This curated show brings together Berkshire-based dancers and performers, all with works answering the question “What are you celebrating?” What emerges is a series of works focused on resilience, perseverance, and triumph.
Veronica Bone is a Pittsfield-based choreographer, teacher, and performer. After achieving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance at Indiana University, Veronica moved to Western Massachusetts to work at Jacobs Pillow. She then worked at Berkshire Theatre Group as the Fundraising and Outreach Associate. While there, Veronica served as an artistic associate for the Actor Intern Program. She taught daily dance classes and choreographed site-specific performances. She now teaches at Berkshire Pulse and works on artistic projects with local dance artists.
Born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Denver, Colorado, Gillian Ebersole is a dancer and choreographer, as well as a poet, dance critic, and researcher. Gillian graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a dual degree in Dance and English. Performed on stages in Los Angeles, Denver, and Paris, as well as across Berkshire County, Gillian’s choreographic work merges a love for language and for movement. Gillian trained with Denver contemporary dance company Wonderbound, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Whyteberg, Gibney, and Bill T. Jones. Drawn to the communal embodied experience, Gillian is a certified yoga instructor and has taught both dance and yoga in studios and community spaces. Gillian is a Teaching Artist Fellow as part of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Creative Youth Development program and on the Modern Dance staff at Berkshire Pulse. Currently, Gillian works for Jacob’s Pillow as the Marketing Coordinator for Community Engagement and The School.
Molly Hess is a Berkshires, MA based choreographer, dancer, educator, and arts administrator who creates playful and tender work meant to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages. She received a BA in Dance from St. Olaf College in 2012. Molly has had her work presented all around the US including: Movement Research (NY) Links Hall (IL), AS220 (RI), The Dance Complex (MA), Mascher Space Coop (PA), and Denmark arts Center (ME). Molly is half of The Picnic Sisters, an ongoing collaboration with Eliza Malecki. Other Collaborations include “Fitzhugh in Prospect Park” with sculptor Fitzhugh Karol to create site specific, participatory work activating his large scale playful sculptures. And “Molly +Tessa Make a Dance”, a touring participatory performance created with Tessa Broadby. She is passionate about intergenerational dance connection and was a member of 2 Boston based intergenerational companies, Back Pocket Dancers, and PB&J Dance Company. Molly is also a dedicated art’s educator who teaches dance and sewing/ fashion design in a way that encourages students to celebrate their own creativity while mastering new skills. Molly is currently part of the teaching faculty at Studio North Dance arts and is the Director of an arts and nature based non-profit, Bearnstow on Parker Pond.
Fern Katz is a freelance choreographer and performer. Originally from the Berkshires, she now splits her time between Western MA and NYC. She has shown her own work at various galleries and theaters in MA, NYC, and NJ and danced in the works of Belarusian choreographer Olga Rabetskaya since 2019. She has danced with many other choreographers, including Sharon Fridman in his US premiere at Jacob’s Pillow. Fern has had the honor of studying under teachers such as David Zombrano, Shannon Gillen, Jos Baker of Peeping Tom, Ohad Naharin, and countless others. Starting in 2023, Fern will be in residence at Performact in Portugal, studying choreography, lighting design, costume design, dance technique and martial arts.
Shannon Nulf (she/her) is a movement artist and arts administrator whose work reflects her commitment to human connection and community building. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a BFA in Dance and minors in Movement Science and Performing Arts Management. At U-M, she worked with artists Urban Bush Women, Rosie Herrera, and Joel Valentin-Martinez, U-M Faculty Missy Beck and Charli Brissey, and MFA candidates Fabiola Torralba, Sydney Schiff, Kelly Hirina, Jen Peters, and Melissa Brading. After graduating in 2021, Shannon worked as a Community Engagement Intern for the 2021 Summer Festival at Jacob’s Pillow and is now serving as Community Engagement Fellow until September 2022. She also teaches at Berkshire Pulse, having studied dance education and pedagogy at U-M, and is currently performing and creating work locally in the Berkshires with multiple collaborators, including Gillian Ebersole and Fiona Scruggs.
Born in Tübingen, Germany, Fiona Scruggs is a dancer, choreographer, researcher, educator, and writer. Fiona’s choreography has been presented at The Foundry, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 5×5 Dance Festival (Connecticut), Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre, the New Rochelle Arts Fest, Salzburg International Ballet Academy Gala, Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts, and Radford University. In 2022, she founded Qualia Dance Collective, formerly known as Fiona Scruggs Dance, which performs her choreography in New England. Fiona is currently a Teaching Artist Fellow through the Massachusetts Cultural Council Creative Youth Development program and is an American Ballet Theatre Certified Teacher. She is a Teaching Artist at Berkshire Pulse, the Writer and Digital Content Producer at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, and a contributing writer for The Berkshire Edge. Fiona is the former School Programs Coordinator at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, where she researched, wrote, and curated an archival collection about The School at Jacob’s Pillow’s 90-year history and legacy. Fiona received a bachelor’s degree in dance education, summa cum laude, from Radford University, where she received several fellowships and grants to conduct research and choreography in France and the U.S. on the life, career, and legacy of Josephine Baker, which she has presented at numerous regional conferences.
Tickets: General Admission – $18 ($20 at-the-door)
Seating/ Bar: 6:30 PM
This event is indoors.
Bring your tickets to West Stockbridge’s newest restaurant AMICI on the night of any performance at The Foundry and receive 10% off of your table’s bill!