
Members of the Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Coalition held a summit on Sept. 25 at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Theater in Great Barrington.
Robin Roraback
Members of the Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Coalition held a summit on Sept. 25 at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Theater in Great Barrington.
The second Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Summit took place at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Castle Street in Great Barrington on Sept. 25.
The Pay Equity Project began in 2021. It grew from a leadership program facilitated by Multicultural BRIDGE (Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups and Education) and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation provided support for it. It was inspired by the voices of the underpaid workers in an open letter to White American Theater, and the grass roots movements Change the Museum, and Change Berkshire Culture.
An anonymous worker commented “Even after ten years I have no retirement savings, and I’m still paying off college debt. I have no safety net, I’m sacrificing financial stability, along with my mental health. This is not sustainable.”
The Pay Equity Project is co-led by Kristen van Ginhoven and Aron Goldman. “We work individually and collectively in the spirit of cultural humility and mutual learning,” van Ginhoven said. “Right now, we are focused on changing internal systems, becoming more transparent with our boards, staff and communities and reporting our efforts at pay equity summits.”
The coalition was formed with six members and has grown to eighteen and has become a movement. Some of the members are: Ancram Center for the Arts, Art Omi, Barrington Stage Company, Community Access to the Arts (CATA), Jacob’s Pillow, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, The Mount, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Hancock Shaker Village.
According to the 2024 Summit summary: “Entry and mid-level arts and culture workers in this region struggle to put gas in their cars, find decent housing, access basic healthcare, feed their families and as a result, maintain their financial, physical and emotional wellbeing.” And more, “These challenges are more pronounced for people of color and other identity groups who have historically experienced oppression.”
In spite of workers’ struggles financially, arts and culture are important to the region’s economy, bringing in $398 million annually and supplying 5,500 jobs in Berkshire County. These jobs include groundskeepers, administrators, and support staff, not just artists.
In 2023, the Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Project made recommendations which the coalition is striving to put into practice. These included pay increases, more benefits including health insurance for part-time employees, and improvements in retirement plans.
Although not perfect, the coalition reported at the summit that there has been “a wide range of financial and non-financial improvements that are making a real difference.” Workers said in a new survey done this year, that although they “continue to feel their situation is unsustainable,” the changes have had “positive mental health consequences” and a “palpable effect on staff morale” in part due to knowing their employers are trying to improve things.
Employers reported, “improved morale leading to reduced turnover and a corresponding long-term cost reduction that can offset new costs associated with pay equity initiatives.”
A question the Pay Equity project often gets is how the pay increases will be paid for. AJ Pietrantone, the deputy Director of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival contributed “A lot of people assume pay equity will break the bank, but we are showing that it can be done using innovative practices from around the country, sharing strategies regionally, collectively working to expand funding and create new systems and including entry and mid-level workers themselves in the process in meaningful ways.”
At the summit, the coalition announced it will continue to work on pay equity in their membership. The coalition also has plans to secure affordable housing for workers as well as transportation. They will continue to report changes they make “toward employer and collective systems change.” The coalition hopes to attract new members and to include entry and mid-level workers as voices in the coalition. They plan a 2025 summit to report on progress.
“Our coalition works together, sharing strategies, inspiring each other, holding each other accountable to a bold pay equity agenda,” Mahaiwe Executive Director Janis Martison. “It is challenging work, but it has all been rewarding as we begin to see meaningful change happening for entry and mid-level employees.”
Recent changes in Massachusetts may have been spurred by the coalition. On July 31, the Massachusetts legislature “passed a pay transparency bill requiring all employers with more than 25 employees to include salary bands and compensation on job announcements.” On Aug. 6, the Governor signed the Massachusetts affordable homes act. It gave five million dollars toward “seasonal supportive housing for the non-profit creative community in Berkshire County.” And on Sept. 20, days before the summit, the creation of the Cultural Economy Advisory Council was announced. It will explore “policies that support artists and cultural organizations.”
The summit concluded, “Pay equity is intrinsically valuable. But it also leads to organization effectiveness, artistic expression that inspires, and a vital creative economy.”
Paquito D’Rivera performs at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on April 5.
Natalia Bernal is the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center’s education and community engagement manager and is, in her own words, “the one who makes sure that Mahaiwe events are accessible to all.”
The Mahaiwe’s community engagement program is rooted in the belief that the performing arts should be for everyone. “We are committed to establishing and growing partnerships with neighboring community and arts organizations to develop pathways for overcoming social and practical barriers,” Bernal explained. “Immigrants, people of color, communities with low income, those who have traditionally been underserved in the performing arts, should feel welcomed at the Mahaiwe.”
Partnerships with organizations like Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires (VIM), the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee, and Community Access to the Arts (CATA) have helped bridge that gap. But for the Latinx community, there’s an even more targeted effort: the Spanish-language Community Advisory Network (SCAN).
