Baryshnikov Arts Presents: Woolgathering

ABOUT THE WORK

Baryshnikov Arts commissions the world premiere of Woolgathering, an evening-length spoken word opera directed and composed by Oliver Tompkins Ray, based upon singer-songwriter and author Patti Smith’s book of the same title. As a longtime artistic collaborator of Smith’s, Ray is joined by John Heginbotham, who will develop a choreographic vision and language that inspirit the natural and supernatural worlds of Woolgathering, a meditation on memory, childhood, and imagination. Smith’s words will enliven and amplify the setting, music, and dance. The work will feature Patti Smith (voice), Cornelius Dufallo (violin), Connor Gallaher (pedal steel/guitar), and Oliver Tompkins Ray (guitar and electronics), as well as Gerald Casel and Mykel Marai Nairne of Dance Heginbotham. The production includes lighting design by Thomas Dunn, sound design by Chris Mclaughlin, and costumes by Maile Okamura.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

I’ve been traveling around the world with this little book for 30 years. Dreaming of its music and its world, inhabiting its sanctuary.

I’m grateful to Baryshnikov Arts for the opportunity and support to create this piece. And grateful to Patti for allowing me to work with these stories.

I am also excited to be working with choreographer John Heginbotham, who has animated the spirit of the words and music of Woolgathering with deep sensitivity. 

We’re looking forward to offering the work to the atmosphere, that it might quietly temper the rigid divisions of this moment with the humble fire of imagination.

Wool-gath-er-ing

noun: woolgathering

Indulgence in aimless thought or dreamy imagining; absentmindedness

—Oliver Tompkins Ray

 
CREATIVE TEAM

Director and Composer: Oliver Tompkins Ray

Choreographer: John Heginbotham

Voice: Patti Smith

Electronics/Guitar: Oliver Tompkins Ray

Violin: Cornelius Dufallo 

Pedal Steel: Connor Gallaher 

Dancers: Gerald Casel, Mykel Marai Nairne, and Lindsey Jones (cover) of Dance Heginbotham

Rehearsal Director: Marjorie Folkman

Lighting Designer: Thomas Dunn

Associate Lighting Designer: André Segar 

Sound Designer: Chris McLaughlin

Costume Designer: Maile Okamura
Stage Manager: Alexis Hinman

Libretto by Oliver Tompkins Ray, based on the book Woolgathering by Patti Smith

Woolgathering was commissioned by Baryshnikov Arts through its 2024 Commissioning and Producing Initiative which commissions new work, provides artists a technical residency to develop the work, and produces a series of public performances of the work. Woolgathering premiered in Baryshnikov Arts Center’s Jerome Robbins Theater October 21, 2024.

Choreography for Woolgathering by John Heginbotham is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

SONGS

“Milet”
Musician: Ray

“There was a Field”
Musician: Duffalo 

“On Clear Peculiar Nights”
Musician: Ray

“Those Times”
Musicians: Ray & Duffalo 

“Art in Heaven”
Musicians: Ray & Duffalo 

“Indian Rubies”  
Musician: Ray

“Barn Dance”
Musician: Ray

“His Name was Harry Riehl”
Musician: Ray 

“Flying”
Musician: Ray

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Oliver Tompkins Ray (Director, Composer, and Electronics/Guitar) is a poet, musician, and composer. Most recently his work has appeared in The Brooklyn Rail and on The Fall of America vol 2, A Musical Tribute to Allen Ginsberg. He is the author of the Substack “Rimbaud’s Lost Papers.” In 2024 he received a grant from the Peter S. Reed Foundation. Born in Boston, Mass, and raised in New York City, for the last 15 years he has lived and worked in Tucson, AZ.

John Heginbotham (Choreographer), originally from Alaska, graduated from The Juilliard School (1993) and was a member of Mark Morris Dance Group (1998–2012). In 2011, he founded Dance Heginbotham and the company quickly gained recognition for its unique blend of inventive, thoughtful, and rigorous dance theater works. John received a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 2014 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award in recognition of his unique choreographic vision and promise. John was a Research Fellow at the National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron (NCCAkron), was awarded a 2017/18 New York City Center Choreography Fellowship, was a 2016 Fellow at NYU’s Center for Ballet and the Arts, and is a two-time recipient of the Jerome Robbins Foundation New Essential Works (NEW) Fellowship (2010, 2012). As a freelance choreographer, John’s projects include Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy;” the Tony Award– and Olivier Award–winning revival of Oklahoma!, directed by Daniel Fish; and John Adams’ Girls of the Golden West, directed by Peter Sellars. John is the Director of the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble, and is a founding teacher of Dance for PD®.

