The Berkshires in Summer: Tanglewood, Jacob’s Pillow and Live Theater
July 1, 2012 by
In addition to balmy days and lush gardens, summer in the Berkshires brings the return of some of our favorite cultural events of the year. Berkshire-area festivals offer the unique opportunity not only to enjoy fantastic performances, but also to learn from these nationally and internationally famous actors, dancers and musicians. Aspiring artists of all disciplines can visit the Berkshires to hone their own crafts and be inspired by the very best.
Tanglewood 2012
This summer is a very special one for Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). 2012 marks the 75th anniversary of Tanglewood and the world-renown concert series is pulling out all the stops.The season officially opens on July 6, 2012 and will continue all summer with a wonderful variety of musical performances by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, famous guest conductors and musicians. The highlight event will be on July 14th: The Tanglewood 75th Anniversary Gala. It’ll be a night to remember with dazzling performances by BSO, Boston Pops, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, John Williams, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor and other celebrated musicians at Tanglewood. For tickets, scheduling and additional information, visit BSO.org.
Jacob’s Pillow 2012
One of our favorite Berkshire summer events is already underway. This summer is the 80th Anniversary of the Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival. In July, you won’t want to miss Vertigo Dance Company from Israel (July 4-8) and the return of Tero Saarinen’s very popular, Shaker-inspired Borrowed Light. The Hong Kong ballet will debut at Jacob’s Pillow July 18-22, 2012. These are just a few of the great dance performances offered in July. For a full schedule, tickets and more information, visit jacobspillow.org.
Professional Theater and Performances
Live performances and summer theater in the Berkshires are also heating up. The five theaters of the Berkshire Theater Group have a great summer season of premier live entertainment, from Hip Hop to cabaret. You can learn more and get your tickets at berkshiretheatregroup.org. Other great resources for professional summer theater and performances include:
• Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA
• Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA
• Williamstown Theatre Festival
• The Theater Barn in New Lebanon, NY
Enjoy all these great performances and exceptional learning opportunities while staying at our Berkshire Bed and Breakfast Inn.
Summer in the Berkshires
May 25, 2012 by Applegate Inn
Guests come to our Berkshires Bed and Breakfast during the summer to bask in the beauty of nature and enjoy outdoor recreation. They also come to immerse themselves in the extraordinary art and culture that’s found here.
Hike the Appalachian Trail this summer.
One day they can hike the Appalachian Trail. The next day they can visit world-renowned museums like The Clark and watch a performance by the Hong Kong Ballet. In between, they can dine in fabulous restaurants and lounge by the pool of our Berkshires Bed and Breakfast.
Each summer brings a plethora of festivals to the Berkshires. Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow Dance, the two most widely known festivals, draw audiences from all over the world. Other festivals, such as the Berkshires Art Festival, are smaller but also well regarded. Guests of our Berkshires Inn find there is plenty to do during the summer, and also plenty of space in which to do nothing.
The truth is, the Berkshire region of Massachusetts is a marvelous place for a summer vacation. Come see for yourself.
Jacob’s Pillow 80th Anniversary
May 8, 2012 by Applegate Inn
One of the best parts of summer at our Bed and Breakfast Berkshires is the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. If you hope to witness it in 2012–the 80th anniversary of the festival–it’s time to start making plans.
The line-up at Jacob’s Pillow is always superlative. Highlights in 2012 include:
- Opening Dance Party, with performances by CIRCA, Mimulus, David Halberg, and others, and dancing by all.
- Morphoses World Premier. Arresting visuals, gorgeous dancing, and a new score. Fabulous.
- Mimulus. An exciting blend of samba, contemporary dance, and imaginative visuals design.
- Leesaar The Company. A “gutsy, brainy modern-dance troupe” (from The New York Times).
- The Men Dancers: From the Horse’s Mouth. A unique, extraordinary event.
- Jonah Bokaer x David Hallberg. A rare opportunity to see some of today’s most extraordinary artists in an intimate setting.
- Doug Elkins and Friends’ Fräulein Maria. An uproarious deconstruction of Rodgers and Hammersteins musical The Sound of Music.
