I loved making this trio with Kris, Meghan and Ash. It’s deceivingly complex, but was so satisfying to rehearse. We set it to music by Ennio Morricone, who I was listening to a lot of when I first began this project. Morricone had composed the score for Pasolini’s Decameron film and this music brought a kind of cinematic sensibility to our research, a kind of drama to contrast with small everyday gestures. 

I feel a pull to use physical vernacular in all of my works, because I’m interested in how it resonates with wider audiences; it’s a great equalizer in a way. Part of what drew me to the Decameron as a theme was that Boccaccio wrote in the Italian vernacular, “accessible to readers of all social classes,*” which was radical at the time, and his characters were everyday people with all their everyday desires and misfortunes. Handshaking was interesting to me as a starting point because of its formality, and because it’s a socially acceptable form of human contact. The limitation imposed by this specific type of interaction revealed endless possibilities. Handshaking remained an interest throughout this project, and continued to manifest in the two chapters that followed in my Decameron series, Of Granite and Glass (Brookfield, June 2018) and Alone Together (ODC, December 2018).

We developed this material thanks to residencies at BAX and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. The full ensemble for this work included Christine Bonansea, Frank Conversano and Atlas Green, with costumes by Karen Boyer, stage management and dramaturgy by Martita Abril, lighting by Emma Rivera, house management by Teri Ann Carryl, and backstage baby wrangling by Patrick Gallagher.

*https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/arts/cassoni/sa_visualiz_ov.php

...
In 2017 and 2018, I created a series of dance works *loosely* inspired by Boccaccio’s Decameron, in which 10 people isolate themselves to escape the plague and pass the time by telling stories. For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing short excerpts from this series, along with a little bit of context. You're welcome to follow along on instagram. 

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Here’s another excerpt from the first chapter of my Decameron series, Of Iron and Diamonds, featuring my 8-month old son, Atlas Green. I had not originally intended to put a baby in this show. But because I had recently given birth to one and he was at every rehearsal, he eventually became one of the creative conditions.

At the time, I felt that having a baby in a show was about the worst thing a self-respecting artist could possibly do. But I was intrigued by the challenge to do it in a way that wasn’t overly sentimental or gimmicky. For one thing, I knew that babies on stage draw focus -- it’s impossible to compete. So in this section, the first scene in which Atlas appears, I crafted a tableaux with Meghan and Kris in which Atlas could exist without becoming the sole focus. I think we accomplished this through two strategies: 1- Kris and Meghan rarely look at Atlas directly, but Atlas looks at them, which directs the gaze of the audience, and 2-Kris and Meghan’s movements are slow and continuous, allowing the viewer to get the gist without following every individual gesture. I didn’t want this scene to be about Atlas, but about these three characters coexisting with equal weight.

​In the six weeks between when we first rehearsed this scene and when it was performed, Atlas’ mobility increased, so we came up with choreographic backup plans if he didn’t stay put (ie Ash sliding him back into place when he slithered away.)

The music in this excerpt is by Noveller, and we developed this material thanks to residencies at BAX and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. The full ensemble for this work included Christine Bonansea, Frank Conversano and Ashley R.T. Yergens, with costumes by Karen Boyer, stage management and dramaturgy by Martita Abril, lighting by Emma Rivera, house management by Teri Ann Carryl, and backstage baby wrangling by Patrick Gallagher.
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...
In 2017 and 2018, I created a series of dance works *loosely* inspired by Boccaccio’s Decameron, in which 10 people isolate themselves to escape the plague and pass the time by telling stories. For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing short excerpts from this series, along with a little bit of context. You're welcome to follow along on instagram. 

In 2017 and 2018, I created a series of dance works *loosely* inspired by Boccaccio’s Decameron, in which 10 people isolate themselves to escape the plague and pass the time by telling stories. For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing short excerpts from this series, along with a little bit of context. You're welcome to follow along on instagram. 

Of Iron and Diamond v1, Excerpt 1:
Frank and Christine, excerpt from Of Iron and Diamonds (June 2017 at BAX). When I began rehearsing this first chapter of my Decameron series, Of Iron and Diamonds, I was pregnant, so I wanted to keep my projects simple and manageable. Because of the vulnerability I felt during this period of my life, the people that I invited into the room to work with me were folks I considered family. People I had history with, both professionally and personally. I had known both Christine Bonansea and Frank Conversano a long time. Christine was a muse and collaborator in several of my early dances in San Francisco, and Frank was a collaborator of my parents. The two of them danced together for the first time in GET DANCING, a show I had produced at Danspace in 2015 with Andy de Groat, and they had naturally gravitated toward one another in that process, so I was intrigued by the possibilities of building a duet for them. Frank is a performance veteran with Parkinsons who recently returned to the stage. Recalling movement was a struggle, but his jolly disposition in rehearsal, as well as dynamic presence as a performer made it more than worth it. Their duet is a riff on another arm duet I was building at that time with Meghan Frederick and Kristopher K.Q. Pourzal, which I will post separately.

