Christopher Williams ’99 Leads Spring 2026 Dance Performance Project

When Christopher Williams ’99 returned to Sarah Lawrence this spring, he brought with him not only a celebrated choreographic practice, but a work that began here.

A 2021 Guggenheim Fellow in Choreography, Williams is this year’s visiting artist for the dance program’s Performance Project, an annual opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to collaborate with a professional artist in the creation or staging of a work. This semester’s performances include 8 Bagatelles and Strand’s Kin, the latter a re-staging of a piece Williams first developed as a student at Sarah Lawrence.

“Christopher’s highly inventive artistic practice of worldbuilding fuses visual design, movement of exquisite precision, musicality, and mytho-poetics in a unique blend,” says John Jasperse ’85, director of the dance program.

For Williams, revisiting Strand’s Kin has revealed new meaning over time. “To come full circle with this work, which I'm only now realizing was the original source for various rivulets that course through my current and ongoing practice, is incredibly gratifying and meaningful,” he reflects.

As a student, Williams recalls, opportunities to build work with established artists were rare. For today’s students, that access is central.

“The legacy of this piece is so strong, and he has such an emotional attachment to its integrity,” says Kate Carpenter MFA ’27, a student working on the project. “Christopher treats us like working professionals.”

Jasperse notes the significance of Williams’ presence not only as an artist, but as an alum whose work reflects the College’s values. “We are grateful that students have the opportunity to work with and learn from Christopher, an artist who celebrates queer identity and sensibility through his work.”

For Williams, the experience is equally meaningful. “John's offering me the chance to return to Sarah Lawrence to work with a range of today's students is a valuable and highly enriching experience for us all,” he says.