Patti Smith (Voice) is a performer, author, and visual artist. Her memoir, Just Kids, was awarded the National Book Award. Smith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, named Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres and the National Legion of Honor by the French Republic and received Sweden’s Polar Award, for significant achievements in music. Her books include Just Kids, Auguries of Innocence, Woolgathering, M Train, Collected Lyrics, Devotion, Year of the Monkey and most recently, A Book of Days. She is a featured writer on Substack, where her twice weekly writings and readings can be subscribed to online. 

Cornelius Dufallo (Violin) is a multifaceted artist whose career spans both music and psychoanalysis. As a violinist and composer, he has been a core member of influential ensembles such as Flux Quartet, Ne(x)tworks, and ETHEL, and held an associate musician position in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. His solo albums, Dream Streets, Journaling, and Journaling 2, have garnered critical acclaim. Dufallo holds a doctorate in music from the Juilliard School. Complementing his musical pursuits, Dufallo is a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City. He is affiliated with the Contemporary Freudian Society, where he is a faculty member of the psychotherapy training program. He also serves on the advisory board of Fountain House Gallery. Dufallo and his violinist partner, Amy Kauffman, reside in Washington Heights with their two children and four cats. 

Connor Gallaher (Pedal Steel) is a pedal steel guitarist based in Los Angeles, CA. Born and raised in Tucson, AZ, Connor has spent his career as both a touring and as a session musician working with many different artists in a wide range of genres from country to experimental. He is currently playing and touring with Tim Heidecker, Sam Burton, and Alex Izenberg. 

Dance Heginbotham is a New York-based contemporary dance company committed to supporting, producing, and performing the work of choreographer John Heginbotham. Founded in 2011, DH has been presented at major venues, including the Kennedy Center, Bard SummerScape, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Works & Process at The Guggenheim, among many others. DH has shared the stage with luminaries of the music world, including Alarm Will Sound, Brooklyn Rider, The Knights, National Symphony Orchestra, and Eric Jacobsen, and has commissioned new scores from Tyondai Braxton, Ethan Iverson, and Colin Jacobsen. DH has collaborated with designers and artists Maira Kalman, Isaac Mizrahi, and Amy Trompetter.

Dance Heginbotham and Baryshnikov Arts gratefully acknowledge Dance Heginbotham’s board of directors as producing sponsors of the dancers in Woolgathering. 

Dance Heginbotham is sincerely grateful for their incredible board of directors, Andrew D. Hamingson, Adrienne Bryant Godwin, Art Priromprintr, Lauren Cherubini, and Joanne Wenig, with special thanks to Karyl Nairn for their steadfast and unwavering support.

Gerald Casel (Dancer) is a dance artist, equity advocate and antiracist educator. As director of GERALDCASELDANCE, his choreographic work complicates and provokes questions surrounding colonialism, collective cultural amnesia, whiteness and privilege and the tensions between the invisible/perceived/obvious structures of power. Casel is Professor and Chair of the Department of Dance at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. They have previously been a faculty member at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Palucca Hochschule für Tanz Dresden, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, California State University Long Beach, and UC Santa Cruz where he also served as the Provost of Porter College. A graduate of The Juilliard School with an MFA from UW-Milwaukee, they received a New York Dance and Performance Award “Bessie” for sustained achievement for dancing in the companies of Stephen Petronio, Michael Clark, Stanley Love, Zvi Gotheiner, Sungsoo Ahn, and The Metropolitan Opera Ballet. He is the founder of Dancing Around Race, an ongoing community engaged-participatory program that interrogates systemic racial inequities that continues to grow. 

Mykel Marai Nairne (Dancer) is a Brooklyn-based freelance dance artist, administrator, and creative producer. Born and raised in New York City, Mykel studied at Alvin Ailey, where she was a fellowship student, and later, during a long hiatus from movement study, earned a BA in Film & Media Studies from Dartmouth College. Mykel re-engaged with her movement practice through intensives with Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, American Dance Festival, and Movement Invention Project and had the privilege of performing works by Bill T. Jones and Merce Cunningham, among others. She joined Dance Heginbotham in 2018, and since then her freelance performance work has brought her to venues across NYC, including St. Ann’s Warehouse in the Off-Broadway revival of Oklahoma! (dir. Daniel Fish), the Whitney Museum of Art (2019 Whitney Biennial), Danspace Project, Brookfield Place, Marinaro Gallery, Astor Place (Joe’s Pub, Astor Alive!), The Space at Irondale, Bryant Park, and Symphony Space, to name a few. Mykel collaborates and performs with Dance Heginbotham, Monica Bill Barnes & Company, Jordan Demetrius Lloyd, Studio Susan Marshall, Helen Simoneau Danse, and Megan Williams Dance Projects. 

