Inside the Pillow Lab: Miguel Gutierrez

Miguel Gutierrez is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Lenapehoking/Brooklyn, NY and Tovaangar/Los Angeles. During his Pillow Lab residency, Gutierrez split his time between two projects. "sueño" is a new music and dance project from Gutierrez. Singing in English and Spanish, Gutierrez uses dreamy synth sounds, spare arrangements, and his long-standing obsession with church-like harmonies to make tiny epic songs dedicated to melancholy and longing. The dance is inspired by time spent in the Pillow’s Archives viewing and reflecting on various icons of early 20th century modern dance, most notably Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers, but also including Harald Kreutzberg and Isadora Duncan. "(Untitled)" engages performers from New York and Los Angeles: Justin Faircloth (NYC), Wendell Gray (NYC), Ajani Brannum (L.A.), and Evelyn Sanchez (L.A.). Together, they examine questions of archives, memory, and how context moves us into relation with ourselves and each other. How does the present re-shape our view of the past? How does the past tell us something about how bodies are changing? By toggling the lens of attention between the past and the present, this research project into performance is a marker and an examination of the challenges in coming together now. Residency Dates: July 14-24, 2024 Directed and produced by Nel Shelby Productions The 2023-2024 Pillow Labs received lead support from: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation © 2024 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Inc.