Christopher Williams
The Golden Legend
Post-Show Talk May 13 with Dan Hurlin
Pre-Show Coffee and Conversation:
May 14 at 6:30pm with Nancy Dalva
Friday Night Toast May 15
“In Christopher Williams's world, the macabre and the beautiful wander hand in hand down byways of myth, legend, and history.” - The Village Voice
A 13th century work by the blessed Jacobus de Voragine known as the Legenda Aurea Sanctorum (or Golden Legend of the Saints), which was the most widely read text other than the bible during its heyday, serves as inspiration for this work. Loosely following fantastical tales mentioned in the medieval text, the piece consists of portraits of 17 male saints performed by a highly acclaimed cast of New York City dancers, choreographers, puppeteers, and musicians accompanied by puppets created by Eric Wright, Lake Simons, and Christopher Williams. Music for The Golden Legend, performed live by members of the renowned ensembles Lionheart, Anonymous 4, and the New York Consort of Viols, runs the gamut from extant medieval hymns, antiphons, laude, motets, and conductus from as early as the 12th century written in praise of each saint, to original contemporary compositions by distinguished composers Peter Kirn and Gregory Spears. Costumes for the work are by Carol Binion, Andy Jordan, Michael Oberle, Ciera Wells, and Christopher Williams. The lighting design is by Joe Levasseur and sets are by Tom Lee.
- The Golden Legend was commissioned by the Bessie Schönberg/First Light Commissioning and Creative Residency Program of Dance Theater Workshop with support from the Jerome Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the Jerome Robbins Foundation. This work would not have been possible without generous grants from the Greenwall Foundation, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the Jim Henson Foundation. This work was also created and developed while in residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center through the Baryshnikov Arts Center Residency Program, supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, through a fellowship from the Bogliasco Foundation for a residency at the Liguria Study Center for the Arts & Humanities, during an artist’s residency at Dance New Amsterdam, during a choreographic residency at Bates Dance Festival, during a Dancenow/NYC’s Silo Artist Residency, during a residency provided by The Joyce Theater Foundation, New York City, with major support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and during a Movement Research Artist’s Residency, funded, in part, by the Leonard and Sophie Davis fund.
Dance Theater Workshop performances generally run 60 - 90 minutes without an intermission. Performances start promptly at 7:30pm, there is no late seating.