airborne!

inside/out in the Berkshires... Photo ©Jeremy Clowe.
All rights reserve.

The week ended on a high note in the Berkshires... the Google Art Talk was a big success (so far, over 600 worldwide viewers), and there's already talk about the Museum getting involved with another one. For those who missed it, you can watch the archived talk (and even see a few minutes of me and my hastily tidied office at the beginning... lol) on YouTube.

Yesterday I spent part of the afternoon running around the Stockbridge Cemetery, taking photos for an upcoming TV commercial showing Halloween-themed events happening in Western Massachusetts. Sort of a bold way to spend Friday the 13th(!), but I came out alright... and so did the photos. Actually, I think I managed several rather eerie shots, which is what they were looking for (the Springfield visitor bureau representative sure was enthusiastic about the results). I'll see about sharing them at a later date.

Photo from "Dancers Among Us" by Jordan Matter.
©2012 Jordan Matter. All rights reserved.

Turning from the dead to the living, I thought I would take a moment to talk about a great photography book that is out right now called Dancers Among Us. Photographer Jordan Matter has taken some delightful photographs of dancers taking flight in everyday situations, and this collection is really a fun and inspiring collection for any coffee table (dance lover or not). The subheading for the book reads: "A Celebration of Joy in the Everyday."

Joie de vivre: Jordan Matter speaks in Blake's Barn,
Jacob's Pillow, August 23, 2013. Photo by Jeremy Clowe.
All rights reserved.

A few weeks ago, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in the Berkshires invited Mr. Matter to speak about his work and sign copies of his book in their Blake's Barn space (donated, in fact, by dancer Marge Champion, whose late son Blake had performed at the festival). A fan of his work, I decided to go check out the talk, and had the pleasure of chatting with Matter afterwards (my dancing wife and I now own an autographed copy of the book). I really enjoyed hearing his stories about getting involved with the project, some of the adventures/challenges along the way, and how he approaches his craft. It turns out that the affable photographer does little in the way of pre-planning the shoots, preferring to let the dancer and location inspire him on the spot. To me this seems like a perfect solution to overcoming intimidation or getting too hung up on the details of a work. His next project will be a book looking at athletes in similar situations.

The Festival posts many of these "Pillow Talks," but I have not seen the lecture posted yet. I did find this fun clip of Matter working on a shoot up in the forests surrounding Jacob's Pillow itself (you get a sense for his outgoing personality here as well):

Meeting Matter at Jacob's Pillow, August 2013.
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

After the talk we stayed around to watch a dance performance at the venue's Inside/Out stage, where dancers literally perform against the beautiful countryside of the Berkshires. I started taking a few non-flash photos, but was asked to refrain by the Pillow staff... understandable, as they have it all very well-documented (photographers, videographers, etc.). I have documenting dance in the past... I'll have to see if I can find some of my work as I start to organize my old files here in the Electric City. 


Of course, I have also always loved dancing (indeed, Sarah used that quote that he dances "like no one is watching" to describe me at our wedding). The spirit of Matter's work reminds me that we should definitely look into taking some more classes soon. So on this Yom Kippur weekend I say "L'chaim!"

Related Links:

www.jordanmatter.com

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

Royal Beserkshires

Last night's show with the Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe went well−it was my first post-wedding, a fact that was duly noted in the opening introduction (I think Sarah was the only audience member to get kissed by a member of the Troupe last night... well, make that all members!). We tried out a couple new games, got to know a new troupe member, and played to an enthusiastic crowd−I think we would be even tighter with more regular rehearsals. It is nice what the Student Educational Development Fund is doing for my old town of Lee, and I am happy to be contributing as one of the regular performers of the Berkshire Visual and Performing Arts Center. 

Speaking of performing arts in the Berkshires, we're heading back to the Berks tonight to catch a hip-hop dance company called Compagnie Käfig perform at Jacob's Pillow. This looks promising:

Jacob's Pillow is the reason I ended up in the Berkshires... long story (good and bad), but it's worked out... found my dancing partner!

