Process Essay. 'A Feather on the breath of God': Medieval legacies in modern choreography

This article is a reflection on and analysis of my working process as a scholar-artist, based on my experience choreographing and performing 'Cosmic Dance,' an evening-length work of modern dance accompanied by a live choral performance of Hildegard von Bingen's antiphons for St. Ursula and the eleven thousand virgins from her Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum, in 2017. I explain my approach to the piece, explicating the challenges of 'recreating' or 'reconstructing' medieval movement practices in modern performance, as well as the challenges particular to this project, then reflect on the ways in which engaging with legacies of the medieval in my choreographic methodology and performance choices helped me to navigate those challenges. Throughout the article I discuss specific instances of these engagements, integrating images and video from the performance itself as examples of interactions with traditions of medieval dance, text, art, performance practice, and concepts of authorship.