Tuesday, March 10, 2026

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

Alex Bloomstein

Alex Bloomstein began dancing in 1977. He studied ballet, modern, composition and choreography with many teachers over the years. Alex performed his choreography, as well as the choreography of others, at numerous venues, including the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and Dance Theater Workshop (now New York Live Arts) in New York City. Alex has taught ballet technique and pointe, modern technique, composition and choreography, improvisation, social dancing and movement for actors in a wide variety of settings, and he still regularly teaches. From 2006 to 2021, Alex was the Artistic Director of Ballet Arts Studio, a conservatory-level ballet and dance school in Beacon, New York. Between 1986 and 1988, Alex wrote dance reviews for The Berkshire Eagle, The North Adams Transcript, and The Schenectady Gazette. Alex is also a lawyer who practices in Hillsdale, New York.

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Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival announces its 2026 Festival season performance schedule

The Pillow has just announced its 2026 season schedule, the 94th season in its illustrious history, and, as usual, the docket is full.

2025 Annual Festival coming August 30th to Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, New York

Spread over five weekends, from Saturday, August 30th through Saturday, September 27th, Kaatsbaan’s sixth annual Festival will include dance performances, film, interactive and interdisciplinary performances, storytelling and the spoken word, arts walks, Q & As with performers, and more.

DANCE REVIEW: The Paul Taylor Dance Company at PS21

Taylor’s genius was his ability to see all aspects of a dance at the same time—the visual and pictorial, the physical, the musical, and, critically, the intellectual and analytical—and fit all the parts together seamlessly.

DANCE REVIEW: Elle Sofe Company from Norway has its U.S. debut at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

“vástádus eana — the answer is land” by Elle Sofe Company reminds us of just how very similar all our experiences as human beings on this planet are, even though they often seem so vastly different.

DANCE REVIEW: After a 40 year run, Stephen Petronio Company has its final performances at Jacob’s Pillow this week

The swan song for the Stephen Petronio Company at Jacob’s Pillow features outstanding dancers moving to beautiful music; it is educational; it is poignant and bittersweet; and it is a little challenging politically. In short, it is powerful, exceptional, one-of-a-kind entertainment very much worth seeing.

DANCE REVIEW: Andrew Schneider at Jacob’s Pillow’s Doris Duke Theatre

The Doris Duke Theatre at the Pillow is officially open. It is a stellar addition to the many performance venues in Berkshire County and a wonderful, comfortable place to watch dance and other live performance.

DANCE REVIEW: Kyle Marshall’s ‘Femenine’ at PS21

PS21 has been making a name for itself through its audacious programming in music, circus, dance, and theater. It is clear that trend will continue under new Artistic and Executive Director Vallejo Gantner.

DANCE REVIEW: Trinity Irish Dance Company at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

A Trinity Irish performance consists mostly of what we generally call “Irish step dancing.” It is striking to watch because, when done well (and these dancers were virtuosic across the board), it is entirely incongruous, seeming to have both a naturalness and an unnaturalness at the exact same time. It is confounding and wonderful.

The Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow rises from the ashes

The first official week of the season for the new, reimagined Duke Theatre begins next Wednesday, July 16, with performances by Andrew Schneider, and both this summer and the future look very bright indeed for this jewel of a theater.

DANCE REVIEW: BODYTRAFFIC at Jacob’s Pillow

Seeing this company will bring a smile to your face and get your blood—and maybe your feet—moving, and that is always a good thing.

Dance and Music Students from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee perform at Tanglewood Learning Institute

How these dancers were able to connect to the music and the musicians, and vice versa, was nothing short of amazing.

The 2025 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival opens

Ted Shawn, the Pillow’s founder and creative center for decades and famous for bringing dance and performance from all over the world to the Pillow, would have been proud.

The 2025 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival is underway!

The season opens with a festive gala honoring Pillow Director of Preservation Norton Owen.

DANCE REVIEW: American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park

There is an extra edge to performances by young dancers, an edge that the flawless and consummate older and more seasoned professional dancer can sometimes fail to embrace. That edge was certainly on display at this Kaatsbaan performance.

DANCE REVIEW: Mamela Nyamza’s ‘Hatched Ensemble’ at PS21

PS21 has been building a name for itself through its audacious programming in music, circus, dance, and theater—one assumes that will continue under new Artistic and Executive Director Vallejo Gantner—and “Hatched Ensemble” was no exception.

DANCE REVIEW: Pilobolus at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center

It is clear that the current artistic directors of Pilobolus are attempting to carry on the troupe's initial vision, in the same collaborative fashion, albeit with differing degrees of success.
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