The music in this excerpt is by Noveller, and we developed this material thanks to a residency at BAX. This full ensemble of this first chapter of my Decameron series also included Meghan Frederick, Kristopher K.Q. Pourzal, Ashley R.T. Yergens and my 8-month old son, Atlas Green.

We will be presenting two programs of work at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, WI in early December. First, a new duet for Meg Weeks and Kris Pourzal, commissioned by the Kohler and created in response to sculptor Lenore Tawney's Cloud Labyrinth. Second, an adaptation of the Bessie-nominated GET DANCING program I created in collaboration with the late choreographer Andy de Groat. 

CLOUD DANCE 2.0
New duet for Kristopher K.Q. Pourzal and Meg Weeks, with original Music by Catherine McRae, and film projection by Victoria Sendra.
December 7, 2019 at 1pm and 3pm
John Michael Kohler Arts Center
free

GET DANCING
This performance is an adaptation of a program that Catherine Galasso created with Andy de Groat for Danspace Project (NYC) in 2015. The program is composed of one original work by Galasso, notes on de groat, as well as Get Wreck and Fan Dance, two de Groat works that will feature Sheboygan community members.
December 13, 2019 at 7:30pm
John Michael Kohler Arts Center
$10/$15

Greetings from the Hudson Valley, where I've resided for the past month choreographing an opera for Bard SummerScape. The Miracle of Heliane, originally composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold in 1927, premieres TONIGHT July 26 and runs through August 4th. (Thanks for the rec, New York Times!) 

I'm thrilled to be the choreographer of this massive production and to be working with a dream cast of dancers, singers, and design collaborators.

 “Das Wunder der Heliane” is conducted by Leon Botstein, with direction by Christian Räth and set design and costumes by Esther Bialas. I've been blessed to have been able to bring some stellar performer-collaborators with me on this adventure: David Gonsier, Joey Kipp, Doug LeCours, Karla Quintero, Tara Sheena, Niko Tsocanos, Meg Weeks, Mei Yamanaka, with choreographic assistance from KC Athol.

ODC Theater Presents 
Catherine Galasso in collaboration with Dave Cerf
"Of Iron and Diamonds V3: Alone Together"
December 6-8, 2018 @ 8pm

Created specifically for ODC’s B’Way Theater with an all Bay Area cast, Alone Together flips the orientation of the proscenium, placing the audience on the stage and the performers in the seats. Other-worldly dreamscapes give way to volcanic dance numbers, ranging from the audacious to the familiar, combining Galasso’s signature cinematic approach with a riveting score by composer Dave Cerf.

Alone Together is Galasso’s third installment of her multi-chapter performance series, Of Iron and Diamonds, based on Boccaccio’s Decameron. Each chapter is uniquely site- and cast-specific, revealing a sharply present, whimsical take on this seminal literary work, while remaining reflective of a contemporary approach to performance rooted in the avant-garde.
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Choreography by Catherine Galasso
Music and Sound Design by Dave Cerf
Performances by Arletta Anderson, Eric Garcia, Cookie Harrist, Hien Huynh, Phoenicia Pettyjohn, Karla Quintero, Galicia Stack Lozano
Trailer credits: music by Dave Cerf, footage by Andrew Rogers and Forrest Pound, editing by Catherine Galasso

Thanks Gia Kourlas and Emon Hassan!
Shout-out to collaborators Dave Cerf for music and Karen Boyer for costumes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/arts/dance/catherine-galasso-speaking-in-dance.html

Brooklyn Arts Exchange is proud to announce Sight Lines: A Night of Performance in Dialogue with the Work of Michael Galasso, curated by Catherine Galasso. Featuring work by Laurie Berg, Fana Fraser, Georgia Gavran & Jonathan Doherty, Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Kristopher K.Q. Pourzal, and Ambika Raina.

​The show is Friday-Saturday, April 13-14, 2018 at 8pm.
Tickets: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/989296
Event Website: events.bax.org/sight-lines

Sight Lines: A Night of Performance in Dialogue with the Work of Michael Galasso is a curatorial project by Catherine Galasso. Initiated to create new dialogues around the body of musical work by composer Michael Galasso, her late father, Catherine has invited six artists/pairings of varied aesthetic, artistic, and creative concerns to create 5-7 minute choreographic responses to unpublished recordings of his compositions. The responses offer new ways to illuminate how the continuous dialogue of music and movement-one that Michael was steeped in- take place across time and artistic tradition. A focused effort in meaningfully locating Michael's work to audiences that may be unfamiliar with his musical contributions, Sight Lines works broadly to uncover layered artistic histories, while encouraging a personal and proactive approach to performance.
Michael Galasso was a minimalist composer active in New York in the 1970s and 80s before relocating to Europe, where he wrote mainly for film, dance and theater up until his death in 2009. He is most known for his compositions for theater director Robert Wilson and Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood For Love soundtrack.