Harkness Dance Center at the 92nd Street Y, NY Commission
October 29th-30th, 2026
Buttenweiser Hall
The 92nd Street Y, NY
1395 Lexington Avenue (between 91st & 92nd streets)
New York, NY, 10128
The upcoming program at the Harkness Dance Center at the 92nd Street Y, NY will feature the New York première of La Rhétorique des Dieux and the world première of Williams's latest work in his Queering the Canon Reimagining the Ballets Russes series: Spectre de la Rose.
La Rhétorique des Dieux is a modular two-part suite of solo and duo vignettes for various icons of classical Roman and Greek mythology appearing in unexpected urban contemporary guises set to excerpts from the eponymous eleven suites for Baroque lute by Denis Gaultier (1597 or 1602/3 – 1672). Presented at the Harkness Dance Center for its New York première, the work features lighting design by long time collaborator Joe Levasseur and costumes by Williams and Andrew Jordan.
Commissioned for its world première at the 92nd Street Y, NY's Harkness Dance Center, Spectre de la Rose is an original queer reimagining of Michel Fokine’s 1911 ballet for the Ballets Russes that skyrocketed Vaslav Nijinsky to global fame loosely inspired by elements of contemporary ballroom culture. Set to Aufforderung zum Tanz (“Invitation to the Dance") by Carl Maria von Weber (1786 – 1826) embedded in a sound score designed by Tei Blow featuring a range of iconic popular music, the work also features designs by long time “Bessie" award nominated/winning collaborators Joe Levasseur (lighting) and Andrew Jordan (costumes).