Christopher Williams Dances: Biographies

WHO'S WHO IN THE COMPANY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS (Choreographer), dubbed “one of the most exciting choreographic voices out there” (The New York Times) and “the downtown prodigy” (The New Yorker) is a New York Dance & Performance “Bessie” award-winning choreographer, dancer, and puppeteer who has created over 35 original and collaborative works since 1999. Named a choreography fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation this year, his awards include fellowships from The Foundation for Contemporary Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, the Center for Ballet and the Arts, and the Bogliasco Foundation, as well as multiple grants from LMCC’s Creative Engagement, the Greenwall Foundation, The Jim Henson Foundation, and the O’Donnell-Green Music & Dance Foundation.

His works have been presented internationally in France, Italy, Spain, England, Holland, Colombia, Malawi, and Russia, nationally in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Princeton, Kalamazoo, Carlisle, Interlochen Arts Center, Kaatsbaan Culture Park, and Jacob's Pillow, as well as in many NYC venues including Lincoln Center, City Center, New York Live Arts, Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project, P.S. 122, the 92nd Street Y, Joyce SoHo, and La Mama. His recent commissioners include The Joyce Theater, New York Live Arts, Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles/Opéra National de Bordeaux, Teatro Real, English National Opera, Perm Opera & Ballet Theater, Interlochen Center for the Arts, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Princeton University, Harkness Dance Center, The Blanket, Philadelphia Dance Projects, American Opera Projects, and HERE Arts Center’s Dream Music Puppetry Program.

His recent collaborators include opera directors Peter Sellars and Michel Fau, composer Gregory Spears, visual designer Andrew Jordan, and members of renowned early music ensembles Anonymous 4 and Ensemble Pygmalion. He has also been awarded creative residencies via New York Live Arts Live Feed, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Watermill Center, the Bogliasco Foundation, Harkness Dance Center, Movement Research, Joyce SoHo, Djerassi, Anderson Center, Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies, Bethany Arts Community, Yaddo, and The Yard. He holds degrees from Sarah Lawrence College and the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, and has performed for Tere O’Connor, Douglas Dunn, Rebecca Lazier, Yoshiko Chuma, John Kelly, Basil Twist, Dan Hurlin, and Hamid Rahmanian, among others. www.christopherwilliamsdance.org. Instagram: @faycavalier CHRISTIANA AXELSEN (Dancer) is originally from Bainbridge Island, Washington. In addition to her work with Christopher Williams, she has danced with Molissa Fenley, Pam Tanowitz, Beth Gill, Michou Szabo, zoe|juniper, Dai Jian, Anne Zuerner, Mana Kawamura, and Korhan Basaran, among others. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in dance and geology from Mount Holyoke College and is a graduate of the Merce Cunningham Professional Training Program where she danced with the Repertory Understudy Group.

CEMIYON BARBER (Dancer), originally from Jackson, Mississippi, received his BFA from SUNY Purchase in 2018. He has had the pleasure of dancing works by choreographers Bill T. Jones, Kyle Abraham, Azure Barton, Austin McCormick, Norbert De La Cruz, Christopher Williams, Liz Gerring, Megan Williams, the late Merce Cunningham, and George Balanchine. Cemiyon has also been featured in fashion editorials VOGUE Russia & Numero Berlin, and he has made guest appearances on TV networks PBS Social and MTV. Cemiyon was mentioned in The New York Times twice in 2021, as well as The New Yorker in 2017 and 2021.

JACK BLACKMON (Dancer) (he/they) was born and raised in the mountains that surround Lake Tahoe, where they received their early dance training. They went on to attend NYU Tisch School of the Arts before working for contemporary choreographers throughout New York City, including Seán Curran, Paul Singh, Larry Keigwin, Emily Schoen, Nicole Wolcott, and Jordan Lloyd, among others. They have also toured their own collaborative choreographic work with Charlotte Settle to the Austin Dance Festival, Dance Gallery Festival (Houston and New York), Crossing Boundaries at Dixon Place, WestFest Dance Festival, and most recently Lake Tahoe Dance Festival. In August of 2018, they joined the cast of Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More in New York, and performed several roles for nearly two years before the pandemic. They are currently studying to achieve their license in massage therapy from Pacific College of Health and Science.

CHARLES GOWIN (Dancer) is from Columbia, Missouri. He received his BFA in dance from the University of Illinois in the Fall of 2015.

Since moving to Brooklyn, he has had the pleasure of dancing for Tere O'Connor in Double Flower Possibility; Katy Pyle’s Ballez in Sleeping Beauty and The Beast, Giselle of Loneliness & Slavic Goddesses; for Brendan Fernandes in Clean Labor & Master and Form; and for Ishmael Houston-Jones and Miguel Gutierrez in their “Bessie” award-winning Variations on Themes from Lost and Found: Scenes from a Life and other works by John Bernd. He has also performed for Sônia Soares, Jon Kinzel, Christine Bonansea, Juri Onuki, Ellie Goudie-Averill, Alex Rodabaugh, and Emma Brown.

