Berkshire Pulse studios are fully closed and all classes are on pause for the week of May 29 through June 4. Summer community classes will resume on Monday, June 5
We are so grateful to our generous sponsors for making this year’s performance celebration possible.
Alander Construction Berkshire Mountain Bakery Indian Mountain School Jacob’s Pillow Nature Works Organic Land Care Inc Gail Belmuth Joan & Peter Coombs Alan & Benès Glackman Claudia & Joe Gold Bruce Humes/Tall Tree Productions Diane Pearlman & Jeff Diamond
Save the Date
Mohican Roots: Building Community through Council Dialogue
Alliance for a Viable Future will be holding community peacemaking dialogues to build relationships toward ancestral healing and reconciliation this June.
Wanonah Spencer, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohicans, received a six-month fellowship from Alliance for a Viable Future to deepen her relationship with her ancestral homeland—the Berkshires.
Join us in dialogue at Pulse on June 22 at 6pm. You can register here. The program is free and open to all.
◾June 1st – In-person Council @ Flying Deer Nature Center ◾June 22nd – In-person Council @ Berkshire Pulse ◾July 20th – In-person Council @ Random Harvest
Summer Community Classes
Our summer community class schedule is on our website, and we are adding classes every day!
Many classes we currently offer will be continuing this summer, as well as some exciting new classes and workshops! Summer community classes include:
African Dance African Drumming Basic Dance Composition Ballet (Beginnning, Adv Beg/Int, and Int/Adv) Contact Improvisation Jazz Modern (Beginning, Int/Adv) Musical Theater Shake Your Soul® Swing Tap
Malina has danced at Pulse since she was four years old. She’s a leader in our community, serving as a peer role model and teaching assistant. Malina lights up every room she walks into, always has a fun fact to share, and is positive, committed, and silly all the while.
In addition to dancing at Pulse, Malina is an accomplished artist (see the photos in this post)! In the fall, she will attend Tufts University in Boston, where she will pursue a BFA in Art through their School of the Museum of Fine Arts!
Malina’s choreography demonstrates her unique perspective on dance and visual art. She will be performing a self-choreographed solo at our Spring Celebration, centering on themes of time, memory, and the warmth of her experience dancing.
RUBIELLE NEJAIME
Even though Rubi performed her graduating solo last year, we have been so lucky to have her continue her training at Pulse. Rubi has been a vital part of the Pulse community as a teaching assistant and class leader, all while working and taking classes at Berkshire Community College.
After years as a member of the Young Choreographers Initiative, Rubi now assists our Young Choreographers Workshop, mentoring the next generation of dance makers and creative movers.
Rubi is kind, dedicated, and has a secret sense of humor. Her smile always brightens any class, and her quiet leadership, as an artist and role model, has shaped us forever. Her choreographic voice shines through her movement.
This summer, Rubi will attend the Bates Dance Festival in the Professional Training Program, and in the fall, she will attend Boston Conservatory at Berklee to pursue a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance. Rubi’s encore performance during this year’s Spring Celebration will feature a duet she co-choreographed with fellow Pulse alum Laura Coe.
Vincent is an alum of Pulse and a professional ballet dancer. After returning to the Berkshires to teach French at Taconic High School, Vincent has been teaching ballet at Pulse and will be a guest performer in Alex Bloomstein’s piece.
LAURA COE
Pulse alum, founding Young Choreographers Initiative member, and graduating Harvard student Laura recently presented her thesis “Falling Together.” Inspired by her ballet background and her newfound love for breakdancing, Laura’s work combined several styles of dance into one immersive evening. Read about Laura’s thesis here.
KATHERINE HUMES
A Pulse alum and a founding member of our Young Choreographers Initiative, Katherine is completing her second year of study at NYU Tisch, where she is earning a BFA in Drama and a BFA in Dramatic Writing. This summer, she will be working backstage at the Pulse performance, assistant directing The Stones at the Great Barrington Public Theatre, and performing at Chesterwood. In the fall, she will be studying abroad in London as a part of a highly selective playwriting program at NYU.
CECILIA KITTROSS
Last year’s graduating senior Cecilia will be interning at Bates Dance Festival this summer. The BDF internship program offers an opportunity to work with professional artists, receive mentorship from staff, participate in classes, performances, and other events, and create lasting relationships with the community of staff, interns, and artists.
MOSCELYNE PARKEHARRISON
This spring, Moscelyne was appointed Associate Artistic Director of Post:ballet in Berkeley, California, where she will continue to serve as Resident Choreographer and Company Artist. In addition, Moscelyne continues her partnership with Pulse through residencies with BODYSONNET, most recently creating a duet in our studios and teaching a partnering workshop.
