VIP 23

Ella Baff: Bringing a world of dance to the Berkshires
By Patrick Rheaume

Berkshire County residents ought to feel a distinct satisfaction that they have the only dance center in the United States to be designated a National Historic Landmark, Jacob's Pillow.

"There is no place on earth like it," affirms Ella Baff, the Pillow's executive director.

Since assuming her position in March 1998, Baff has worked to increase the scope and standing of Jacob's Pillow within the Berkshire community and beyond.

"Every time we debut a dance company to the public, I'm thrilled," she notes. By bringing performers like Kitt Johnson and Compagnie Felix Ruckert to U.S. audiences for the first time, Baff hopes to expand the range of the audience’s cultural horizons.

"We want to bring new and challenging artists to the people," she says.

Her many accomplishments so far include the establishment of an endowment for the Pillow, the creation of an internship program, expansion of public access to the growing collection of archives, improvements to the physical plant and the development of a program of free events. She has worked hard to bring international artists to the Pillow, often in spite of increased government scrutiny.

"In the past few years, even before 9/11, it has become harder to bring in dancers from foreign countries," she says. "A $1,000 fee to expedite visa applications is more money than we can afford,” Baff laments. Some visas have also been denied.

She never forgets that interaction between artists and audience is necessary to a successful performance. "I like people to spend a whole day here," she says, "so they can really absorb the atmosphere of the Pillow."

"We want to bring more and more people to dance," Baff says. Part of this effort involves cultivating the intimacy of the Pillow. Talks by scholars, film and video presentations, and expanded archive access serve to increase the sense of human scale.

"A wonderful part of my job involves watching audiences experience the end product of our work," says Baff.

Less glamorous, perhaps, but nonetheless essential, is Baff's effort to build a financial base for the Pillow. "Many people don’t realize," she observes, "that only about one-third of our budget comes from ticket sales." With a $2 million annual budget, Baff needs to court donors who can fill the deficit. Eventually, she hopes, a large endowment will sustain the programs offered at Jacob’s Pillow.

Watching students enrolled in the Pillow's dance school gratifies Baff. "They are here," she says, "learning from some of the contemporary masters of dance."

Baff's background deeply informs her current position. Born in Manhattan, she attended the University of New Mexico before earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley. "I grew up in a very artistic environment," she says. "My mother designed shoes and my sister was an actress."

Having studied classical music in her youth on the piano, violin and harp, Baff became interested in dance as a teenager.

After college, she worked at the Performing Arts Center in Berkeley, where the performance offerings ran the gamut from classical to experimental. In six theaters, the center presented dance recitals, chamber music, rock 'n' roll, jazz and world music.

Baff serves on the board of Mass MoCA, Community Access to the Arts and the International Society for the Performing Arts. She is a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Morgan Library, and she supports The Kitchen and the Humane Society of the Berkshires.

She recently celebrated her 20th anniversary with her husband, John Badanes.

Baff looks toward the future with a healthy dose of optimism, fully cognizant of the Pillow's many resources. "I find the artists very inspiring," she notes. "Where else can an audience find the depth and variety of dance offered here at Jacob’s Pillow?"

RETURN TO TOP