Lindsey Jones (Dance Cover) is a Brooklyn-based dance artist and herbalist, originally from St. Louis, MO. A SUNY Purchase alumni, she has been a member of Dance Heginbotham since 2012. She is currently dancing with the Trisha Brown Dance company and has collaborated with Pam Tanowitz Dance (2013–present), Kimberly Bartosik, Sally Silvers, Bill Young, and Caleb Teicher, among others. Since 2012, she has worked regularly with the Merce Cunningham Trust on re-stagings & workshops, including the Bessie Award–winning Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event at BAM and was featured in Alla Kovgan’s 3D film, CUNNINGHAM. Jones teaches a variety of movement-based classes including Cunningham Technique and classes that combine movement and herbalism. She was a 2022 New York Public Library fellow, researching Dance & Ecology and is a graduate of Arbor Vitae School of Traditional Herbalism. 

Marjorie Folkman (Rehearsal Director) danced as a member of the Mark Morris Dance Group (1996–2007), with Sara Rudner, Martha Clarke, Richard Colton/Amy Spencer, Kraig Patterson, and performs with Dance Heginbotham, among others. Choreography and movement direction include operas produced by Bard SummerScape, Prototype Festival, Tulsa Opera, Odyssey Opera, Boston Baroque, collaborations with visual artists, and Wendall Harrington’s design seminars at Yale’s School of Drama. Marjorie stages dances by Mark Morris, including at Barnard College, where she is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice. 

Thomas Dunn (Lighting Designer) designs lighting throughout the US and abroad. Thomas’s approach to lighting stems from years of investigative work with light, treating it as both a sculptural medium and a facet of stage design. Selected design credits include works with JoAnne Akalaitis, Jonathan Bepler, Wally Cardona, Steve Cosson, Annie Dorsen, DD Dorvillier, Daniel Fish, Beth Gill, Trajal Harrell, Ted Hearne, Jennifer Lacey, Noémie Lafrance, David Levine, Molly Lieber, Ong Keng Sen, Zeena Parkins, Tina Satter, Jay Scheib, Eleanor Smith and Muna Tseng. Thomas is the recipient of a Kevin Kline Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for The Little Dog Laughed by The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, as well as a Bessie Design Award for Nottthing Is Importanttt by DD Dorvillier/human future dance corps. Thomas teaches scenic and lighting design at Auburn University, War Eagle!

Chris McLaughlin (Sound Designer) has accrued more than a decade of impressive credits and accolades in his production and engineering career, working with major artists including Beyoncé (for which he was nominated for two Grammy Awards—Album of the Year and Record of the Year), Jay-Z, Will Smith, Rihanna, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Fabrizio Moretti of The Strokes, and Neon Indian. As his production and engineering career took off in the 2010s, a move to Brooklyn and the founding of his next studio venture, Deep Space Recording in Greenpoint, led to the genesis of his experimental electronic solo project, Cigar Cigarette, in 2017. 

Maile Okamura (Costume Designer) has worked extensively with John Heginbotham and Dance Heginbotham as both costume designer and dancer. She has also designed costumes for Mark Morris Dance Group, Pam Tanowitz Dance, Houston Ballet, and Tanglewood. Recent projects include Falling Out of Time by Osvaldo Golijov and What Belongs to You with Alarm Will Sound.
 

