Pilobolus Origins

Join Artistic Directors Renée Jaworski and Matt Kent in a conversation about Pilobolus, with Special Guests to be announced! In Origins, you will get a glimpse of the nascent and yet unnamed company performing their first piece called Pilobolus, and learn how the company evolved to secure its place in the history books through vintage and rarely seen footage, personal insights, and more. This virtual experience includes an interactive Q&A session with the Artistic Directors. In 1970 several young men enrolled at Dartmouth College and took a dance class to fulfill a physical education requirement. With interests as diverse as history, philosophy, and psychology, the idea of standing alone, in front of a class, and moving, was frightening. So they “clung to one another for both moral and physical support” building dances as a collective while at the same time creating something they thought was “cool”. Following graduation the “company without a name” headed to a member’s dairy farm in Vermont where they continued their movement discoveries; creating choreography that relied on their collective creativity, humor, and interest in telling stories with their bodies. It was here that PILOBOLUS was born; and audiences loved this new kind of Modern Dance. Today, Pilobolus is known the world over for testing the limits of human physicality to explore the beauty and the power of connected bodies, collaborating with some of the greatest influencers, thinkers, and creators in the world. Author Robert Pranzatelli has been interviewing founders and former dancers and delving into the fascinating and inspiring story behind how Pilobolus came to be. Join Pilobolus Artistic Directors Matt Kent and Renée Jaworski for this unprecedented look into the history of a seriously creative company.

ABOUT PILOBOLUS Since 1971, Pilobolus has tested the limits of human physicality to explore the beauty and power of connected bodies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pilobolus has drawn on these decades of experience in telling stories with the human form to reach audiences in new ways, from our physically distanced Roving Art Safari to digital performances and classes. Today, Pilobolus is thrilled to return to the proscenium stage, for its 50th Anniversary, performing works that span our half century. This innovative dance company has created and toured over 120 pieces of repertory to more than 65 countries, and collaborated with more than 75 organizations in finance, retail, media, fashion, sports, and more to create bespoke performances for television, film, and live events. Learn more at pilobolus.org.

For more information visit www.gunnmuseum.org or contact the Gunn Historical Museum in Washington, CT at 860-868-7756 or [email protected].