The World Surrounding Pilobolus

The directors and dancers of Pilobolus believe in choreographing dances collaboratively. They work together to solve problems. There is a definite emphasis on collaboration and cooperation to create their art.

In 1971, the year Pilobolus was founded, U.S. soldiers were in Vietnam fighting the Vietnam War. At the same time this was going on, people were protesting the war. In April of 1971, five hundred thousand people marched in Washington D.C. and 125,000 people marched in San Francisco to protest the war. In June of that year, the New York Times starts publishing the Pentagon Papers, leading the government to try to stop the paper from publishing them. On June 30, the Supreme Court rules that the New York Times can publish the Pentagon Papers.

In the midst of all this turmoil, the founders of Pilobolus were creating dances that required deep collaboration and connection with each other, something that seemed to be lacking during this time in the U.S.