Pilobolus

Pilobolus’s new Re: Creation Tour reminds us that play and creativity are fundamental to the human experience and that stories are alive and breathing and can teach, comfort, and connect us to ourselves and each other. Building on the success of their critically acclaimed Big Five-OH! Anniversary tour, Pilobolus moves confidently into the next half century of creation and performance. Alongside groundbreaking new pieces, the company breathes new life into beloved works from the past to create an experience both timely and timeless.

Tickets cost $35-$75 and are on sale now.

Plus, build your own multi-program package for Spa Little Theater events (excluding Sounds of the Season) to enjoy:

20% off tickets to 5 or more programs (25% off for members)

15% off tickets to 3 programs (20% off for members)

RENÉE JAWORSKI (Executive/Co-Artistic Director) has been an indelible force in Pilobolus’s artistic landscape since joining in 2000. A performer who captivated audiences worldwide, her magnetic stage presence laid the foundation for an expansive creative career.  In 2011, she was chosen to lead Pilobolus’s post-succession evolution, becoming Artistic Director, and in 2022 became the first Executive Director with an intimate dance background. Her choreographic experience has been extensive and pioneering, crafting pieces reflecting her innovative dance and theater approach. Her exceptional work spans various platforms, from the 79th Annual Academy Awards to the Grammy®-nominated video for OK Go’s “All is Not Lost,” as well as overseeing prestigious projects like Radiolab Live: In the Dark and the World Science Festival, Time and the Creative Cosmos. The University of the Arts honored her with the Silver Star Alumni Award, and her collaborative work on Round House Theater’s production of The Tempest, directed by Aaron Posner and Teller, earned Pilobolus the Helen Hayes Award for Best Choreography in a Play in 2023. Guiding Pilobolus with vision and creativity, she ensures it remains a vibrant, celebrated arts organization.

MATT KENT (Artistic Director) joined Pilobolus in 1996 without any formal dance training. His unconventional entrance into dance and theater parallels the Founders’. In Pilobolus, he found an outlet for his artistic and creative vision and began a diverse and prolific career. He has performed on prestigious stages around the world and created choreography for colleges, professional dance companies, as well as grand productions involving shadow, horses, acrobats, large scale Michael Curry puppets, actors, stunt men, hip hop dancers, athletes, zombies, and more. His work on Shakespeare’s The Tempest co-directed by Aaron Posner and Teller won the Helen Hayes Award for best choreography. He developed the movement vocabulary for The Walking Dead. His work has appeared on the Academy Awards, Conan O’Brien, Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, Wetten Dass, and multiple television commercials. As Artistic Director of Pilobolus, he brings an unconventional approach to innovative theatrical experiences. A powerhouse of creativity, he leads the 50 plus year old Company, keeping the vintage historic works authentic and relative, while breaking new ground to create  transformative experiences to engage, inspire, and leave audiences in awe.

NATHANIEL BUCHSBAUM (Dance Captain) Manipulator of Light and Shadow, Harnesser of Momentum, Shepherd of Saccharomyces, Student of the Ephemeral, Walker of the Prime Material plane. He is known amongst the Planeswalkers as Tragic the Blathering and is rumored to be known in the Northeast as simply… “Nate.” When he isn’t wandering the realms, delighting both young and old with his nimble, scantily-clad acts of physical storytelling, he dwells in Connecticut, brewing beer in his garage under the watchful eyes of his feline familiars. Nate was absorbed into Pilobolus in 2012.

CONNOR CHAPARRO (Dancer) was born in Lakeland, Florida. He eventually found himself at the University of Memphis where he graduated with a double concentration in Dance and Dance Science. You can find him cooking his mother’s secret salsa recipe and sharing it with people in his spare time. He loves to explore nature, see people’s smiles, and learn about the crazy world we live in.  This is Connor’s first season with Pilobolus and is SO excited to be performing for you, the audience! He sends you “Mush” love.