“Six years ago, we started an advisory group of Spanish speakers in the community,” Bernal said. “They tell us what the community wants to see, how they’d like their culture represented. Today, SCAN has 12 members. We meet four times a year and are in constant communication. It’s because of them that we’ve hosted free Spanish-language film screenings and live performances.”
For Bernal, this work is personal. “When I first moved to the U.S. in 2003, it was because I got a Latin American scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music. That first year, I went home to Uruguay for Christmas and saw Paquito D’Rivera perform at a jazz festival. I was determined to meet him, and I did. Later that year, Paquito came to Berklee and invited me on stage.”
Now, two decades and 16 Grammys later, Paquito D’Rivera is coming to the Mahaiwe on April 5, and there’s a chance history might repeat itself. “He saw a post we made about his concert and commented, ‘Ay, chica, que maravilla, are you gonna sing a song with us?’ I almost died,” Bernal laughed. “I don’t know if it will happen, but it would be a dream.”
About the possibility of a guest appearance by Bernal, D’Rivera said, “Natalia is a very dear, valuable colleague, and jazz is about improvisation, so the surprise factor is always part of the fun here.”
D’Rivera’s concert is just one example of how the Mahaiwe is making world-class performances accessible. “My whole day has been about offering ‘pay what you can’ tickets for this show,” Bernal says. “We also issued a 50% discount to our partners. We work with ESL teachers, public libraries, literacy agencies, anyone who can help us get the word out.”
That kind of grassroots effort has been transformative. “Last year, we screened ‘Florencia en el Amazonas,’ the first opera written in Spanish ever performed at the Met,” Bernal said. “I sat in the Mahaiwe in tears. As someone who loves opera, it was the first time I heard one written in my own language. It was so powerful.”
Natalia Bernal, Mahaiwe’s education and community engagement managerPhoto by Martin Cohen
For Bernal, it all comes back to representation, on stage and in the audience. “My son is eight. I bring him to everything I can. Spanish shouldn’t just be something that happens at the dinner table. It should be in the world, in all these shapes and forms.”
And that’s what SCAN is helping build: a future where Latinx voices aren’t just included, they are central. “Our SCAN advisors are volunteers, cultural ambassadors,” Bernal said. “They help us distribute surveys, talk to the audience, and strengthen the community. Nobody should feel alone. Everybody should feel like they belong here.”
Education and outreach are central to D’Rivera’s work as well. He said, “It is an important part of our mission to plant and nurture the seed of quality music in our communities.” He continued to say, “Using our visibility and influence in favor of justice is always a very effective vehicle in denouncing violations of human rights around the world.”
This shared mission of education and social justice extends beyond the Mahaiwe. “We are one of the few arts organizations in a monthly meeting with BASIC (Berkshire Alliance for Immigrant Services). We have direct ties to the Berkshire Immigrant Center, VIM, and others so that we are well-informed and ready to serve,” said Bernal.
That commitment to community, culture, and access is why Bernal’s dream panel—Women in the Music Business—would feature Paquito’s wife and longtime manager, Brenda Feliciano. “She’s a tower of power. She’s been managing his career for at least 45 years. If I could organize an event one day, she would be the cherry on the cake.”
Until then, Bernal will keep doing what she does best: making sure the Mahaiwe is a place where everyone, regardless of language, income, or background, feels at home. And maybe, just maybe, she’ll find herself back on stage with Paquito D’Rivera, just like that first time, all those years ago.
For more info and tickets to Paquito D’Rivera, visit mahaiwe.org
On Saturday, April 5, at 3 p.m., The Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington and Jacob’s Pillow, the dance festival in Becket, Massachusetts, are presenting a special benefit screening of the cinematic masterpiece, “The Red Shoes,” followed by a discussion and Q&A. Featuring guest speakers Norton Owen, director of preservation at Jacob’s Pillow, and dance historian Lynn Garafola, the event is a fundraiser for The Triplex.
“We’re pitching in, as it were, because we like to help our neighbors,” said Norton. “They (The Triplex) approached us with the idea, wanting some input if they were going to do a dance film. I thought of Lynn as the perfect person also to include in this because of her knowledge of The Ballets Russes and the book that she wrote about Diaghilev. There is so much in this film, even though it’s fictional, that derives from the Ballets Russes.” Garafola, the leading expert on the Ballets Russes under Serge Diaghilev, 1909–1929, the most influential company in twentieth-century theatrical dance, said, “We see glimpses of that Russian émigré tradition, performances we don’t see much of today. The film captures the artifice of ballet, from the behind-the-scenes world of dressers and conductors to the sheer passion of the audience.”
Hailed as one of the greatest films about ballet, “The Red Shoes,” 1948, is a dazzling fusion of dance and cinema, featuring a mesmerizing 17-minute ballet sequence performed by Scottish ballet dancer and actress, Moira Shearer. Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the film’s breathtaking use of Technicolor and evocative storytelling continues to captivate audiences, including legendary filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, and Steven Spielberg all of whom have cited the film as an influence on their work.