ABOUT BARYSHNIKOV ARTS

Baryshnikov Arts, founded in 2005 by Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov, is rooted in the belief that artists hold irreplaceable roles in our world by shaping perspectives, offering new approaches, and initiating crucial conversations in complex social, political, and cultural environments. Our mission supports artistic freedom, providing multidisciplinary artists with opportunities for creative exploration and unique artistic expression, and allowing audiences to view the world in new ways. We offer performance and commissioning opportunities, artist residencies, rentals, and more. baryshnikovarts.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dave Hattem, Chairman

R. Jarrett Lilien, Treasurer

Steven C. Dupré, Secretary

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Founder and Artistic Director
Sonja Kostich, President and Executive Director

Jamie Bishton

Sandy Choi

Frank Cordasco

William James Earle

Sandra Foschi

Jennifer Frautschi

Slavka B. Glaser

Rebecca Goldring

Steven M. Pesner

Darryl Pinckney

Shelley Washington

STAFF

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Founder and Artistic Director
Sonja Kostich, President and Executive Director

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Peter Villapol, Director of Business Operations and Administration
Alexandra Cook, Administrative Manager

PROGRAMMING
Ashley Baer, Program Manager
Pedja Muzijevic, Artistic Administrator

DEVELOPMENT
Chani Sebazco, Development Manager
Apotheosis Events, Event Planning

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Lydia Murray, Marketing Manager

PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS
Tyler Benware, Director of Production and Operations
Jesse Campbell, Technical Director and Operations Supervisor
Natasha Bruno, Technical and Operations Manager

CONSULTANTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS
Andrew Julia, Director of Finance, AJulia Consulting, LLC
Margot Becker, Grants Writer
Stephen Viksjo, Graphic Designer
Eric Wolfram, Web Developer
Sean Regan, Perfect Balance Bookkeeping, Inc., Bookkeeper

Special thanks to our production crew, front-of-house staff, and volunteers.

BARYSHNIKOV ARTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Baryshnikov Arts is grateful for the contributions of its generous supporters.

Individual

John H. Abeles; Michelle A. Auerbach; Joanne Barak; Mikhail Baryshnikov & Lisa Rinehart; Douglas Baxter; Ariel Bengio; Jamie Bishton; Philip Boroff; James Carlson; Pamela Ceglinski; Jesse Chin; Sandy Choi; Anya Cole; Amy Collins; Frank A. Cordasco; Richard Corton; Margo Crespin; Rupert de Laszlo; Richard & Jennie DeScherer; Elizabeth DeVita; Janet A. Dewan; Steven C. Dupré; William James Earle; Jennifer Fortner; Karen Freedman & Roger Weisberg; Alex Fridlyand; Norman Friedland; Paul Ghiz; Jane Gladstone; Slavka B. Glaser; Rebecca Goldring; Daniel Goleman; Sharon Gonen; Nicholas Hare; Dave Hattem; Gemzel Hernandez; Olaf Unsoeld & Huong M. Hoang; Rodney Hobbs; Joan Hooker; Brody Howatt; Kelly Hubble; Cathy Kadets; Steven Katz; Nunally Kersh; Oona Keating; Karen Kochevar; Sonja Kostich; Miodrag Kukrika; The LeRoy Family; Leonard Levie; Jarrett & Maritess Lilien; Nick & Cass Ludington; Bisrat Mekbeb; LeConte Moore; Mark R. Morris; Fred Nazem & Susie Gharib; Franci Neely; Adam J. Oestreich; Brian S. O’Neil; Jeffrey & Meredith Oppenheim; Zaza Pachulia; Steven M. Pesner; Darryl & James Pinckney; Joseph Plocek; Aidan & Elizabeth Quinn; Kirk Radke & Liz Gerring; Dianna Raedle; Foster Reed; James & Gemsel Roe; John Sansone; Marty Secada; Nancy Seltzer, Jr.; Joel Shapiro & Ellen Phelan; Wallace Shawn; Lois Sherwin; Genevieve Springer; Matthew Steimel; Glenn Stevens; Angele Surault; Lisa Takemoto; Michael Tersigni; Julie C. Van Camp; Reggie Van Lee; Illiana van Meeteren; Louis Venturelli; Nicola Walter; Deborah Ward; Jedediah Wheeler; Shelley Washington; David N. White; Matthew Yee; Andrew Zobler

Institutional

Anonymous; A G Foundation; Affirmation Arts Fund; Alex Katz Foundation; Alphadyne Foundation; Apotheosis Events; Arnhold Foundation; Bloomberg Philanthropies; Cyrus Capital Partners; Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Enoch Foundation; The Marshall Frankel Foundation; Princess Grace Foundation-USA; Howard Gilman Foundation; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; The Irving Harris Foundation; The Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust; Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance; Danny Kaye & Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; New Dramatists; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; Robert Rauschenberg Foundation; The Jerome Robbins Foundation; The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; The Shubert Foundation; The Thompson Family Foundation; The TNS Group

As of October 2024

Baryshnikov Arts is grateful for:

Funding made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature

Yamaha is the official piano of Baryshnikov Arts.