QUINCY ELLIS (Dance Captain) began training as a gymnast and figure skater in his home state of Maine before earning his B.F.A. Acting degree from Emerson College. He has performed and taught for  Theatre Raleigh, The MoveShop, DeFunes Dance, and The Neighborhood Playhouse…among others. Quincy has also danced for a variety of NYC Drag Artists, including Juicy Liu and Miz Cracker. Outside of theater, he’s an avid traveler, evolution enthusiast, and nature lover.  Quincy joined Pilobolus in 2017.  He does not dye his hair gray…it grows that way.   www.quincy-ellis.com  quincy.m.ellis

MARLON FELIZ (Dancer) has danced with Pilobolus since 2014, touring Shadowland productions around the world, and now presenting repertory and artistic programing wherever possible. Additional credits include a Broadway debut in the new West Side Story, and other musicals, cruise ships, and NYC-based companies. She received her foundational training in ballet and modern dance at New World School of the Arts, and completed her B.F.A in Dance at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is originally from Miami, FL.

HANNAH KLINKMAN (Dancer) was born and raised in Dexter, Michigan where she was classically trained at Ballet Chelsea. She studied at Grand Valley State University and completed her training with BalletMet Columbus in 2016. She has since danced and created with Festival Ballet Providence, Dance The Yard, co-founded the Rhode Island Women’s Choreography Project, and toured and created new work with MOMIX. She creates costumes and her own choreography when not on the road. Hannah is a Mindfulness Meditation teacher, Pilates instructor, dance teacher, and houseplant enthusiast. Hannah joined Pilobolus in 2021.

ZACHARY WEISS (Dancer) grew up in Chapel Hill, NC and began his formal dance training at age eight. He has always been a performer whether it be playing the saxophone, singing, acting or dancing. Zack studied contemporary dance at UNC School of the Arts for a year before transferring to Swarthmore College. He graduated in 2020 with a major in Engineering and a minor in Dance. After working as a Data Engineer in DC for a year, Zack joined Pilobolus in 2021. Outside the studio, Zack can be found riding/fixing bikes, finding high places to climb, and reading science fiction (but not all at the same time).

ROBBY BARNETT (Co-Founder, Choreographer) was born and raised in the Adirondack Mountains and attended Dartmouth College. He joined Pilobolus in 1971.

MOSES PENDLETON (Co-Founder, Choreographer) has been one of America’s most innovative and widely performed choreographers for almost 50 years. A co-founder of the ground-breaking Pilobolus in 1971, he formed his own company, MOMIX, in 1980, which rapidly established an international reputation for inventive and illusionistic choreography. Mr. Pendleton has also worked extensively in film, TV, and opera, and as a choreographer for ballet companies and special events, including two Winter Olympics.

MICHAEL TRACY (Co-Founder, Choreographer) was born in Florence and raised in New England. He met the other Pilobolus founders at Dartmouth in 1969, and became an artistic director after graduating magna cum laude in 1973. Michael toured with Pilobolus for 14 years and choreographed and directed the company until his retirement. He has set his work on the Joffrey, Ohio, Hartford, Nancy, and Verona Ballets, and with Pilobolus choreographed a production of Mozart’s Magic Flute. Michael taught at Yale University for two decades and lives in northwestern Connecticut.

JONATHAN WOLKEN (1949-2010) (Co-Founder, Choreographer) co-founded Pilobolus and remained an Artistic Director until his death, creating 46 Pilobolus works in collaboration with co-artistic directors and guest artists, and as sole choreographer. He also choreographed Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s production of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, and the Royal Danish Ballet’s Oneiric. Mr. Wolken taught many workshops and was dedicated to the furtherance of Pilobolus technique in dance and as a model for creative thinking.

DARLENE KASCAK (Collaborator) Schaghticoke Tribal Nation,  is Education Director & Traditional Native American Storyteller of the Institute of American Indian Studies in Washington CT. Darlene’s experience as an educator, tour guide, museum assistant and Traditional Native American Storyteller has taught her the importance of educating both young and old about the many misconceptions and stereotypes about her ancestors. Her style of teaching from a Native American’s point of view allows children and adults the opportunity to have a new understanding of Connecticut’s Indigenous Peoples lives both in the past and in the present.

