In this introduction to Christopher Williams’s 2023 reimagining of Jeux, echoes of the past immediately mix within a contemporary setting. The work was first choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and premiered a century ago. Debussy was commissioned for the original production, though he initially balked at what he thought was a ridiculous scenario: tennis.
There are two types of dancers: Those who want to dance, and those who have to dance. Matia Simmons-Reimnitz, a Port Townsend senior, is staunchly the latter. “I can’t even …