As always, there will be free outdoor performances by the dancers of The School at Jacob’s Pillow every Wednesday through Saturday at 6:25 p.m.
It’s impossible to go wrong at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, for every performance is worth seeing. The setting is beautiful, the art extraordinary. It’s the perfect place to spend a summer evening.
The 80th Anniversary Festival runs June 16 – August 26, 2012. Visit Jacob’s Pillow for more information and tickets, then book your room at our Berkshires Bed and Breakfast.
Step Out in the Berkshires
January 20, 2012 by Applegate Inn
Guests of our Berkshires Inn never lack for something to do.
Edith Wharton's Estate, The Mount.
The region has superlative outdoor recreation, from hiking to skiing, paddling to zip-lining. It has some of the finest cultural offerings in the country: Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. It has world-class museums and historical sites: The Clark Art Institute, the Norman Rockwell Museum, Edith Wharton’s The Mount, and Melville’s Arrowhead.
Many guests of our Berkshires B&B live in a city, either New York City, Boston, or Hartford. They come to the Berkshires to stretch out and breathe in the fresh air. Some are avid outdoorsmen, and want to spend all of their time exploring the mountains, lakes, and rivers of the Berkshires. Others are drawn to the quintessential New England small towns that surround our inn. Still other guests come to enjoy the many cultural offerings the region has to offer.
No matter what you do by day, consider stepping out in the evenings.
Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield offers a wide array of entertainment. Recent events include the great Elvis Birthday Bash, which featured both a young Elvis and Elvis from the ’70s. Upcoming events include Jamie Kent & The Options on February 2, T Bone Daddy, a rocking’ blues trio on the 9th, and The Duke’s Men of Yale: A Night of Love and Heartbreak with Da Doox! on February 11.
Of course, quiet evenings spent at our luxurious Berkshires Bed and Breakfast also hold great appeal.
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2011
June 12, 2011 by Applegate Inn
The Massachusetts Berkshires is truly a unique environment. The setting is pastoral, with rolling farmland, mature forests, and some of the oldest mountains in the country. The Appalachian Trail passes close to our Berkshires Lodging – evidence of the remarkable opportunities for outdoor recreation that exist in the region. Yet unlike many areas where nature looms large and beautiful, culture thrives here as well.
Blake Barn, at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.
Internationally renowned dancers and musicians travel to the region to perform in several different venues. Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, also showcases such artists as the Mark O’Connor String Quartet and master story-teller Garrison Keillor. MASS MoCA (the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) sponsors Bartleby’s Pen, a Friday night series of lively discussions lead by prominent literary figures, and The Clark Art Institute periodically screens Broadway performances.
One of the most thrilling opportunities for both residents and travelers to our Berkshires Inn is Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, which takes place each summer. Many of the artists featured at Jacob’s Pillow make only a handful of appearances in the United States, and most of those performances take place in large metropolitan areas. Yet they travel to the Massachusetts Berkshires to participate in Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, which The New York Times has called “the dance center of the nation and possibly the world.”
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2011 runs June 18 through August 28. During the course of the festival, there will be performances by more than 50 dance companies and more than 200 free performances, talks, and special events. Spectators will be treated to:
- the U.S. debut of 3e Etage: Soloists and Dancers of the Paris Opera.
- a 30th anniversary performance by the Mark Morris Dance Group
- the U.S. premiere of Supernatural Wife by Big Dance Theater
- Argentinean tango by dancers and musicians of Tangueros del Sol
The list goes on and on, for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival is all about bringing world-class dance performances to viewers.
Check out the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2011 calendar, and then book a room at our Bed and Breakfast in the Massachusetts Berkshires. We’re located less than 10 miles from world class dance.
Jacob’s Pillow Festival 2011
March 18, 2011 by Applegate Inn
The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2011 Opening Gala is set for 6 p.m. on June 18. This will be a dance party extravaganza, with performances by a number of Festival artists, celebrity guests, and a world premiere danced by the Ballet students of The Jacob’s Pillow School. Dinner and a silent auction follow, but the best part is surely the dance party at the end of the evening, when gala guests and performers get down and boogie to the music of a live band.