GASPARD LOUIS (Collaborator) Founder/Artistic Director of the Durham, NC based company Gaspard&Dancers (G&D). Gaspard received a BFA in dance from Montclair State University and studied at Gus Giordano’s in Chicago and Nikolais/Louis Dance Lab in New York. Following his studies, he joined the New York based AllNations performing traditional dances from many parts of the world. Later, he joined Pilobolus and traveled worldwide with the company. In 2012, Gaspard received an MFA from the Hollins University/American Dance Festival Program and became the Director of ADF’s year-round creative movement outreach program. Since forming G&D in 2009, he has created over 25 works, presented around the world,  and has been a guest teacher and choreographer at University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), Duke, Elon and North Carolina Central Universities.

DAVID POE (Composer) The music of Shadowland is streaming everywhere now. Rolling Stone writes, “David Poe gives the singer/songwriter genre a much-needed jolt.” Poe’s other solo recordings include Everyone’s Got A Camera, God & The Girl, The Late Album, Love Is Red, The Copier: Music for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and his self-titled debut, produced by T-Bone Burnett. He has toured the world with the likes of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, served as vocalist for the Blackstar Symphony, performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Tel Aviv, and at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar for the World Cup. Scores for dance include work by the LA Dance Project, American Repertory Theater, and Harvard Dance Center. Songs by David Poe have featured in a variety of television and film projects, including Dexter, Nashville, Scooby-Doo, and Diary Of A Teenage Girl, and been recorded by artists of multiple genres. He is a composer fellow of the Sundance Institute. davidpoe.com

MICHAEL WALL (Composer) has established a reputation as one of the most innovative and impactful voices in the world of music and dance, writing  approximately 200 new commissions a year for leading international dance organizations, and collaborative projects including the Grammy-nominated album “Spirit Song” by Kenny Barron. Michael also organized, performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered the recording “Music for Changing Parts” by Philip Glass with the Salt Lake Electronic Ensemble. In dance, Michael has collaborated with Flockworks, Shen Wei, Charles Anderson, The Jose Limon Company, Jesse Zarrit, David Dorfman, Jennifer Nugent, Bebe Miller and many more. He is currently developing online educational resources to teach composing for dance, accompanying dance classes, and teaching music for dance to dance educators, which will be available through his website www.soundformovement.com

NEIL PETER JAMPOLIS (1943-2019) (Lighting Designer) designed for Pilobolus since 1975, spanning 40 years and creating more than 60 new works for the company.  He also had a fifty-year active career as a set, lighting and costume designer for Broadway—where he received four Tony Nominations and a Tony Award—and for Off-Broadway, Dance, Regional Theater, and Opera, which he also directed.  His designs appeared on every continent. Neil was a Distinguished Professor of Theater at UCLA.

STEPHEN STRAWBRIDGE (Lighting Designer) has many works in the repertory of Pilobolus Dance Theatre. His designs have been seen on Broadway, off-Broadway and at most major regional theaters and opera houses across the country. Internationally he has designed the lighting for major premiers in Bergen, Copenhagen, The Hague, Hong Kong, Linz, Lisbon, Munich, Naples, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Stratford-Upon-Avon (for the Royal Shakespeare Company), Wroclaw and Vienna. He has been recognized with numerous awards and nominations including the American Theatre Wing, Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Connecticut Critics Circle, Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum, Drama Desk, Helen Hayes, Henry Hewes Design and Lucille Lortel. He is Head of the Lighting Design Concentration at David Geffen School of Drama and Lighting Design Advisor at Yale Repertory Theatre.

BRIAN TOVAR (Lighting Designer) is an award winning and Drama Desk nominated lighting designer who has created original work for major Off-Broadway and regional theaters, everywhere. His body of work spans theater, dance, installations and live events. As a Creative Director and Producer, Brian has developed and collaborated on multiple groundbreaking and award winning live experiences, earning multiple Clio Awards. Brian is a frequent collaborator with the City of New York and has created and designed multiple art installations in New York City.  BrianTovarDesign.com

THOM WEAVER (Lighting Designer) studied at Carnegie-Mellon and Yale and first worked with Pilobolus on Teller and Aaron Posner’s The Tempest at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.  In NY his work has been seen at NYSF/Public Theatre, Primary Stages, Signature Theatre, Player’s Theatre (Play Dead with Teller), 37ARTS, Cherry Lane, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Institute, and SPF. Thom has worked regionally at CenterStage, Syracuse Stage, Huntington, Milwaukee Rep, Shakespeare Theatre, Asolo, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Williamstown, Folger Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Hangar, Spoleto Festival USA, City Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, and Yale Rep. Thom has received 3 Barrymore Awards (21 nominations), 1 Helen Hayes Award (4 nominations) and 2 AUDELCO Awards.

