75 years of Jacob's Pillow: celebrating the "everything" summer dance festival.

It all began in 1931 when Ted Shawn bought a farm in the Berkshires. Starting in 1933, he used it to develop his new troupe, Ted Shawn and his Men Dancers. For seven years they toured the country, paving the way for men to take up dancing. Although they gave performances at the Pillow, it was Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin who produced the first international festival on the Pillow grounds, in 1941. The next year Shawn became director of the festival, presenting ballet, modern, and "ethnic" or world dance each week of the summer.

The Pillow has always been a place where you could live and breathe dance and share your excitement with others. It has made a tradition of nurturing new works and new careers. In the past 10 years, director Ella Baff's adventurous programming has broken box office records. This summer, it presents more than 300 events and 6 educational programs. Visiting companies include the State Ballet of Georgia, recently refurbished by Nina Ananiashvili (see "Georgia on Her Mind"), Mimulus from Brazil; and Nederlands Dans Theater II. Home teams include Mark Morris, Hubbard Street, and Bebe Miller. In these four pages, we offer a glimpse of the last 75 years of Jacob's Pillow. May it enjoy another 75!