Christopher Williams: Il Giardino d’Amore

About

Christopher Williams is a New York Dance & Performance “Bessie” award-winning choreographer, dancer, and puppeteer devoted to creating movement-based works in NYC and abroad since 1999. He has been hailed as “one of the most exciting choreographic voices out there” (The New York Times).

Il Giardino d’Amore is a new dance inspired by Italian baroque composer Alessandro Scarlatti’s eponymous early 18th century serenata based on the myth of Venus and Adonis. Meticulously set to the serenata’s lush musical score, Williams’ choreography for the dancers portraying Venus and Adonis corresponds directly to its vocal lines written for soprano and castrato. Choreography for the dancers portraying Amore and other avian characters referred to in the work’s anonymously-written libretto corresponds to its various instrumental lines.

Clad in fantastical prosthetic costumes, created by Williams’ longtime visual design collaborator Andrew Jordan, the mythic lovers and their entourage are portrayed as prehistoric beings existing outside the framework of a traditional gender binary. The cast features dancers Christiana Axelsen, Andrew Champlin, Gentry George, Kyle Gerry, Justin Lynch, Caitlin Scranton, Paul Singh, and Melissa Toogood.

Lighting design by Kathy Kaufmann.