Stephen Petronio Dance Co. to Make the Catskills Home [Berkshire on Stage]
The Catskills are returning as a cultural mecca, not so much for the popular Jewish comedians which were their stock in trade for decades, but for the fine arts like theater and dance. In the town of Catskill, Bridge Street Theatre has just completed the construction of its new theater, and now in an act that will provide a creative home for dance, Stephen Petronio Company has purchased Crows Nest, a 175-acre property in Round Top, just outside the town of Cairo in Greene County. The $1.3M property includes two modern buildings, built in 2003, which offer 9,000 square feet of year-round residential and studio space, and an 1800’s caretaker’s cottage.
There will be a wait as all the pieces come together. Crows Nest will house and fully support the recently launched Petronio Residency Initiative, which will open in the summer of 2018. The Initiative will focus on the beginning stages of the artistic process and provide dance companies, invited by a rotating selection panel, with multi-week creative residencies, in addition to room and board and a healthy stipend. With stunning views of four states, Crows Nest will offer artists in residency a bucolic retreat from commercial marketplace pressures.
“After years of searching for the right property, I found heaven at Crows Nest,” says choreographer Stephen Petronio, 60. “When I began this search, it seemed only natural to secure a home where the next generation of work could be made. With Crows Nest, I’m hoping to leave the world an intimate place where dance can be made, where history happens, and where the dance community can feel at home.”
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