Shadowland Wows German Audiences

“Astonishing, virtuosic, amazing!” – Dresdner Morgenpost

In December 2023, Pilobolus embarked on an ambitious Winter Tour to bring Shadowland to German audiences. The company traversed the country through January 2024, performing a total of 45 shows with stops in Munich, Bremen, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Baden Baden, Dresden, and Stuttgart to critical acclaim:

“Their magic has remained. Romantic dance scenes with many lifts in the foreground alternate with what makes the show so special. Behind two screens of different sizes, the flexible performers create black figures, animals and plants in sophisticated pantomime and harmonious interplay." – Frankfurter Neue Presse

“Modern dance theatre, graceful, powerful, perfect in form and with captivating choreography.“ – Kreiszeitung

“This is how the shadow theater in “Shadowland” works […] The unique mixture of athletic modern dance, ballet elegance, traditional shadow theater and sophisticated lighting technology thrilled the audience.” – Badische Neueste Nachrichten

“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

“The countless visual surprises provide 75 minutes of suspense […] charming.“ - Weser-Kurier

“It's not too difficult to be carried away by this production. There is applause in between scenes and huge applause at the end [...] altogether incredibly fascinating.“ – Flensburger Tageblatt

“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

“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

“Fascinating shadow play!” – Dresdner Morgenpost

 “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

“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

Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten 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:

Muenchner Merkur Review

“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.

Abendzeitung 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.

Pilobolus in the Garden

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.

Helen Hayes award Winner!

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

Residency with Chapman University

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!”