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Ella Baff

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Ella Baff
Ella Baff accepting the National Medal of Arts from Barack Obama in 2011

Ella Baff was executive director of Jacob's Pillow from 1998 until 2015, where she was most known for her work as executive and artistic director of the annual Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

Education

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Baff was born in New York City and grew up on the Upper East Side. While in high school she took dance and also studied piano, violin, and harp.[1] She began university at the University of New Mexico,[2] where she studied modern dance and English literature.[3] She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1976. Following graduation she held multiple jobs including teaching in juvenile prisons and on an island in the Aleutian Islands.[4]

Career

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Until 1997 Baff was the director of education and community programming at Cal Performances, an arts organization at the University of California, Berkeley.[5][1] While there she was known for her work in programming contemporary and ethnic dance performances.[3]

Starting in 1998, Baff was the executive and artistic director of Jacob's Pillow,[6][7] a 225-acre historic site that encompasses an international dance festival, professional school, archives, exhibits, artist residencies, public venues, and education and community programs.Under her leadership, the organization was designated a National Historic Landmark.[8] In her role of executive director, she traveled to international locations scouting talent for the dance festival.[9][10] During Baff's time at Jacob's Pillow the group saw increased ticket sales and a new endowment campaign.[11] The groups brought to the dance festival by Baff include the Martha Graham Dance Company and Madboots Dance,[12] Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui,[13] and Choreftes.[14]

She also prioritized organizing the archives at Jacob's Pillow in order to make the information available to the public.[15]

In 2015 Baff joined the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as a senior program officer.[6][15] Her role at the foundation centered on grants for performing arts and art history.[16] She remained at the foundation until 2018.[17]

Honors and awards

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In 2008 Baff received the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the Ministry of Culture of France.[18][19] She also received the Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. She has received a honorary doctorate from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2004. In 2015 she received an honorary degree from the College of the Holy Cross.[20][21] In 2016 Baff was honored by Dance/USA at their annual conference.[22]

In 2011 Baff accepted the National Medal of Arts from Barack Obama on behalf of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.[23][24]

Personal life

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Baff and her husband, John Badanes, have a house in Otis, Massachusetts.[25] Baff's sister is the actress Regina Baff.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b Gordon, Ronni (1998-04-19). "No rest for new head of Jacob's Pillow". The Republican. pp. [1], [2]. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  2. ^ "Citizen of the world". The Berkshire Eagle. 2000-06-22. p. 55. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  3. ^ a b Gere, David (1988-01-03). "Baff: Cal Performances point woman for dance". Oakland Tribune. p. 72. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  4. ^ Borak, Jeffrey (15 June 2007). "Q&A with Ella Baff". The Berkshire Eagle; Pittsfield, Mass. – via Proquest.
  5. ^ "New Executive Director For Jacob's Pillow". The New York Times. 1997-11-20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  6. ^ a b Macaulay, Alastair (2015-08-25). "Dance This Week: Ella Baff, Misty Copeland and 'Pearl'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  7. ^ "New Executive Director For Jacob's Pillow". The New York Times. 1997-11-20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  8. ^ "The Rural We: Ella BaffA quick exit interview with Ella Baff as she takes her bow from Jacob's Pillow in Becket, Mass". Rural Intelligence. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  9. ^ Bass, Milton (2002-09-26). "It's a small world..." The Berkshire Eagle. p. 47. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  10. ^ Campbell, Karen (1999-07-25). "Ella Baff builds on the legacy of the Pillow". The Boston Globe. p. 251. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  11. ^ Kourlas, Gia (2007-06-28). "In the Berkshires, a Dance Destination Marks an Anniversary by Stretching". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  12. ^ Seibert, Brian (2015-08-31). "Review: Madboots Dance Ignores Gender Boundaries". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  13. ^ Rocco, Claudia La (2009-07-09). "Dislocated Hemispheres, Inside the Brain and Out in the World". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  14. ^ Sulcas, Roslyn (2006-08-19). "An Oddly Unemotional Portrait of Disconnectedness". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  15. ^ a b Parker, Janine (2015-08-23). "Baff looks back on a legacy at Jacob's Pillow". The Boston Globe. pp. [3], [4]. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  16. ^ Schuessler, Jennifer (2015-07-07). "Jacob's Pillow Director to Depart for Mellon Foundation". ArtsBeat. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  17. ^ "Ella Baff to Leave Foundation". 24 January 2018. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020.
  18. ^ "Ella Baff". Dance Magazine. Vol. 82, no. 2. February 2008 – via Gale (publisher).
  19. ^ Willis, Jessica (2007-11-06). "Director honored with medal". The Berkshire Eagle. pp. [5], [6]. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  20. ^ "2015 Honorary Degree Citation". College of the Holy Cross. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  21. ^ "After 17 Years of Devotion, Ella Baff Exits Jacob's Pillow". HuffPost. 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  22. ^ Parker, Janine (2016-05-31). "Ella Baff, 2016 Dance/USA Trustees Awardee: Sustaining a Dance Mecca in Western Massachusetts". Dance/USA. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  23. ^ Burke, Siobhan (July 2011). "Back to the future: Jacob's Pillow releases archival videos online". Dance Magazine. Vol. 85, no. 7) – via Gale (publisher).
  24. ^ "The 2010 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Ceremony". The White House. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  25. ^ Goldscheider, Eric (2005-06-30). "A refuge in the woods contrasts with life near the stage". The Boston Globe. p. 70. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  26. ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (1999-08-15). "DANCE; At Jacob's Pillow, Scant Patience With the Pieties". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-13.


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