People travel from all over the country to attend the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Each year, we hear about superlative performances seen by guests of our Bed and Breakfast Berkshires.
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2011 includes:
- 3e Etage: Soloists and Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet
- Tangueros del Sur – Argentinean tango
- Mark Morris Dance Group
- Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
- Ballet Geneve
In addition, Big Dance Theater will present the world premiere of Supernatural Wife; Louise Lecavalier will dance to Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis and Iggy Pop; and KEIGWIN + COMPANY deconstructs the fashion world in Runaway.
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2011 features an extraordinary line-up of choreographers, dancers, and music. Wednesdays through Saturdays there are free performances by students at The School of Jacob’s Pillow, established dance companies, and emerging artists, as well as sneak previews by festival artists. For additional information and festival tickets, please see Jacob’s Pillow.
Plan a Berkshires getaway filled with art, dance and music during your stay at our Berkshires Bed and Breakfast.
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Going Strong
August 8, 2009 by Applegate Inn
The arts thrive in the Berkshires near our Lee MA bed and breakfast. Tanglewood is always popular, of course, but so is the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Over the course of the festival, more than 50 dance companies come to Jacob’s Pillow, where their members are involved in workshops, lectures, and performances, and where they are encouraged to mingle with choreographers, composers, novices, and the public. The atmosphere is charged with creativity on this lovely mountaintop.
Doug Varone at Jacob's Pillow
Wednesday August 12 and Sunday August 16 Doug Varone and Dancers bring their “Uninhibited kinetic brilliance” (The New York Observer) to the Ted Shawn Theatre. A writer for The Washington Post once described their movement as “the kind of dancing I might dream about, loose and sweeping in a spirit of exultation.”
The Doris Duke Theatre will present Rubberbandance, the newest work from dancer/choreographer Victor Quijada. According to the Boston Globe, this performance demonstrates an “expansive, sophisticated approach to physicality.” Rubberbandance combines ballet, ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, spoken word and video, and draws the audience into their world. There will be a performance Wednesday, August 12, two performances Saturday, August 15, and one on Sunday, August 16.
Our lodging in the Berkshires is conveniently situated; it is close to Jacob’s Pillow, close to Tanglewood, close to hiking trails and close to fine dining in quaint towns. When you have a little down time, laze with a book by the pool or sip tea on the porch. Be sure you take time to relax during your Berkshires getaway.
Berkshires bed and breakfast celebrates Jacob’s Pillow
May 13, 2009 by Applegate Inn
One of the things we enjoy most about our Stockbridge MA hotel is its proximity to great art. From Tanglewood to Jacob’s Pillow to theater festivals, there is almost always something exciting happening nearby. We at the Inn take advantage of these outstanding opportunities as much as we can, and we encourage our visitors to do so, too. Let us know how we can help facilitate your enjoyment of the arts in the area adjacent to our Berkshires bed and breakfast.
In 1930, a dancing couple purchased Jacob’s Pillow Farm, which was first homesteaded in 1790. Since then, dance has been part of the 163-acres that sit atop a hill near an old stage-coach road between Albany, NY and Boston, MA. What ultimately became known as the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival has had many versions throughout the years, but has always remained true to its desire “to present and preserve a wide-ranging variety of dance forms” and to maintain “a diversity unparalleled among American dance festivals” (Jacob’s Pillow Website).
Today, Jacob’s Pillow is an international dance organization that is often considered to be the “mecca” of dance. Dancers from more than fifty dance companies from around the globe make pilgrimages here to participate in workshops, perform, and celebrate dance. Visitors may observe dancers as they train at The School at Jacob’s Pillow, or in performances at one of three venues. Visitors have access to thousands of videos and photographs in the Archives. In addition, more than 200 free performances, classes, tours and events make up the Community Dance Programs that are designed to keep the medium of dance alive and share it with both experienced and novice dancers.
The festivals at Jacob’s Pillow start June 24th. Plan to stay at the Applegate Inn and delight in the wonders of Jacob’s Pillow.