Guild Hall in East Hampton has completed the first two Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artists-in-Residence programs with a focus on dance works in progress. The new residency program, located at The Tower – a private residence in East Hampton – kicked off with Jose Sebastian and Hamptons Dance Project followed by Catherine Galasso with City of Wom_n.
Hamptons Dance Project was the first company to participate in the new residency program, working from January 9 to 23. Throughout their two-weeks in residence, HDP focused on embodying new works for the company, including the classic Don Quixote and Justin Peck’s “Chutes and Ladders.” HDP also had several creative mentoring sessions with Guild Hall Academy of the Arts member and Five-time Tony Award winning director and choreographer, Susan Stroman.
HDP calls on a diverse team of top-flight dancers from American Ballet Theatre and master choreographers to present dynamic new works that push the boundaries of classical dance. Their annual Hamptons event honors the East End’s legacy as a creative hotbed and artistic haven to promote dance as a pillar of the area’s rich cultural landscape. Through innovative programming that includes world premiere commissions, HDP initiates an ongoing physical dialogue between artists and audiences that promotes deeper understanding of our lives and ourselves.
Hamptons Dance Project dancers-in-residence included founder Jose Sebastian, Craig Salstein, Lauren Bonfiglio, Catherine Hurlin, Tyler Maloney, and Michael de la Nuez. HDP will return in summer 2022 for part two of their residency in conjunction with their annual dance performance, with an outdoor location to be announced.
City of Wom_n is a dance work in progress that reclaims New York City’s Sheroes, interrogating how histories are written and the criteria for who is remembered. Catherine Galasso and company were in residence at The Tower from March 3 to 20. Manifesting as five distinct shows tailored to each of the five boroughs, the ongoing project utilizes the New York City subway system as a base to construct a theatrical tapestry of loose portraits of the women who lived, worked, and made names for themselves in this city from the 17th to the 20th century. Channeling women in their own words, the piece draws on memoirs, poetry, and interviews by a wide range of luminaries, including Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, prima ballerina Maria Tallchief, bearded sideshow performer Lady Olga, LES poet Diane Burns, and celebrity transwoman Christine Jorgensen. City of Wom_n is inspired by Rebecca Solnit’s iconic woman-centered subway map, and engages themes of activism, resilience, and legacy.
A multidisciplinary, intergenerational, and ethnically diverse group of female-identifying artists made up the residency’s cast and creative team. Each performer embodied multiple characters, engaging in first-person storytelling, as well as abstract image-making. The team included Catherine Galasso (director), Sheryl Sutton (dramaturg and performer), and performer and co-creators Martita Abril, Toni Carlson, Indah Mariana, and Saori Tsukada.
Throughout their Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residency, the creative team continued their work and explorations of City of Wom_n through daily rehearsals, workshops and roundtables with Guild Hall’s Teen Arts Council, and a final showcase of work to an invited audience of Guild Hall’s upper-level members, as well as a second showcase at the Center for Performance Research in Brooklyn. Catherine Galasso was also paired with noted Art Historian, Curator, and member of Guild Hall’s Academy of the Arts, RoseLee Goldberg, to constructively discuss the project.
For both Hamptons Dance Project and City of Wom_n, their two-week residencies at The Tower enabled them to fully immerse themselves in their process and lay the groundwork for the future of their projects.
For more info, visit guildhall.org.