One of the wonderful things about living in, or visiting, the Berkshires is access to professional artists and to celebrated performing-arts institutions. We have all heard of, among others, Tanglewood, Shakespeare & Company, and the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Not quite as well known are the art and performing-arts experiences available to us just across the Massachusetts border in New York State’s Hudson Valley. One such institution is Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, N.Y., right on the Hudson River, in the northwesternmost corner of Dutchess County. It may take a bit more time to get there (but not much more), and it is well worth the trip.
Kaatsbaan (Dutch for “a playing field”) was founded in 1990 by four figures from the dance world: Gregory Cary, Kevin McKenzie, Bentley Roton, and Martine van Hamel. At its inception, Kaatsbaan focused principally on supporting dance through residencies and performances. Over the arc of its 30-plus-year history, however, Kaatsbaan has not only achieved its objectives in dance but has also been able to grow and expand its mission. The organization now rightly considers itself an “incubator for creativity and a presenter of world-class artists in dance, theater, music, film, spoken and written word, and culinary and visual arts.”
To facilitate this expanded mission, Kaatsbaan has, over time, also expanded the infrastructure on its picturesque and comfortable 153-acre cultural park. In 2000, Kaatsbaan completed “The Studio Complex,” which included dance studios, spaces for gallery art, and an intimate black box theater with a surprisingly large stage.
The “Dancers’ Inn,” which provides on-site housing for artists creating and performing at Kaatsbaan, was completed in 2003, and the dramatic open-air “Mountain Stage” came online in 2021. Unlike the outdoor stage at Jacob’s Pillow, which is effectively in the woods, Kaatsbaan’s Mountain Stage is in the middle of a large, sloping field, which offers a distinctive experience for audience members.
The Kaatsbaan curators have also very thoughtfully integrated all kinds of outdoor art on the grounds. For example, as you walk from the parking area or The Studio Complex to the Mountain Stage (what Kaatsbaan calls an “Arts Walk”), you will come across a variety of art and sculptures nestled in the surroundings, and often in somewhat surprising places. One of the very nice features of the visual art peppering the park is that Kaatsbaan intentionally showcases local artists.
This experience of walking to a performance through the outdoor art—the intended mixing of the art forms—highlights another aspect of the work Kaatsbaan is doing: that of facilitating collaborations between choreographers and visual artists. Collaborations between dancers/choreographers and musicians/composers have been a common thread throughout the history of dance in all forms and all cultures. Collaborations between choreographers and traditional visual artists have been a bit more scarce, with perhaps some of the most famous being the collaborations Serge Diaghilev fostered when he was directing the Ballets Russes. Of late, choreographers Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, and Trisha Brown, among others, have championed collaborations with traditional visual artists. Kaatsbaan is now part of that conversation, having already fostered several successful collaborations. In March 2024, for example, the organization hosted a creative residency during which choreographer Julia Gleich and sculptor Ellie Murphy produced a piece entitled “Kradle.”
This fall, Kaatsbaan is offering a schedule of four “Fall Events.” Each event revolves around a different theme—the written word, music, new dance work, and ballet. Two of these events have already taken place: the September 12–15 literary and writing retreat and workshop, followed on September 21 by a performance by the new music ensemble Contemporaneous.
But there are still two more events to come. This weekend, on September 28, at 8 p.m., and September 29 at 2 p.m., Kaatsbaan is featuring a “New Works Bill,” with dance performances by three companies: the world-renowned Jose Limón Dance Company, Boca Tuya, and Music from the Sole. The work of these three companies will challenge the audience member by exploring various aspects of humanity, society, and community through dance.
On Saturday, October 5, at 5 p.m., and Sunday, October 6, at 2 p.m., on the outdoor Mountain Stage, Kaatsbaan will present Company Wayne McGregor. McGregor is an internationally acclaimed choreographer whose work is considered innovative and cutting edge. “Autobiography V100” will be performed on Saturday, and “Autobiography V101” on Sunday. What is interesting about this work (to paraphrase the programmatic description of “Autobiography”) is that it will “merge ballet lineage with McGregor’s genetic code and artificial intelligence,” and will do so in a way (presumably through the artificial intelligence) such that no two performances will be exactly the same. Hence the two different names for the performances on the two different days.
It is noteworthy that some of the work to be presented over these two upcoming weekends had their germination and development at Kaatsbaan. Kaatsbaan remains committed to serving as an incubator of dance creativity and performance. The organization holds weekend retreats and residencies, subsidized by Kaatsbaan itself or by other organizations such as the Baryshnikov Arts Center and the Guggenheim Museums and Foundation, for all manner of artists and performers. The participants in these residencies and retreats get housing, studio space, and everything else Kaatsbaan has to offer. It is a golden opportunity, and often a gift, for artists who regularly struggle to find the time and space—quite literally the space!—to create new work.
This year marks a first for the organization. In past years, Kaatsbaan has held informal showings of “works-in-progress” created by artists in residence. This year, the showings are more formal and open to the public, as part of the Fall Events. This represents a substantial shift in the organization’s paradigm. The energy evidenced at Kaatsbaan promises to result in many more paradigm shifts, all for the good of the creative artists, the work they create, and the people who come to enjoy them.
Tickets for upcoming performances at Kaatsbaan are available on their website.