DIANE FERRY WILLIAMS (Lighting Designer)  is a free-lance lighting designer who has lit well over 300 productions of theatre, dance, dance festivals and opera in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. Awards include a Jeff Award, an After Dark Award, a Carbonelle Award, six Drammy awards, and six Jeff nominations. Diane has a BA from Ashland University in Ohio with a theatre major and a Master of Fine Arts in Theatrical Design from Northwestern University.

ANGELINA AVALLONE (Costume Designer) has collaborated with Pilobolus on over 18 productions. She has designed for The Public, Joe’s Pub, the Kennedy Center, and more. Her work was seen at the Kennedy Center, The Joyce, ADF, Wolf Trap, and worldwide. Broadway credits include The Scarlet Pimpernel and Once Upon A Mattress. She studied fashion design in Florence, Italy and received her MFA from Yale School of Drama, and received the Leo Lerman Design Award at Conde Nast.

KITTY DALY (Costume Designer) created costumes for Pilobolus’s Molly’s Not Dead, The Detail of Phoebe Strickland, Bonsai, The Empty Suitor, Moonblind, Lost in Fauna, Mirage, What Grows in Huygen’s Window, Stabat Mater, Elegy for the Moment. She has designed for the Ohio Ballet, the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Milwaukee Ballet, Merce Cunningham, Crowsnest, and Parker/Pucci. Ms. Daly lives in northern Vermont, creating custom evening gowns and beautiful tracks in the snow.

LIZ PRINCE (Costume Designer) designs costumes for dance, theater and film and has designed costumes for numerous Pilobolus productions. Her costumes have been exhibited at The Cleveland center for Contemporary Art, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Rockland Center for the Arts and the 2011 Prague Quadrennial. She received a 1990 New York Dance and Performance Award (BESSIE) for costume design as well as a  2008 Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters from Bard College.

VALERIE ST. PIERRE SMITH (Costume Designer) White Earth Ojibwe-kwe, mischief maker, scholar, and author has an eclectic design background including stage, fashion, dance, film, opera, and themed entertainment. Her designs have been seen at The Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Sea World: San Diego, the National Museum of the American Indian and more. Valerie’s scholarly work on cultural appropriation, inspiration, and representation in design has her presenting for a variety of institutions and conferences, including Central Saint-Martins Fashion Programme in London, England, and writing for a variety of publications.

DANIELLE DEVITO (Stage Manager) grew up just outside of NYC and was introduced to the production side of the performing arts at her high school’s performing arts curriculum program, PACE. She continued her studies at The American University in Washington DC, majoring in both Film and Dance Production.

Danielle has worked summers at the American Dance Festival, and has worked with dance companies such as Parsons Dance, Dorrance Dance, and Passion Fruit Dance Company. Danielle has also worked for The Broadway Education Alliance, putting together kids ensemble programs at locations such as Carnegie Hall and The Macy’s Day Parade.

YANNICK GODTS (Lighting Supervisor) joined Pilobolus as a Production Intern in 2013 and has since toured with the company to eighteen countries across four continents, in addition to designing multiple works for the company. He received his BA from Vassar College in 2013 and now resides in Washington, D.C., where he designs lighting for several theater and dance companies. When not on the road, he draws, hikes, bakes, and enjoys the company of his thirty or forty houseplants.

MAXWELL JABARA (Deck Manager) hails from southeastern Michigan and went on to study Technical Theatre at Kent State University in Ohio. Just out of college, Max worked with Pilobolus as a production intern and after completing his internship joined the crew of Blue Man Group. He returned to Pilobolus in 2021.

The Spa Little Theater Fall 2023 season is made possible by the generous support of Deborah and Dexter Senft.

Spa Little Theater House Rules

All house rules are subject to change. By entering the Spa Little Theater, guests agree to abide by the rules listed above. Management reserves the right to modify these rules or can request to see the contents of any belongings brought on property at their discretion. We appreciate your cooperation in maintaining the utmost levels of safety and convenience for our guests and staff.