Fall of the Rebel Angels — Catherine Galasso Open Rehearsal

Fall of the Rebel Angels is an evening-length multimedia performance inspired by the work of Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens. The piece will employ dance, multi-channel video projections, and pre-recorded Baroque music mixed with contemporary electronic soundscapes, in order to investigate visceral physicality, sensuality, and the spectacular. Peter Paul Rubens was one of the most important painters of the royal courts in Europe in the early 17th century. His portraits, landscapes and history paintings of mythological, allegorical and religious themes, represent the height of the extravagant Baroque tradition. Catherine and her collaborators will reckon with and channel the emotionality of Rubens’ works into movement, through a contemporary lens of guttural, animalistic physicality. The paintings, with their palpable sense of violence and sensuality, are the fodder for this abstract performance work, one that is far from the original topic in terms of recognition, yet embodies the core ideas.

Catherine Galasso and collaborators will present a live performance excerpt of Fall of the Rebel Angels, drawn from the material created during her residency at Watermill, as well as discuss the themes and process behind the project.