stuck with me, as it is opposite of my typical mindset. Moving forward I am going to attempt to use what inhibits us as dancers as avenues of possibility while searching for creative solutions.”
“My takeaways from concert and classes are truly eye-opening. I overall feel more light in a sense, which I believe is from the heavy experimentation with free movement. Creating with my fellow peers in such a new environment helped create a closer bond amongst us all, and I even saw that bond within the dancers on stage. This furthers my appreciation for dancer, for which dance creates such a beautiful and emotional connection throughout so many. I am forever grateful for Pilobolus!”
Pilobolus dancers, Nate Buchsbaum and Hannah Klinkman got to be on morning television on ABC7 in Sarasota while on tour. Use this link to see them teach the hosts how to partner like Pilobolus!
The first Pilobolus female trio, Warp and Weft was recently added to the Jacob’s Pillow Interactive in a special feature called Women Together. Take a look at the excerpt of the 2018 piece here.
Pilobolus was once again featured on the hit TV show, Penn & Teller’s Fool Us. We created a special act with P&T that really showed off the flexibility of our dancers. Check it out here!
Executive Director Renée Jaworski talks with the kNOwBOX podcast about creating work that responds to different aesthetics and cultures, the process of creating Shadowland, and re-imagining the show for Saudi Arabia.
