Seeking 2-3 female-identifying performers for an original site-responsive work to premiere in May 2023, in a landmark building on Staten Island. 

The work is part of Catherine Galasso’s ongoing five-borough series CITY OF WOM_N, based on female luminaries from New York City’s history. This show is ABOUT women and created BY women, featuring an all female-identifying cast, crew, and creative team. The world of this particular episode will be built inside the central hall of the 1830s Greek-revivalist Building C, a former dormitory for retired sailors and now home to the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art at Snug Harbor, located on Aquehonga Manacknong, now known as Staten Island. It will be performed for live audiences May 4-14, 2023, co-presented with Snug Harbor Cultural Center. 

CITY OF WOM_N, the series, has so far received support from the New York State Council for the Arts, Gibney Dance Center, and Guild Hall of East Hampton. Each chapter of the WOM_N series is an independent, stand-alone work, created in response to the site in which it takes place, incorporating historical subjects from that particular borough, and realized with a cast of multigenerational female-identifying trans- and cis-gender artists. This is an abstract performance with theatrical monologues spread throughout. We will work broadly, allowing the work to tell us where it wants to go. The process involves extensive conversation, acknowledging the irreplaceable value of each performer’s lived experience. 

Catherine Galasso is a Brooklyn-based freelance choreographer who has been creating site- and cast- specific performance works since 2006. She has choreographed dances for underground bank vaults, marble staircases, apple orchards, and opera houses. Her performances, realized with casts of 2-25 performers, are playfully self-aware, highly sculptural, and singularly reflective of the spaces they inhabit and the people inside. Galasso’s style is rooted in postmodern abstraction, but the tone is quirky, defiant, contrasting historical nods with a pop sensibility. Her work has been featured in the Oxford Handbook of Screendance Studies, and she has been commissioned by Danspace Project, River To River Festival, Arts Brookfield, ODC Theater and the Kohler Arts Center, a.o. Her 2015 collaboration with Andy de Groat was nominated for a ‘Bessie’ Award and her 2018 Alone Together was awarded a San Francisco ‘Izzie.’

Candidates should have at least 2-3 years professional experience, with some background in post-modern movement, comfortable with speaking text, and interest in generating movement material collaboratively. They should be available for the majority of the rehearsal dates and all performances listed below. Dancers of all generations and body types are encouraged to apply. We’re particularly interested in connecting with folks currently based in, or possessing a history with, Staten Island.

AUDITIONS WILL BE HELD ON:

       *Sunday February 12 in Lower Manhattan

        *Time slots: 11am-12:30 // 2-3:30pm

--> update: We will no longer be holding an audition on Staten Island on Feb 10.

Interested parties should contact galassoprojects@gmail.com with a resume, links to video samples (if available) and your audition availability no later than Feb 7, but the sooner the better. We will review resumes upon receipt, and get back to you no later than February 9 with confirmed times & locations, if you are invited to audition. 

NOTE: We’ll do our best to make this a fun and positive experience for all involved. We’ll use a workshop format to give you a taste of the process and how we work, and invite everyone to stay for the full 2hrs. This is an opportunity for you to get to know us, as well as for us to get to know you.

Rehearsal commitment: Performers will be required to attend rehearsals at Snug Harbor Staten Island, for 4-5 weeks between mid March and mid May, as well as a few rehearsals in Brooklyn in early March.

The following is a rough overview of the schedule: 

In Brooklyn (Mark Morris Dance Center or CPR):

Weeks of Feb 29 & March 6: Studio rehearsals & meetings (according to availability)

At Snug Harbor, Staten Island:

March 15-18 Wed-Sat 11am-4pm 

April 17-20 Mon-Thu  11am-4pm

April 24-27 Mon-Thu  4-9pm

April 30-May 1 Sun-Mon 4-9pm

May 4-6 Thu-Sat (2 out of these 3 days, 5 hour call, times TBD)

May 11-14 Thu-Sun Dress & Shows

Payment: $18/hour for cast meetings and advance studio rehearsals (6-10hrs), $20/hour for on-site rehearsals (60-80hrs). Performance fees are $150 per show (for 4-5hr call). A small supplement will be provided to those commuting from outside Staten Island. Total fee inclusive of rehearsals & performances will range from $2,000 to $3,000.

Thanks for your interest in this work. We look forward to hearing from you!

Photo credit: Mei Yamanaka, Doug LeCours, Jordan D. Lloyd and Ambika Raina in Catherine Galasso’s Of Granite and Glass: Palm Springz, 2018 River To River Festival at Brookfield Place, photo by Hayim Heron