Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Executive and Artistic Director Ella Baff accepts the 2010 National Medal of Arts on behalf of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival from President Barack Obama at an East Room ceremony at the White House on March 2, 2011. Managed by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States Government. Photo by Ruth David. Courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts
Bio
America's longest running international dance festival, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival has made significant contributions to the development of dance in the United States. Each year, thousands of people from across the U.S. and the globe visit Jacob's Pillow to not only see the more than 50 dance companies and 200 free performances, talks, and events; but also to train at The School at Jacob's Pillow, one of the most prestigious professional dance training centers in the U.S.; explore the Pillow's rare and extensive dance archives; and take part in numerous community programs designed to educate and engage dance audiences of all ages.
Jacob's Pillow is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and recently became the first dance institution to be designated a National Historic Landmark, the first and only dance entity in the U.S. to achieve this honor. In 2009, they received a Save America's Treasures grant to preserve some 10,500 photographs and 500 slides through digitization.