JOSHUA HARRIETTE (Dancer) is a performing artist working with light and movement. As a dancer, he has worked with many companies including Michael Clark, Sir Richard Alston, Sir Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Ballet Black, Jose Agudo, and INALA (West End). As a lighting designer, he has had the opportunity to design lights for various commissions, dance, and theatre productions, collaborating with Mark Baldwin, OBE, Julie Cunningham, Kerry Nichols, Jose Agudo, Jona Dance, Richard Chappell Dance, Mthuthuzeli November, and queer dance platform ‘Mind Ur Head’ as well as Warrington Public Arts Commission. Alongside company work, he has also modelled for Diesel, Gucci, ASOS, Alexander McQueen, Dsquared, Golden Goose, Puma, BBC Arts, as well as having been featured in various fashion publications.

Joshua trained at Rambert School and Elizabeth Hill School and is currently studying a Masters of ‘Light in Performance.'

CASEY HESS (Dancer) is a graduate of The Juilliard School (2017, Martha Hill Prize). Hess has danced for Theater Plauen-Zwickau (Annett Göhre), Christopher Williams, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company (Igal Perry), Merce Cunningham Centennial at CAP UCLA, Marc Jacobs NYFW Fall 2020 (Karole Armitage), BodyVox (Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland), and numerous Sonic Gatherings facilitated by Brandon Collwes and John King.

Hess completed an AmeriCorps service year with Metropolitan Family Service (Portland, OR) in 2021.

BURR JOHNSON (Dancer) has danced for John Jasperse Projects, Kimberly Bartosik/daela, and Shen Wei Dance Arts. He has also worked for Marina Abramović/Givenchy, Walter Dundervill, Ryan McNamara, Netta Yerushalmy, Boris Charmatz, Isabel Lewis, Nick Mauss, Peter Sellars, Christopher Williams, Bill Young, Jack Ferver, and the Merce Cunningham Trust. His choreographic work has been presented through Movement Research, Dixon Place, Abrons Art Center, Danspace Project, The American Dance Festival, GIBNEY, and Works and Process at the Guggenheim. He has guest-taught at Philadelphia University of the Arts, the University of Utah, Salem College, Goucher College, Virginia Commonwealth University, UNC Greensboro, and The American Dance Festival.

He has received artist residencies through New York Live Arts Studio Series, The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, and Redtail Arts. He is a 2020 Bessie Honoree, Outstanding Performer, Kimberly Bartosik's through the mirror of their eyes. He also works as a gardener and assists New York Times garden writer Margaret Roach with her hillside garden in Copake, NY. ANDREW JORDAN (Costume Designer) whose work has been proclaimed “sensational...a visual feast" (The Philadelphia Inquirer) and “a sculptural wonder" (The New York Times), is a Detroit-based artist and costume designer exploring the possible relationships between sculpture, installation, puppetry, and the moving form of the human body. He has designed for both stage and screen, including projects spanning opera, contemporary dance, experimental performance, and parade. Andrew received his MFA with an emphasis in sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and his BFA in Fine Arts, with a minor in Media Studies, from the Columbus College of Art and Design. www.andytoad.com JOE LEVASSEUR (Lighting Designer) has collaborated with many dance and performance artists including: Meredith Monk, Pavel Zuštiak/Palissimo, John Jasperse, Sarah Michelson, Jodi Melnick, Jennifer Monson, Neil Greenberg, and Beth Gill. He lit both Wendy Whelan's 2013 breakout Restless Creature, and her subsequent collaboration with Brian Brooks Some of a Thousand Words (2016).

He has received two ‘Bessie’ awards (including one with Big Dance Theater) and a Knight of Illumination Award for his work on Meredith Monk’s Cellular Songs. When not designing, Levasseur also engages in a visual art practice. www.joelevasseur.com. Instagram: @sirjoelevasseur

JUSTIN LYNCH (Dancer) is from Kingston, Jamaica. In addition to working with Christopher Williams, he has performed for the Bang Group, the Metropolitan Opera, Elisa Monte, Nicole Wolcott, and others. For the past several years, he has also performed as a dancer, actor, and pianist with Third Rail Projects, including the productions Then She Fell and The Grand Paradise. Justin studied the piano at the Royal College of Music and Boston University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in music, holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, and leads a double life as an immigration and business attorney for artists and other creative people.

ALEXANDER OLIVIERI (Dancer) grew up in Newark, Delaware and was a member of 10 Hairy Legs with whom he/they danced works

by Christopher Williams, Megan Williams, Al Blackstone, Doug Elkins, Raja Feather Kelly, Yin Yue, Heidi Latsky, Stephen Petronio, and Manuel Vignoulle. Alexander has also danced for choreographers such as Mike Esperanza, Kyla Barkin and Aaron Selissen, Chris Masters, Shawn T Bible, Chris Hale & Calen Kurka, and Bryn Cohn to name a few. Along with performance, they are a filmmaker, choreographer, and educator, and hold an MFA from the University of Washington.