Photos by Sarah Clowe for Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe. All rights reserved.

Good Relations

I started the day off by doing another radio interview (in the words of my co-worker, "you're famous again!"). This one was for Jazz FM, a radio station based in the UK... yup, Anglophile that I am, I can cross another item off my bucket list. Actually, this station is devoted to jazz, as its name suggests... I just hope that my interview is slated next to Miles and Coltrane... not Kenny G. The representative was part of a so-called FAM group, which the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism puts together. Basically, groups of journalists travel throughout the state to learn about the various cultural attractions. I gave them the low-down on Norman Rockwell and Howard Pyle...

Rockwell and Pyle side-by-side
From "Howard Pyle: American Master Rediscovered."
Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum.

The new exhibition looks great, and has received some favorable press. Here is a short article I wrote for the Berkshire Visitors Bureau that describes, in part, Rockwell's admiration for the Golden Age illustrator's work. It is rather fun to see his 1959 painting Family Tree on view next to Pyle's classic pirate illustrations.

Sarah and I missed the opening, but it looks like people had fun... dressed up as swashbucklers and shaking their pirate booty on the dance floor. The truth is that I have dressed up as a pirate on a couple of occasions... just for the fun of it... arrrgh!!!

"Howard Pyle: American Master Rediscovered."
Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum.

So I am busy trying to attract press for the exhibition, which can be a creative exercise in itself. Last week I represented the Museum during an event called Celebrate the Berkshires, put on by the Berkshire Visitors Bureau. It was a good opportunity to network and learn what the other cultural organizations are doing. 

I have to say I have the utmost respect for what Mass MoCA is involved with... they just seem so forward-thinking, and after hearing their Director speak, that is no accident. Joe Thompson was on-hand to present the Berkshire Trendsetter Award to Jacob's Pillow, another great cultural organization, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. The dance organization does wonderful work, and just announced their outdoor performance schedule. Sarah and I love heading up to Becket... into the woods... to see live dance. Jacob's Pillow and Mass MoCA are absolutely deserving of the accolades they receive for all of their quality programming. The Rockwell Museum has some fine exhibitions as well, and we were also nominated for a couple Trendsetter Awards, including "Public Relations," which made me think I'm doing something right.

And so, the summer season begin...

Related Link:

Berkshire Visitors Bureau article on Howard Pyle exhibition

Get Up Offa That Thing

Tonight Sarah and I started a month-long swing dance class. We had taken classes in the past, but it has been awhile since we have practiced it regularly. We thought it couldn't hurt to brush up on our moves in time for next month's festivities.

Sarah and I met out dancing, so it feels nice to bring it full-circle. The instructor was good, and broke down the steps in an easy-to-understand manner. He also had us switch partners throughout the class, so in reality we didn't dance together that much tonight... but it's not a bad way to learn from those of varying skill sets and styles.

We also enjoy watching dance. One of our favorite TV shows, So You Think You Can Dance, has just returned for a new season. I'm not usually a fan of these reality/competition shows, but feel that SYTYCD is a little classier and serious about the subject than others. We have seen some amazing dancers on this program over the years that we have watched it faithfully... pretty much every one since we met! Hip-hop, modern, latin... they do it all! I think our favorite is still season two... we couldn't get enough, and even drove out to Buffalo, New York, in 2006 to see the top ten dancers perform at the Shea's Theatre--it was great! The winner of that season, Benji Schwimmer, and his very charming cousin Heidi, were actually trained in swing dance--here is Benji's audition:

There is also a great dance festival called Jacob's Pillow that runs through the summer in the Berkshires. We have seen great performances there as well. That's how I originally discovered the Berkshires (good and bad, I guess), but it brought me to my current path, and forever sweetheart, who I am more than happy to lead.

Related Links:

www.fox.com/dance

www.jacobspillow.org