Summer Intensive Highlight
🤿 Deep Dive! Contemporary Intensive (Ages 17+)
📅Monday to Friday, August 14 – 18
🕙10am-4pm
with Sayer Mansfield and Sydney McManus
Beginning each day with a somatic warmup and contemporary class, this intensive will lead advanced dancers through improvisation, partnering, and workshop spaces. Sayer and Sydney come together to teach and exchange with young, curious minds. As a pair, they hope to deconstruct our habits of what it means to “work” as a dancer and creator.
Can we train and create from a place of play and joy? Can we take care while we push our physical and artistic boundaries? These are all questions that are at the core of how they wish to share in this space together.
Come to the woods for a week of pleasure, play, and expansive physicality!
This year, we’re inviting our community to help sell program ads in support of our Tuition Assistance Program. Whoever sells the most ads wins a Pulse sweatshirt! Learn more here.
In this workshop, we will focus on specific areas of our skeleton and its associated musculature and how they function to support every yoga pose – or asana – in our practice. Focusing on our internal systems can profoundly enrich any movement practice and can help us find curiosity and freshness even in poses that we have done over and over.
If you find anatomy fascinating, then this workshop is perfect for you! And if anatomy is a foreign land, then this workshop will present a new landscape for you to explore.
We will come together with the knowledge that all bodies are deeply wise. Questions, curiosities, and confusions are all welcome, as are all identities, bodies, and levels of experience.
Pulse alum Moscelyne ParkeHarrison and collaborator Chase Buntrock will lead participants through fundamental principles of contemporary partnering. The workshop will culminate in learning a section from ‘newave’, a duet that Moscelyne and Chase are restaging for BODYSONNET’s Season 4. The workshop approaches partnering through a post-gender lens and encourages listening and mutual support.
This workshop is open to dancers ages 13 to adult.
All levels, full-day program for ages 10-14, evening series for ages 14+
🕘 9am – 3pm (day program)
This week-long intensive gives students the opportunity to jump right into the world of musical theater with classes in tap, broadway jazz, voice, acting, and improvisation. Students will learn healthy warm-up practices for the voice and body, and work on character development, expression, ensemble, and more. The program directors will work with students to produce an informal performance for the program’s final day.
🕔 5pm – 7pm (evening series)
This-week long evening series for students ages 14+ will give the students an opportunity to take a daily musical theater workshop rotating between singing, acting, and improv and work on developing something for an informal performance at the end of the week.
This year, we’re inviting our community to help sell program ads in support of our Tuition Assistance Program. Whoever sells the most ads wins a Pulse sweatshirt!
Pulse alum Moscelyne ParkeHarrison and collaborator Chase Buntrock will lead participants through fundamental principles of contemporary partnering. The workshop will culminate in learning a section from ‘newave’, a duet that Moscelyne and Chase are restaging for BODYSONNET’s Season 4. The workshop approaches partnering through a post-gender lens and encourages listening and mutual support.
This workshop is open to dancers ages 13 to adult.
📅 Monday to Friday, July 31 – August 4 🕘 9am – 3pm
All levels, two groups: ages 12-14 and 15+
In this week-long program, dancers will learn foundational movements and techniques of hip-hop and street style dance, alongside discussions about the cultural meaning and significance of these dance forms. The program will create an encouraging space to try out what you learn and most importantly show off your unique style and personality while freestyling in daily cyphers.
And summer is on the way. Our summer intensive registration is open and ongoing! We are so excited to have programs for all ages June through August.
We are also seeking an enthusiastic Summer Counselor to assist with daily duties during our Summer Intensive programs in 2023.
The Summer Counselor will assist students and teachers throughout daily classes and serve as a liaison between the students and Berkshire Pulse staff. Learn more about this position on our website.
Upcoming Moving Life Stories Workshops
Moving Life Stories is a creative movement class created for and geared toward the immigrant population and their allies in the Berkshires. These workshops provide opportunities to share personal journeys, stories, and connections to places past and present through movement games, exercises, dancing, and community building.
All are welcome!
Simon’s Rock Workshop
📅 Saturday, April 8 🕙 10am to 12pm 📍Beckerman Dance Studio, inside the Daniel Arts Center
Pittsfield Series
📅 Tuesdays, April 4 – May 23 🕕 6 to 8pm 📍Berkshire Family YMCA
South County Series
📅 Fridays, April 21 – May 12 🕕 6 to 8pm 📍Family Resource Center
For the Pittsfield and South County workshops, a Spanish-speaking interpreter will be present, childcare is provided, and transportation can be arranged.
The Montreal School of Biodanza is returning to Pulse this Friday!
📅 Friday, March 31 🕖 7 to 10 pm
Biodanza is an invitation to cultivate the “Art of Vivencia” – the ability to be completely present to life in the moment. Biodanza encourages us to explore the gestures and embodied vocabulary of Vivencia, letting us rekindle our connection to self, others, and the world.
