Summer at Jacob's Pillow.

Although it is dinnertime at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, almost half of the picnic tables are empty. The modern traditions workshop students are across the road warming up on the outdoor stage for their evening presentation. Tonight they will demonstrate what they have learned over the last three weeks. The drive down the peaceful road in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts gives the arriving audience no indication that an internationally renowned dance festival lies just moments away.

Jacob's Pillow was founded in 1931 by modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn, who sought a quiet, isolated place to realize his dream of legitimizing and establishing a role for men in dance. Over the past sixty-five years, the Pillow has been a training ground and center for contemporary dance for both established and emerging artists. The original 1791 farmhouse and two barns hold administrative offices, a studio, and a store. The theaters and studios, added to the campus over the years, have been carefully designed to match the aesthetic of the original New England farm.

In early May, seasonal staff and interns take up summer residence at the Pillow. They begin to awaken the campus from its winter slumber, transforming the secluded locale into a thriving haven for dance -- Marley is laid on studio floors, light plots are hung, flowers are planted, exhibitions are mounted, and cabins are cleaned. In just nine weeks, the summer festival typically presents over one hundred and twenty-five performances by major national and international dance companies, two hundred classes for students and professionals, twenty-three lectures by visiting scholars, and seven exhibitions.

The school at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival offers several small, intensely focused workshops designed to integrate with other events happening on campus, so students may participate in and observe all aspects of the field, including performance, scholarship, history, and production. The choreography, modern traditions, and jazz workshops form the core of the festival's education program.

The choreography workshop, led by the late Bessie Schonberg from 1990 to 1996, is designed for choreographers with experience and emphasizes compositional studies and problem solving. The three-week-long modern traditions and jazz workshops are tailored to students aged sixteen to twenty-four. In the modern traditions workshop, directed by Milton Myers, Students explore the techniques, ideas, and repertory of modern dance masters such as Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Lester Horton, and Jose Limon. Classes are taught by a world-class faculty who are former company members. The jazz workshop is grounded in director Danny Buroczeski's highly musical and demanding classical jazz style, with emphasis on building a flexible and grounded technique.

In addition to the three core workshops, each season unique workshops are designed to connect with specific festival programming. Past workshops have included a one-week light and movement workshop led by choreographer Dana Reitz and lighting designer Jennifer Tipton and a two-week dance and community workshop led by Celeste Miller. Last season the Men's Dances workshop was held in conjunction with the celebration of the Pillow's sixty-fifth anniversary and in tribute to Shawn's achievements for men in dance. Guest faculty included Barton Mumaw, former member of Ted Shawn's Men Dancers. A jazz choreography workshop codirected by Daniel Nagrin and Danny Buraczeski is planned for the 1998 Season.

Auditions for the school at Jacob's Pillow take place in February and March in ten selected cities nationwide. Students unable to attend an audition may submit a videotape. The selection process is highly competitive, and each workshop has its own set of audition criteria. Workshops are limited to twenty-six students, approximately 48 percent of whom receive scholarships.

Typically, workshop students take three hours of technique classes each morning and four to five hours of classes in the afternoon. After dinner, students may attend a myriad of events including performances in the two main theaters and showings on the outdoor stage. Students may also watch videos, check out a book, or view an exhibit in the newly opened archives and exhibition space. A workshop curriculum includes participation informal performances or lecture-demonstrations on the Inside/Out stage. The Pillow houses students in on-compus cabins and serves three meals a day to students, staff, and artists. On weekends students may hike the Appalachian Trail or swim in nearby lakes.

As the sun starts its descent behind the Stage and the performance comes to a close, students clop, cheer, and cry -- for this is their final night, at the festival. After tonight's show the students will eat their last dinner together, slip in to see one last performance in the Ted Shawn Theatre, reminisce about their experiences, and talk about when they might see each other again. The next morning, they will be leaving for home and making way for a new group, who will arrive over the next two days to embark upon a similar journey -- a journey filled with dance.