Every summer the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts are transformed from their usual somnolent state (there is skiing in the winter, but it’s not as good as in Vermont and New Hampshire) into a cultural gourmet’s paradise. Everything from concerts by pennywhistlers to lectures on the art of falconry is set out to lure the passing tourist, but for me, who am an inveterate dance enthusiast, the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival is the star attraction, the equivalent of Tanglewood (in the same Berkshire corner) for music lovers, and nearby Stockbridge and Williamstown for theater buffs.
Dance recitals at Jacob’s Pillow, whether of classical ballet, modern or— hateful word—“ethnic” dance, have a fresh improvised air that is endearing. Even though the Festival will celebrate its fortieth consecutive season next year, and though the simple barnlike theater is, as the publicity release emphasizes, “the first and only theater in the Western Hemisphere built and used exclusively for the art of the dance,” there’s nothing pretentious or solemn about it. Jacob’s Pillow, in Lee, Massachusetts, is fun.
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