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

excerpt from:

Fall of the Rebel Angels #8: Vespers
Performed: May 30, 2014

Starring: Rosalie Elkinton, Niko Tsocanos, Saori Tsukada, Mei Yamanaka
Concept & Direction: Catherine Galasso
Music Composed & Performed Live by: Adam Bach and Ellery Royston
Visual Consultant & Mask Maker: Ben Finer
Producer and Dramaturg: Satya Stainton
Co-Producer: Braden King


Read more about Fall of the Rebel Angels
Watch video excerpts from previous studies

The full 50-minute work was created for a pre-Civil War 4-story wood-frame house in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. 

Video from the Fan Dance re-performance at the 92nd Street Y on November 22 2013

Choreography: Andy de Groat
Performers: Paisid Aramphongphan, Racy Brand, Ritty Burchfield*, Rosalie Elkinton, Edith Freyer, Patrick Gallagher, Olsi Gjeci, Makram Hamdan**, Kathy Ray*, Satya Stainton, Julia Vickers, Buck Wanner
Rehearsal director: Catherine Galasso
Rehearsal space donated by Abrons Art Center

*original cast, Fan Dance 1978 at St. Mark's Church 
**member of Andy de Groat's company Red Notes from 1991-1995


Videography by NYU Tisch

Study #7 performed by Edith Freyer, Sarah Sandoval, Austin Selden and Saori Tsukada. Original music by Adam Bach. We call this section "Ponies." The duet material was created during the Watermill residency, while the part with the tape was created for the space.

Performed at Center for Performance Research,  Brooklyn, NY. September 2013

On a mixed bill "Chez Bushwick Presents: 2Night Show September, Chez Bushwick Artists-in-Residence" shared with LJ Leach, Alessia Lovreglio, Mina Nishimura, Mariana Valencia, and Katie Workum. 

Videography by Victoria Sendra

Fall of the Rebel Angels Study #6
5 min excerpt of a 25 minute work-in-progress showing
August 15 2013
Chez Bushwick, Brooklyn NY
Created by Catherine Galasso with sound design by Adam Bach
Performed by: Edith Freyer, Keith McDermott, Sarah Sandoval, Austin Selden, and Saori Tsukada

Created with support from: Chez Bushwick Residency Program and The Bossak-Heilbron Charitable Foundation

Videography: Yoni Brook ybpix.com/

Right on the heels of Watermill residency I went off to Santa Barbara to create a new piece for the Contemporary Arts Forum (recently renamed the Museum of Contemporary Arts). Curator Heather Jeno Silva invited me to create a performance for the CAF galleries, in response to the current exhibition, A Handful of Dust. Dancer Mickey Mahar came with me, and we created a 30-minute piece in 2 days, based on some sketches that we started at Watermill. While this piece is separate from Fall of the Rebel Angels, it feels very much informed by this research, and will inevitably influence Rebel Angels going forward. You can hear some of Adam Bach’s original score in the video below (sandwiched between Phil Phillips and Soulwax).

The piece started with a list of ingredients, something I had not tried before, but came out of the the necessity of needing to make something very quickly. From my notebook on the plane:

At least one moment of extreme physicality. One moment of virtuosity, one moment of hilarity (we get actual laughs). One moment of musicality (of actual choreography to music). One fancy lighting trick. A moment where the audience falls asleep. Some suffering, and a reward. We always know what to do, especially in moments of extreme unknowability. A moment when they want to dance with us. Some awkward sexy moment, that’s genuine at the same time. Whoever we are, we must change over time. Become more of ourselves, less of ourselves, become larger than life (giant shadows) and smaller than loose change (lost and scattered on the ground beneath peoples’ feet). We are alone and together. We are professionals. We are entertainers.

I’d like to think that the exercise made things clearer. We performed the piece on March 7 2013, and here are some photos from the show by Robert Redfield:redfieldpictures.com

Fall of the Rebel Angels Study #5
last 2 minutes of a 20 minute performance
July 5 2013
Art Southampton Kick-Off Party hosted by Beth McNeill
Created by Catherine Galasso with sound by Adam Bach
Performed by: Matty Davis, Alice MacDonald, Sarah Sandoval
Created with support from: The Watermill Center

performers: Alex Romania, Saori Tsukada, Edith Freyer, Austin Selden and Buck Wanner

excerpt from:
Fall of the Rebel Angels Study 4b
Movement Research at the Judson Church
Judson Memorial Church
April 1 2013
fallofrebelangels.wordpress.com

Sound design: Adam Bach
Choreography: Catherine Galasso
Video Documentation: Victoria Sendra