Ella Baff was executive director of

Jacob's Pillow Jacob's Pillow is a Dance studio, dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The facility itself was listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 2003. History The site of Jacob's Pi ...

from 1998 until 2015, where she was most known for her work as executive and artistic director of the annual Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

Education

Baff was born in New York City and grew up on the Upper East Side. While in high school she took dance and also studied piano, violin, and harp. She began university at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

, where she studied modern dance and English literature. She received her undergraduate degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1976. Following graduation she held multiple jobs including teaching in juvenile prisons and on an island in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

Career

Until 1997 Baff was the director of education and community programming at

Cal Performances Cal Performances is the performing arts presenting, commissioning and producing organization based at the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California. The origins of Cal Performances date from 1906, when stage actress Sarah Bernhard ...

, an arts organization at the

. While there she was known for her work in programming contemporary and ethnic dance performances. Starting in 1998, Baff was the executive and artistic director of

, a 225-acre historic site that encompasses an international dance festival, professional school, archives, exhibits, artist residencies, public venues, and education and community programs. Under her leadership, the organization was designated a National Historic Landmark. In her role of executive director, she traveled to international locations scouting talent for the dance festival. During Baff's time at Jacob's Pillow the group saw increased ticket sales and a new endowment campaign. The groups brought to the dance festival by Baff include the

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded by Martha Graham in 1926, is both the oldest dance company in the United States and the oldest integrated dance company. The company is critically acclaimed in the artistic world and has been recognized as " ...

and Madboots Dance,

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (born 10 March 1976) is a Belgian dancer and choreographer and director. He has made over 50 choreographic pieces and received two Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, three Ballet Tanz awards for best cho ...

, and Choreftes. She also prioritized organizing the archives at Jacob's Pillow in order to make the information available to the public. In 2015 Baff joined the

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as the Mellon Foundation, is a New York City-based private foundation with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969 merger ...

as a senior program officer. Her role at the foundation centered on grants for performing arts and art history. She remained at the foundation until 2018.

Honors and awards

In 2008 Baff received the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the Ministry of Culture of France. She also received the Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. She has received a honorary doctorate from the

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) formerly known as North Adams State College (NASC) is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is part of the stat ...

in 2004. In 2015 she received an honorary degree from the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

. In 2016 Baff was honored by Dance/USA at their annual conference. In 2011 Baff accepted the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

from

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

on behalf of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

Personal life

Baff and her husband, John Badanes, have a house in

Otis, Massachusetts Otis is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,634 at the 2020 census. History The town was incorporated in 1810, creat ...

. Baff's sister is the actress

Regina Baff Regina Baff is an American actress. She was nominated for a Tony Award in 1974 for ''Veronica's Room''. Career Regina Baff appeared in ''The West Side Waltz'' with Katharine Hepburn. She also appeared on film, starring in ''Below the Belt'' (1 ...

References

Dance in the United States Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres {{dance-bio-stub