The Story of Ted Shawn's Men Dancers and the Birth of Jacob's Pillow 1933-1940

Directed by Ron Honsa
Produced by Ron Honsa and Nan Penman

Presenting the story of the first all-male dance company in the United States, known as Ted Shawn’s Men Dancers. Historic footage from the 1930s captures the beauty and rigor of Shawn’s choreography and reveals the story of the founding of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. As America’s longest running dance festival, Jacob’s Pillow has evolved into a nexus for dance throughout the world and was just awarded a National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama at the White House, becoming the first dance presenter to receive this prestigious honor.

Enjoy provocative interviews with eight of the original Shawn dancers filmed in 1982 at a 50-year reunion for Jacob's Pillow, as well as rare archival dance films and performance footage of these historic dances being revived at the Pillow. The 20th Anniversary DVD release of The Men Who Danced has been digitally enhanced with bonus segments of never before seen footage.

John Gruen of Dance Magazine called this film, “One of the most authentic records we have of a most remarkable chapter in dance history.” And The New York Times stated, “Shawn’s passionate interest in everything about him is paid homage to…”

Winner of numerous festival awards, including Dance On Camera and the International Film and TV Festival of New York. Nationally aired on PBS and distributed worldwide.

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