Garafola recalled seeing the film as a young dancer. “I remember being more taken with the plot then, but seeing it again recently, it was the color, the fantasy, and the glamour that struck me. Given how gray England was after the war, the film’s vibrant costumes and settings create an almost dreamlike escape.”
Owen echoed Garafola’s sentiment. “It’s magical. Color was their thing, and this latest restoration makes it even more breathtaking.”
The film underwent an extensive digital restoration at the UCLA Film and Television archive between 2006 and 2008 and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. This is the version of the film which will be screened at the Triplex.
Owen said, “I love the depiction of young ballet audiences racing to their seats. That kind of enthusiasm is contagious. It’s what draws young dancers in.” Both Owen and Garafola epressed hope that young dancers will attend the event, sharing in the film’s enduring inspiration.
Owen and Garafola’s Q&A is sure to be lively and educational as they delve into the film’s legacy in both dance and cinema. “It’s not just a film for dance lovers. It’s a filmmaker’s film, too,” Owen added.
Join The Triplex and Jacob’s Pillow for this rare opportunity to experience “The Red Shoes” on the big screen, a film that continues to enchant, inspire, and ignite artistic passion.
Tickets are available for $75 at www.thetriplex.org.
Honeybees have developed interdependencies with early spring flowers.
Why are there no native super early flowering plants in our area?By “super early” I mean flowering some five weeks before forsythia. All the ones I know are alien.Most are “bulbiferous” and go dormant in summer. Snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis, and Snowbells, Leucojum vernum, are both in the amaryllis family; crocus species, in the iris family; and scilla, in the asparagus family belong to this category. Others, like cyclamen coum, primrose family; winter-aconite, eranthis hyemalis; and adonis amurensis, buttercup family; grow from tubers, thickened roots.None of them is a native plant. Although all mentioned families exist in the New World as well, none have produced super early flowering species similar to what exists in Eurasia, nor have other plant families.
We wait for our beautiful native spring wildflowers — Virginia bluebells, Dutchman’s breeches, Trilliums, Trout lily, etc.In our garden, the earliest native will be Bloodroot, by mid-April. By then, a large cohort of alien plants are already in full flower for several weeks, in some cases for over a month.
Why is this roughly four to five week temporal niche in the annual cycle unoccupied? It’s a niche of very low productivity for sure, but nature, famously, abhors any vacuum. Could it be that the physical habitat niche is too small here? What I found, doing some research, suggests it is possible — larger areas are correlated with more speciation according to p. 1149 in Science from March 15, 2025. Eurasia, broadly oriented from west to east, has a very long, uninterrupted temperate and mountainous zone, stretching from Spain to western China. With its many grassland habitats, it provides a huge playing field for evolution. America, by comparison, geographically laid out north to south, contains much less continuous temperate environments suited for crocus.
Until now. Our small, short-cropped lawn at winter’s end mimics aspects of Eurasian alpine meadows. There, before any green grass is visible, crocuses break through the edges of the melting snow cover on the late winter lawn. Species crocuses have conquered that new habitat, first in European gardens, and now here too. Before the grass grows too tall, they benefit from abundant sunshine to nourish their bulbs for next year. That’s another reason to delay mowing as long as possible. A lawn may not be a natural habitat, but if free of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers, it is after all just another meadow.
Perhaps another reason for missing March flowers is a lack of early pollinators.On one of these rare sunny, warm days in early March, I wrote in my diary: “03/09/23 - many honeybees on winter aconite, also a fly …”and some honeybees on crocus as well. Like winter-aconite and crocus, honeybees are not native in America and I have never seen them again that early, ever since a nearby beekeeper gave up.Looking at the amounts of pollen in these crocus flowers, they must be an abundant food source for all kinds of bees and bumblebees. However, only honeybees — whose colonies survive the winter in hives — can quickly deploy a large number of pollen collectors. Flowers and insects co-evolved a myriad of interdependencies, so super early flowering plants, cold adapted, depend on enough pollinating insects to make flowering through the snow worthwhile. On high alpine meadows there may be other early up-and-about insect species, but here it is honeybees which profit most.
Snowdrops, snowbells, crocuses — they don’t compete with any natives, but fill a manmade, unoccupied niche.The very earliest to flower through the snow, adonis amurensis and cyclamen coum, grow in light shade and slowly form stay-in-place clumps. Unless in a controllable setting, I would stay away from squill — Scilla siberica — which is a very aggressive naturalizer and easily escapes.
As we wait for our many native beautiful spring flowers, how nice to have these aliens, such benign aliens for a change, to cheer up a March-brown lawn.
Fritz Mueller lives in Sharon.