A Summer of Renewal at The Pocantico Center

“We call it the Pocantico magic. When you’re here, what you’re experiencing is something really special,” says Elly Weisenberg, senior manager of public programs and residencies at The Pocantico Center.

Visitors come for the art, architecture and gardens, conveniently situated in Westchester, but often feel as if they have been transported. Tucked among rolling hills between Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, the former Rockefeller estate has a way of making the outside world feel distant.

This summer, The Pocantico Center builds on that experience with a season of performances, exhibitions and tours exploring themes of renewal and reimagination.

Much of the programming takes place at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center, the estate’s arts and culture hub, which opened in 2021.

Dance in Progress

Dance plays a central role in the season, with audiences invited to experience works at different stages of artistic development.

The season opened June 4 with this is the beginning, this is the end, a work-in-progress by choreographer Joanna Kotze. The interdisciplinary performance, which was developed during a Pocantico residency through a Rockefeller Brothers Fund grant to New York Live Arts, layers dance and music to explore cycles of history and renewal.

For Weisenberg, the residency program offers a rare opportunity to witness the creative process.

“It’s a chance to see artwork as it’s being created and developed,” she says. “The audience is seeing a piece that isn’t finished yet. It may be working toward a premiere, or it may be years away from one. That’s part of what makes it exciting.”

On July 16, choreographer Kayla Farrish brings her distinctive blend of dance, theater and storytelling to Pocantico with A Beast That Came Apart Mid-Air, another work-in-progress presented through the CUNY Dance Initiative.

On Aug. 7, the Martha Graham Dance Company marks its centennial at Pocantico with a program that pairs a 1937 Graham work with a new piece by acclaimed choreographer Hope Boykin. Often called the mother of modern dance, Graham revolutionized the art form through a movement language that is centered on emotion, breath and physical expression.

Honoring Artistic Traditions

Music and theater programming similarly bridge the classic and the contemporary.

On July 25, jazz will drift through the Pocantico hills in a tribute to legendary clarinetist and tenor saxophonist Ken Peplowski. Presented with The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, the afternoon features the John Pizzarelli Trio and pianist Rossano Sportiello.

Like Graham in dance, Peplowski was celebrated for preserving and renewing an artistic tradition. Widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz clarinetists of his generation, he dedicated his career to keeping swing-era and mainstream jazz alive while bringing a contemporary sensibility to the music.

The theater season opens on June 26 with Irvington Shakespeare Company’s production inspired by Sir Ian McKellen’s celebrated Acting Shakespeare: A One-Man Musical. The revival features a single performer—the company’s founder, Kamran Saliani—weaving together Shakespearean monologues with storytelling, humor, history and music.

Closing the season on Sept. 18 is Spanglish Sh!t: A Bilingual Bruja Musical, presented in collaboration with En Garde Arts. The bilingual production follows Brujita, a Puerto Rican student navigating the tension between assimilating into her current environment and preserving her cultural identity.

Art Reimagined

The season also introduces two major visual art experiences, both accessible through select programs and during gallery hours on Fridays and Saturdays through March 2027.

Woven Wonders: Kykuit’s Picasso Tapestries features eight monumental textile interpretations of Picasso paintings from Nelson Rockefeller’s collection. With Kykuit temporarily closed for renovations, visitors have a rare opportunity to see the tapestries in the contemporary setting of the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center.

“These tapestries are monumental—they nearly fill entire walls,” said Weisenberg. “Seeing them in a modern gallery gives them a different energy and really brings them to life.”

The exhibition also highlights the extraordinary craftsmanship behind the works and the collaboration between Pablo Picasso and master weaver Jacqueline de la Baume Dürrbach, who spent more than two decades translating his paintings into tapestry form.

Meanwhile, a new Sculpture Walk showcases metal works—by Anton Prinner, Mark di Suvero, Marino Marini, Henry Moore, Herbert Ferber and Ursula von Rydingsvard— on long-term loan from MoMA, complementing the more than 70 sculptures already installed throughout the landscape.

Beyond the Performance

Pocantico’s setting is a major part of the experience.

“It’s hard to explain, but we have this fully enclosed performance space where we can present shows rain or shine,” says Sarah Edkins, Pocantico’s director of communications. “During the summer, beautiful doors open along the sides so we can rotate the space and seat audiences outside when the weather permits. It creates this wonderful open-air feeling for performances.”

Audiences are encouraged to arrive early and explore the grounds.

“If you come for one of our performances, we invite people to enjoy the gallery and spend time exploring the sculpture walk,” says Weisenberg.

A two-day watercolor workshop, a tour of the historic Marcel Breuer House, and guided tours of the gallery, sculptures and gardens are also offered.

Many programs can easily be combined with other activities on the estate. “After your Japanese Garden Tour concludes around noon, for example, you’re welcome to stay and enjoy the grounds. Visitors can experience multiple things in one visit,” explains Weisenberg.

Given the variety of performances, exhibitions, tours and outdoor experiences on offer, many visitors may find that one trip to Pocantico is not enough.

For a full schedule and registration information, visit rbf.org/pocantico/events.

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• Walk Among Generations of Collected Art at This Rockefeller Estate

_{Photos (top to bottom): ‘Woven Wonders’ exhibition on view (photo credit: John Muggenborg); A Beast That Came Apart Mid-Air (photo credit: Elyse Mertz); En Garde Arts (photo courtesy of The Pocantico Center); Sculpture tour (photo credit: John Muggenborg); watercolor workshop (photo courtesy of The Pocantico Center)}