All are welcome; Biodanza is a dance practice for everyone.
This new program for our youngest dancers invites them on an expedition into the exciting, engaging, and rewarding world of dance. Classes will include creative dance, tumbling, drumming, and more!
The Spring Celebration will showcase the work of our Youth Performing Arts Program students, as well as alumni, community members, and teachers. 100% of the proceeds from these performances will benefit our Tuition Assistance program.
More information on this performance, as well as sponsorship opportunities and ticket sales, coming soon!
Join Saroya Corbett, Bolin Fellow of Dance, for a second workshop in Dunham Technique, an Afro-Modern dance technique. As a certified instructor, Chair of History and Theory for the Institute for Dunham Technique Certification, and a life-long practitioner of Dunham Technique, Saroya will discuss the dance technique as a holistic practice and the work of Katherine Dunham, the technique’s creator. After the discussion, participants will experience a Dunham Technique movement class which will combine the theories and philosophies of the technique into physical practice.
The Montreal School of Biodanza is returning to Pulse in March!
📅 Friday, March 31 🕖 7-10 pm
Biodanza is an invitation to cultivate the “Art of Vivencia” – the ability to be completely present to life in the moment. Biodanza encourages us to explore the gestures and embodied vocabulary of Vivencia, letting us rekindle our connection to self, others, and the world.
All are welcome; Biodanza is a dance practice for everyone.
For students with at least two years of prior dance training. Two groups: beginner and int/adv
This two-week program allows dancers to develop excellence in technique, as well as versatility and collaboration in the creative process. Daily classes will include ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, swing, salsa, and flamenco. Dancers will explore dance-making through partnering and improvisation. Plus, field trips to local partnering organizations!
This March, we are doing a promotion for our community class pass holders! Class passes run 10 classes for $170 ($17/class) or 20 for $300 ($15/class). That’s a savings of up to $100 compared to our regular drop-in rate of $20!
If you buy a 10 or 20-class pass this month, you can try a new class for FREE!
Class passes can be purchased online or in-person. You can try any new class for free by letting the front desk know.
*This promotion applies to any students with an active class pass.
Gail follows Board President of 12 years, Diane Pearlman, and Interim Board President, Jenny Daily. We are so grateful for their support and leadership!
Join Saroya Corbett, Bolin Fellow of Dance, for a second workshop in Dunham Technique, an Afro-Modern dance technique. As a certified instructor in and a life-long practitioner of Dunham Technique, Saroya will discuss the dance technique as a holistic practice and the work of Katherine Dunham, the technique’s creator. After the discussion, participants will experience a Dunham Technique movement class which will combine the theories and philosophies of the technique into physical practice.
📅 Monday to Friday, June 26 – July 7 (no classes on July 4) 🕘 9am – 3pm
For beginners and advanced beginners, this program has a half-day option for dancers ages ages 8-9 (9am-12pm full two weeks only).
An exciting journey into the engaging and rewarding world of dance, this two-week program provides an introduction to dance forms including ballet, modern, African, Contradance, and more. Dancers will also have a chance to practice dance-making of their own!
Berkshire Pulse is excited to have summer dance intensives for ages 4 to 18 running June through August, alongside community classes for dancers of all ages!
Our offerings range in style and genre, from contemporary and choreography, to musical theater, hip hop, and more. Scroll to see all our intensives or check out our website.
Registration is open! Start your dream summer today.
📅 Monday to Friday, June 26 – July 7 (no classes on July 4) 🕘 9am – 3pm
For beginners and advanced beginners, this camp has a half-day option for dancers ages ages 8-9 (9am-12pm full two weeks only).
An exciting journey into the engaging and rewarding world of dance, this two-week program provides an introduction to dance forms including ballet, modern, African, Contradance, and more. Dancers will also have a chance to practice dance-making of their own!
🎶BERKSHIRE PULSE INTENSIVE (Ages 11+)
📅 Monday to Friday, July 10 – 21 🕘 9am – 4pm
For students with at least two years of prior dance training.
This two-week program allows dancers to develop excellence in technique, as well as versatility and collaboration in the creative process. Daily classes will include ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, swing, salsa, and flamenco. Dancers will explore dance-making through partnering and improvisation. Plus, field trips to local partnering organizations!
🚀DANCE ADVENTURE (Ages 4-7)
📅 Monday to Friday, July 24 – 28 🕘 9am – 12pm
This new program for our youngest dancers invites them on an expedition into the exciting, engaging, and rewarding world of dance. Classes will include creative dance, tumbling, drumming, and more!
👟HIP HOP AND STREET STYLE (Ages 12+)
📅 Monday to Friday, July 31 – August 4 🕘 9am – 3pm
All levels, two groups: ages 12-14 and 15+
Dancers will learn foundational movements and techniques of hip hop and street style dance, alongside discussions about the cultural meaning and significance of these dance forms. The program will create an encouraging space to try out what you learn and most importantly show off your unique style and personality while freestyling in daily cyphers.
