BECKET — Jacob’s Pillow will present its first-ever fall performance weekend this month in the new Doris Duke Theatre, which opened this summer after the former theater was destroyed by a fire in 2020.
The historic fall performances come two months after the 93rd annual Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival canceled the remainer of the season in response to a fatal accident on Aug. 1.
Caleb Teicher and Nic Gareiss will perform Oct. 24 to Oct. 26 in the Doris Duke Theatre. The tap-dancing duo will present an evening performance that combines jazz, swing, folk, Lindy Hop, social and solo dance.
“Our show is all singing and dancing, a meeting of our backgrounds,” Teicher said in a statement released by Jacob’s Pillow. “My background in tap, jazz, and swing comes together with Nic’s background in traditional folk music and dance. The show is virtuosic, funny, and heartfelt.”
Pamela Tatge, executive and artistic director at Jacob’s Pillow, said the first fall performances are possible due to the opening of the reimagined Doris Duke Theatre. She added that the second theater at Jacob’s Pillow — the larger Ted Shawn Theatre — allows the festival to extend its presenting capabilities to support year-round programing.
“Dance companies and artists from all backgrounds have a home and an audience here,” Tatge said. “While our newest theater is designed as a space for experimentation and development of new works, it has also been designed as a year-round venue to unite beloved artists with our region’s sizable dance audience outside of the summer months.”
The new Doris Duke Theatre opened over the summer as part of Jacob’s Pillow’s annual summer dance festival, which was slated to run from June 25 to Aug. 24. The new, 20,000-square-foot theater replaced the former, 8,500-square-foot Doris Duke Theatre, which was destroyed by a fire on Nov. 17, 2020.
This past summer’s festival was abruptly cancelled on Aug. 5 in response to a fatal accident. Production manager Kat Sirico died on Aug. 1 on the festival grounds. Sirico and an intern were moving platforms used for staging performances across the Jacob’s Pillow property on a dolly. While they were rolling the dolly downhill, they lost control. Sirico tripped, and the dolly ran over her and then the platforms fell on her, according to a statement from the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office. Bystanders attempted lifesaving measures.
The District Attorney’s Office said it would not file criminal charges as it determined Sirico’s death was a workplace accident.
Caleb Teicher is a Bessie Award-winning dancer, choreographer and director who began their career as a founding member of Dorrance Dance. Nic Gareiss, named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” draws from many percussive dance practices to weave together a technique facilitating his love of improvisation; clog, flatfoot, and step dance vocabulary; and musical collaboration.
Teicher previously performed at Jacob’s Pillow with Caleb Teicher & Company in appearances on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage in 2014, 2016 and 2017. In 2018, Caleb Teicher & Company with Conrad Tao developed work in a Pillow Lab residency, which led to a summer run in the Doris Duke Theatre in 2019. Teicher also appeared in “SW!NG OUT” in the Ted Shawn Theatre in 2022 and performed an excerpt of “Rhapsody in Blue” alongside Conrad Tao at Jacob’s Pillow’s season-opening gala in 2024.
Teicher’s Pillow connections began in 2010 when they were a participant in both the tap and jazz and musical theatre dance programs in The School at Jacob’s Pillow.
Gareiss served as an artistic advisor during Caleb Teicher & Company’s 2018 Pillow Lab, and as the footwork coach in the company’s 2019 run in the Doris Duke Theatre.
Jacob’s Pillow is located at 358 George Carter Road in Becket. Caleb Teicher & Nic Gareiss perform Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. The performances will take place in the Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow. Seating is general admission, and tickets are priced at $69.50, including fees. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.jacobspillow.org.
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