Ellen Jacobs Associates

HISTORY

Ellen Jacobs Associates is committed to bringing greater visibility to the performing, visual and literary arts through public relations and the imaginative use of print and new media, as well as through the creation and development of compelling marketing and advertising materials.

   In November 1980, I received a phone call from the Merce Cunningham Dance Company asking that I represent its 1981 spring season at City Center. I’d sworn that I would never do publicity again: it was too consuming, too labor intensive, too many hours, too-too much. But Merce was one of my favorite artists in the world. What’s one season in a life?
     Two weeks later I ran into Paul Taylor’s company manager on Broadway. He said that he’d been meaning to call to see if I might represent the Taylor season at City Center that spring. Taylor, another icon. And so began, what has become a 24-year business representing some of the most superb dance, music and theater troupes in the world.
     The first office was small; in fact the whole thing fit on top of the dining table in my doll-size, fifth-floor walkup on West 73rd Street. Before long, the mounting papers, stacks of press kits, photographs and tapes had sprawled octopus-like across the living room and into the kitchen and bedroom. They were threatening to overrun the bathroom when I finally decided it was time for a move. A year and a half after that first phone call, the business was resettled into a one-room office facing south on 73rd and Broadway.
     Inspired by all the space, I quickly expanded my staff to a total of three; but in five years we were desperate for more room. The new office on Broadway and 60th Street was very welcome, but the move took place smack in the middle of an AIDS benefit, Dancing for Life. This was a one-time only event at the New York State Theater featuring thirteen of the finest dance companies in the United States, united for a historic performance. Right on its heels came the opening of a two-week season at the State Theater by the Martha Graham Dance Company, with whom we worked for eight years.
     The list had grown to also include the American Dance Festival (1981-1997), the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (1982-84 and 1998), and the presentations of the Joyce Theater (1985–2004).
     The Lyon Opera Ballet, Israel’s Bat Dor Dance Company, Ballet Rambert and the Hans Christian Andersen Award were among our first forays into international representation. Over the years, our clients have included Maguy Marin, Angelin Prejlocaj, the Royal Ballet, Pina Bausch, Ballet de Monte Carlo, the world debut of China’s Guongdong Modern Dance Company, Ballet du Rhin and France Dance, a collaborative celebration between Jacobs Pillow and the American Dance Festival.
     During the mid and late 80’s, Bill T. Jones, Meredith Monk, Mabou Mines, Trisha Brown and Garth Fagan joined our client list, as did the Los Angeles Music Center Opera Company and the Arts and Events program at the World Financial Center. Our work with Mikhail Baryshnikov began with the New York debut of his White Oak Dance Project at the first New York State Theater season in 1994.
     With the work continuing to grow, the piles of paper mounted appropriately – in heights to rival the Pyrenees. The number of file cabinets expanded; claustrophobia was threatening. Once again, a quest for space.
     We headed south to West 57th Street, where we perched for seven years atop the Hard Rock Café and the Broadway Dance Center. The location was great, though the perpetual lines of tourists (Hard Rock) and eager teenagers (Dance Center) called for a certain amount of acrobatic skill from EJA’s nimble staff and clients.
     Once we had settled into the new quarters, we promptly expanded again, adding graphic design and advertising to our list of services. We hired a designer to create press kit covers, print advertising, posters, post cards and brochures.
     In 1999, not surprisingly, we had to move yet again. This time we crossed 57th Street to the Fisk Building, where we are today. Some of the clients who have joined us since then include Twyla Tharp Dance, Tharp’s Broadway show “Movin’ Out,” Lar Lubovitch and France Moves, a festival of 10 contemporary French dance companies that performed in venues throughout New York City.
     And now we sit, in the heart of SoHo. Our favorite times in the workday are those odd moments of reverie when suddenly, a new idea bursts forth – and makes me, and my wonderful staff, very glad I said yes to the Cunningham company way back when.