He is thrilled to be dancing Christopher’s work again, especially during this month of queer visibility and pride/protest.

LOGAN PEDON (Dancer) began his dance training at the age of 13 in a small studio in Columbus, Ohio. After attending Walnut Hill School for the Arts, he graduated with a BFA from SUNY Purchase where he performed work by Ori Flomin, MadBoots Dance, Shannon Gillen, 2nd best, and Ellen Cornfield. Since graduating, he has trained at Springboard Danse in Montreal and worked as a freelance dancer in New York performing work by Cornfield Dance, the Dive collective, and Althea Dance Company in Manhattan and Paris.

CAITLIN SCRANTON (Dancer) is a New York City-based dancer, teacher, and producer. Since coming to the city in 2005, Caitlin has worked with Cornfield Dance, Mark Dendy, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Paul Singh, Phantom Limb, Ramon Oller, and Mark Morris Dance Group. She has toured numerous operas internationally including the 2012 revival of Einstein on the Beach. Caitlin joined the Lucinda Childs Dance Company as a soloist in 2009 and continues to perform and produce for the company. She is also currently touring Movement, a new work by Netta Yerushalmy. In 2015 she co-founded a dance production organization, The Blanket, and holds a BA in History from Smith College. Caitlin has worked with Christopher Williams since 2010.

TAYLOR STANLEY (Dancer) Taylor Stanley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began their dance training at the age of three at The Rock School in Pennsylvania. They attended summer programs at Miami City Ballet in 2006 and 2007 and at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, during the summer of 2008 before enrolling full-time at SAB in the fall of that same year. In September 2009, Taylor became an Apprentice with New York City Ballet, and joined the Company as a member of the Corps de Ballet in September 2010. They were promoted to Soloist in February 2013 and to Principal Dancer in May 2016. Taylor received the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise in 2009 and was the 2011-2012 recipient of the Janice Levin Award. Since joining New York City Ballet, Taylor has originated roles in multiple works by Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, and Christopher Wheeldon, along with having danced featured roles in classic works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, Square Dance, Apollo, Symphony in 3 Movements, Duo Concertant, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Goldberg Variations, and Opus 19/The Dreamer to name a few.

Outside of the company, Taylor has danced in New York City Ballet Soloist Troy Schumacher’s company BalletCollective, and has gained continued experience working with choreographers Jodi Melnick, Andrea Miller, Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa, Liz Gerring, Pam Tanowitz, Kim Brandstrup, Christopher Williams, Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Reiner, and Omar Roman de Jesus. Taylor has participated in workshops with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Nederlands Dans Theater, and Batsheva Dance Company, nurturing their own movement interests outside of the classical realm. In 2019, they received a Bessie Award for “Outstanding Performance” in Kyle Abraham’s The Runaway choreographed at New York City Ballet. They also danced a solo work choreographed by Abraham in the summer of 2020 titled Ces noms que nous portons, filmed at Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza. They have been a guest artist with Andrea Miller’s company GALLIM, appearing in the film adaptation of Miller’s BOAT, the live performance installation titled You Are Here presented at Lincoln Center’s Hearst Plaza, and in works titled Half Length Poem and Island featured in various Dance Against Cancer benefit showcases. In July 2022, Taylor will debut in an evening-length program of their own curation titled Dichotomous Being: An Evening of Taylor Stanley as part of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival’s 90th anniversary season. Taylor is currently pursuing their Bachelor’s Degree through St. Mary's College of California's LEAP program.

EDWARD (NED) STURGIS (Dancer) was born in Milwaukee, WI and began his dance training at Milwaukee High School of the Arts. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BFA in Dance in 2006. While there, he performed in works by Maureen Fleming, Carl Flink, Paul Taylor, and Merce Cunningham. After graduation he became a founding member of TU Dance and was also a guest with Shapiro & Smith Dance, Theater Forever, and Kaleena Miller Dance. Since moving to New York in 2012 he has been a company member of Dusan Tynek Dance Theater and has performed in works by Jordan Isadore, (Ellen) Cornfield Dance, and Jodi Melnick. This is his first time performing with Christopher Williams.

MAC TWINING (Dancer) trained in classical ballet with Nadege Hottier at the Premiere Division Ballet School and grew up absorbing knowledge of release technique and postmodern dance through his mother, Darla Stanley. He has had opportunities to work with the Merce Cunningham Trust, Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company, and the late Aileen Passloff. In addition to Christopher Williams, Mac currently works with the Stephen Petronio Dance Company, Cornfield Dance, and Kimberly Bartosik/Daela.

CARLO ANTONIO VILLANUEVA (Dancer) is a Filipino American performing artist based in New York and Maryland. His most influential experiences include working with choreographer Moriah Evans and on close collaborations Miriam Gabriel; studying the work and dance technique of Merce Cunningham; and performing as a member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. Carlo has taught, performed, created, and presented dance within the United States and beyond, both live and via the Internet. He holds a BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and is currently pursuing an MFA at the School of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of Maryland. carloantoniovillanueva.com