🎭MUSICAL THEATER (Ages 10+)
📅 Monday to Saturday, August 7 – 12
All levels, full-day camp for ages 10-14, evening series for ages 14+
🕘 9am – 3pm (day camp)
This week-long camp gives students the opportunity to jump right into the world of musical theater with classes in tap, broadway jazz, voice, acting, and improvisation. Students will learn healthy warm-up practices for the voice and body, and work on character development, expression, ensemble, and more. The program directors will work with students to produce an informal performance for the program’s final day.
🕔 5pm – 7pm (evening series)
This-week long evening series for students ages 14+ will give the students an opportunity to take a daily musical theater workshop rotating between singing, acting, and improv and work on developing something for an informal performance at the end of the week.
Community Boxing is back! Beginning February 3rd, this program brings Genève Brossard of Berkshire Boxing to the Housie Dome on Fridays at 4:45pm. This fun class provides a welcoming and supportive class for all levels of experience and fitness.
FREE for Housatonic and Great Barrington Youth! For 8th graders to adults; pre-registration required.
Start your Wednesday learning to sing and act in Musical Theater with Wendy Welch. Then, get your heart rate going in Holly Jones’ Community Jazz class. Finally, wrap your evening with Intermediate Swing with Brianne Szymanski.
Saturday classes begin bright and early with Shannon Nulf’s Community Ballet class – often packed, arrive early to snag your favorite spot at the barre. After, you can take Community Contemporary with Shannon Nulf and Gillian Ebersole. Finish your day of dance with Tsiftieli and Raqs Sharqi Dance with Myrto Daskaloudi.
Accompanied by live drumming, this class introduces students to the study of African rhythms and dances. Dancers will work on unity, coming together to dance as a team, highlighting the grace in their arms and strength in their legs and feet, as well as building stamina and energy.
Moving Life Stories (MLS) is a creative movement class created for and geared toward the Berkshire immigrant population and their allies.
Our first of two series of Moving Life Stories Workshops begins February 3 at the South Berkshire Friends Meeting House in Great Barrington, with another following at the Pittsfield YMCA.
Moving Life Stories “is a safe space where immigrants can exchange and share their experiences, and create something together, using movement as their language” ~ Rural Intelligence
This program is made possible by the generosity of Mass Cultural Council, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Lee Bank, Greylock Federal Credit Union, and TD Bank Charitable Foundation, as well as Dalton Cultural Council, Mount Washington Cultural Council, New Marlborough Cultural Council, Otis Cultural Council, Pittsfield Cultural Council, Sheffield Cultural Council, and Washington Cultural Council, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Para leer sobre este programa en español, haga clic aquí.
Moving Life Stories (MLS) is a creative movement class created for and geared toward the Berkshire immigrant population and their allies. MLS provides opportunities to share personal journeys, stories, and connections to places past and present through movement games, exercises, dancing, and community building.
We’re excited to announce two series of Moving Life Stories Workshops in 2023 – one at the South Berkshire Friends Meeting House in Great Barrington and another at the Pittsfield YMCA.
In this series of workshops, we will learn various ways to tell and embody our stories through play, creative movement, and the creation of mini-dances. No prior movement experience is required, and the class is appropriate for all ages.
A Spanish-speaking interpreter will be present, childcare is provided, and transportation can be arranged.
This program is made possible by the generosity of Mass Cultural Council, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Lee Bank, Greylock Federal Credit Union, and TD Bank Charitable Foundation, as well as Dalton Cultural Council, Mount Washington Cultural Council, New Marlborough Cultural Council, Otis Cultural Council, Sheffield Cultural Council, and Washington Cultural Council, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Rooted in community, celebration, expression, history, and culture, this class series will introduce students to regional dances of the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, as well as terminology of movements, identification of rhythms, and traditional instruments.
Jazz’n with Jones’ is a high energy, feel good class that draws inspiration from many styles and techniques. The class includes elements of improvisation, contemporary, lyrical, musical theatre, and modern jazz dance. This class will investigate stylization and technique with a sense of humor and curiosity.
Explore more complex movement patterns that establish the foundations of Lindy Hop as a social, vernacular jazz dance. Boost your confidence to hit the dance floor and have fun, while celebrating the music, movement, and spirit of Swing Dance!
Rewriting Relationships with our Female Bodywith Erica Rodas
📅 Every Second Monday of the Month Jan 9, Feb 13, Mar 13, Apr 10, May 8, and June 12 🕖 7:15-8:15pm
Ages 18+
This class guides women to the truth and knowing within their own body, allowing participants to unhook from past patterns or the shame, pain, and disconnect collected from life experiences in order to know themselves in a radically new way.
