In a stadium in an Historically Black College or University, in the ring of a crowd, Brooklyn choreographer and dance artist Ogemdi Ude finds a nucleus of power.
READ ARTICLE
Linda R. Campos photography
Local news reimagined
You want to know what’s happening in our communities, in Western Massachusetts, in the mountains out past the Connecticut River — forests and lakes, local food, town councils talking about jobs and housing … and the new bagel shop downtown, and a night of poems at the bookstore. You want to meet people around you.
This is local news on the ground. This is storytelling by people, for people — no GenAI, no ‘native advertising,’ no corporate interests, no big tech. We are listening. We’re asking questions, helping people put thoughts into words, understanding the shapes of the ecosystems we live in — we’re making creative spaces, where we can gather and reach out to one another.
We live in a rare place. We have minds at work out here in the country, and minds at play too. I live and write here. I’m a local journalist, so I get to walk behind the scenes and talk with people about what they love. We all want connection — we want to laugh, share ideas, dance barefoot and listen to music on a mountain at night. Come out and explore …
Stories of the week
A.I.M. arcs in open spaces and waves of light
Vulnerability and steel run together as Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M. performs the U.S. premiere of White Space at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
READ ARTICLE
Strength to repair and heal — #berkshiresummer
Live fiddle and guitar blend together. The ridge is cool in a light breeze, and barn swallows are skimming over the hayfield. …
READ ARTICLE
Photo by Kate Abbott
About Town
Want to know what’s happening in town this weekend? From North Adams to Lenox, we’re seeing a new energy in the Berkshires. Wherever we are, locals are adapting and new voices are coming in. If you’re looking for nightlife or a good cup of coffee, a vintage t-shirt or an artisan fair … take a look through our Berkshire towns.
GO DOWNTOWN
Carolina Porras Monroy
Theater and music
We have singer-songwriters, folk and bluegrass legends, emerging composers and Yo-yo Ma … sometimes all of them together. We’re known around the world for the people who come here to play, and they can be global travelers or as local and familiar as the farmer’s market on the corner. Or both. And we can dance to the beat.
FIND ART • MUSIC • THEATERrecent stories
Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M. move with communal care and freedom
A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham will perform the official U.S. premiere of Abraham’s newest full-length work, White Space, at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
READ ARTICLE
‘Wild women don’t have the blues’
Gina Coleman gave me those words from Ida Cox, blues lyrics Ida wrote and sang in Georgia, and I’m thinking of the spirit in them.
READ ARTICLE
Women carry story worlds in Bharatanatyam
Artists in Bharatanatyam have performed at Jacob’s Pillow across more than 60 years in a dance form that women hold in their hands.
READ ARTICLE
Thikra artists recall trauma in unreconciled pain
Ching-Ying Chien lifts her arms at her back like wings, with the heave and sweep of a night heron flying up the wadi. In the desert night, voices are singing in the dark.
READ ARTICLE
Contemporary folk dance touches 5000-year-old cities
In a valley that has sheltered human life for 200,000 years, women come together to awaken the spirit of those who came before them.
READ ARTICLE
What to all of us is the Fourth of July?
What would it take to live in a country I believe in? Mass Humanities will hold 76 readings of Frederick Douglass across the state this week to keep his words alive …
READ ARTICLE