Last week marked the close of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival for 2024. It seems fitting that one of the last performances I saw this summer, on my last night at the Pillow, was South Chicago Dance Theatre , an up-and-coming company founded in 2017 by School of Jacob’s Pillow alum Kia S. Smith.
Fitting because, all summer, when alumni of Jacob’s Pillow came back to the Pillow as members of dance companies, the Pillow noted it in the program. And, over the course of this summer, a lot of successful alumni returned, working in dance companies from all over this country and beyond. The success of these alums is just another reminder of some of the impact the Pillow has on the dance community.
There is a pronounced buzz around South Chicago Dance Theatre, and around Smith herself. The Chicago Tribune called the company “the next big thing to hit Chicago’s dance scene,” which is no small praise, given that Chicago, not historically known as a center for dance, seems to now in fact have a growing dance scene. And Smith is clearly a powerhouse: Among the many accolades she has received of late, Dance Magazine chose her as one of their “ 25 to Watch ” in 2024.
One of the most interesting things about Smith is that, even though she is the company’s resident choreographer (while also being its founder and artistic director), she is not myopic as a creative artist. So far, it seems she has not fallen into the trap that many creative people do: focusing solely on the .