Pilobolus Origins

The Gunn Historical Museum and Pilobolus in Washington, Connecticut will present the guest lecture “Pilobolus Origins” with Renee Jaworski and Matt Kent, Pilobolus Artistic Directors, on Zoom on Monday, January 17, 2022 at 6:30 pm. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link for this free virtual Gunn Museum program.

REGISTER HERE

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, co-sponsored by the Gunn Historical Museum and Pilobolus, 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.

RENÉE JAWORSKI (Co-Artistic Director) has had an extensive creative career working with Pilobolus since 2000 and in 2011 was honored to have been chosen by the founding Artistic Directors to lead Pilobolus into and beyond its post succession evolution in 2011.She choreographs and creates projects and collaborations for stage, film and video; facilitates group workshops and projects in diverse communities with dancers and non-dancers and oversees the daily functioning and long term planning for the company’s creative endeavors.

MATT KENT (Co-Artistic Director) began his career with Pilobolus as a dancer in 1996, helping create many pieces, including classics like Gnomen and A Selection, a collaboration with Maurice Sendak. In 2011, Matt was chosen by the founding Artistic Directors, and to lead Pilobolus in its post succession evolution. He has directed for the stage and screen choreographing on horses, chinese acrobats, giant Michael Curry puppets, Zombies on the Walking Dead, jugglers, actors, LED umbrellas and dancers.

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

Photo: #1 Pilobolus LOGO by Juliana Sohn