Carolyn Dorfman Dance Premieres Ambitious ‘Waves’ By: ROBERT JOHNSON | March 18, 2015
hands to heaven, or falling into the groove of Greg Wall’s Klezmer score, Waldo is also Dorfman’s connection to the life of European Jewry before the Holocaust. We see these ancestors at the dinner table flipping through the pages of an imaginary book, turning to one another with inquiring gestures or overcome with exhaustion. Wall’s music is like a heartbeat; and its lilting rhythm binds these individuals together.
Sometimes an article of clothing is more than just a fashion accessory, or a wrap to keep you warm. In two dances by Carolyn Dorfman, coats and jackets have a symbolic value that exceeds their usefulness in inclement weather. The choreographer’s newly rebranded company, Carolyn Dorfman Dance, performed at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theater on Friday as part of the recurring Jersey Moves! Festival of Dance. Before the premiere of Dorfman’s “Waves,” a playful composition that prompted exchanges with both the onstage musicians and the gala audience, Dorfman revisited two of her favorite pieces. In “Under My Skin,” the characters reveal their restless state of mind by peeling off their jackets and wrestling them back on. It seems unlikely that these two — Katlyn Waldo and Louie Marin — will be able to stop fussing long enough to get to know each other. But eventually they do, and then his jacket proves large enough to shelter both of them. The camelhair coat that Waldo dons at the start of “Mayne Mentshn,” along with a crumpled fedora, is more portentous. Dorfman could have assigned this solo to a male dancer, but Waldo is a stand-in for the choreographer herself, a loving daughter who imaginatively climbs into her father’s skin. Raising her
The music for “Waves” is quite different. It represents a departure and a challenge — but Dorfman is eager to meet her musical collaborators on level ground. They’re an unconventional team that includes Jesse Reagen Mann on cello and vocals; Daphna Mor playing the recorder; and a beat-boxer, Pete List. Perhaps the music and dancing aren’t as tightly synchronized as Waldo and her shadow, which is cast on the backdrop. But the shadow hints at Dorfman’s aspirations. Curving smoothly or suddenly shivering, Waldo’s movements echo the cello’s sounds. The encounter between Brandon Jones and the beat boxer is more of a dialog, with the dancer skittering and suddenly dropping, or punching the air in response to List’s cartoonish effects. The recorder is a wind instrument, and so Dorfman has her dancers huff, puff and blow one another away. In the ingenious ensemble sections, the dancers press against one another to form snaky lines that roll over (like waves) and regroup. The final image of this piece shows the dancers sliding toward us, like a wave’s last gasp — the surf that rushes up the beach. But not before the public gets to dance! For some the highlight of this piece will be the choir section where “team leaders” emerge to coach the audience in simple movement phrases, which are then woven together. “Waves” is a community that leaves no one behind.
Making connections with Carolyn Dorfman Dance, at the Bickford in Morris Township November 3, 2015 by Kevin Coughlin
You could say the stage is Carolyn Dorfman’s canvas, and dancers are her paint. But paint dries. Dorfman’s dancers never stand still long enough for that; they are swirling swaths of color, perpetual plot machines, emotions in motion. During three eclectic pieces at the Morris Museum’s Bickford Theatre on Sunday, members of Carolyn Dorfman Dance explored relationships. We are tribes of individuals, forever striving to belong while clinging to what sets us apart. “For me, it’s all about connections,” said Dorfman, whose choreography is informed by her upbringing in a family of Holocaust survivors. Under My Skin, a duet starring Katlyn Waldo and Louie Marin, was like a Harry Houdini act in reverse: The dancers tried to get into the straitjacket. Together. “It’s two really strong people coming together. They’re not one person. But they’re connected,” explained Dorfman, who started her company more than 30 years ago. “All my work is about bringing people together.” The Klezmer Sketch celebrated family and religious bonds, with a Passover Seder worthy of the Marx Brothers. Chairs and tables levitated, with and without relatives anxious to finish the ritual reading of the Haggadah and eat. A wedding sequence with masks on the back of the bride’s and groom’s heads (Ae-Soon Kim and Justin Dominic) playfully poked the boundary between reality and illusion, and the dual nature lurking within us all. The finale, WAVES, married musical waves — from a cello, recorder and beat-boxer– with movement to create “a human wave” of connections, Dorfman said. FLUID…WITHOUT BREAKING A SWEAT What separates her dancers from painters, sculptors and Page 1 of 2
musicians is their athleticism. They are artists and athletes. Superb athletes. How do they prepare themselves for demanding shows like this one, an hour of constant hoisting and twirling and rolling, with heavy exertion that looks effortless, and motion that is fluid without (seemingly) breaking a sweat? “The key is happiness,” said Waldo, a Texas native who at 31 is one of the most senior dancers in the 10-person troupe. The rest of the time, she said, her diet is an energy-rich mix of protein and complex carbohydrates. On performance days, she’ll breakfast on eggs, yogurt or oatmeal, with light snacks of fruit or almonds. Hydration is important too — she drinks lots of water, with electrolytes. Cross-training is essential as well. One dancer is an avid swimmer; another just completed her first triathlon. Like several of her Carolyn Dorfman Dance colleagues, Waldo teaches Pilates. Five days a week, the dancers perform exercises tailored to their dance pieces. Warm-ups may last 90 minutes. Pilates, Dorfman said, is an ideal match for her nomirrors approach to rehearsals. Traditionally, dancers prepare from the outside-in, she said. But strength radiates from the inside-out. “To me, it’s about feeling, seeing and knowing what your body is about,” Dorfman said.
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Waiting and wanting: Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company returns to South Orange By Robert Johnson February 03, 2012 Waiting is never easy. Yet sitting patiently or keeping busy to fill time is especially hard when longing for an event that may never occur, or a conversation that may never take place. The soloist who dances in Carolyn Dorfman’s “Hourglass” knows all about it. The choreographer is loath to say exactly what this character’s hopes are, but she describes the ordeal of waiting as a journey. “Ultimately, there’s resignation. There’s acceptance, and a healing and going beyond it,” she says. Dorfman, who lives in Union, created “Hourglass” more than a decade ago. She decided to revive the piece this season, while assembling a chamber-size repertoire that would be easy to tour. “I’ve made a lot of full-company works,” she says. “I wanted to go down to the bare minimum again.”
Courtesy Carolyn Dorfman. Jacqueline Dumas Albert and Louie Marin in "Keystone"
Saturday’s Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company program at the South Orange Performing Arts Center will also include a new duet called “Keystone,” which describes the partners’ interdependence and the never-say-die optimism that keeps a long-term relationship afloat. Dorfman has farmed out the task of working with the ensemble, importing a whimsical group piece called “Narcoleptic Lovers” by downtown choreographer Doug Elkins. In revisiting “Hourglass,” Dorfman replaced the original score with a newly commissioned work for cello and synthesizer by composer Jessie Reagen Mann. While this music supplies a “sound floor” for the dancing, the cello comes to represent the soloist’s inner voice. Dorfman says the choreography remains true to her original vision, although working with a new performer inevitably required some adjustments. Company member Mica Bernas has inherited the role from Robin Shevitz, who came in to help coach her. “There are some things where you go, ‘Okay, this is really not going to adapt to this body.’ Other things you fight for,”Dorfman says. “Mica’s an incredible performer, and I felt this was the right solo for her.” The opening image in “Keystone,” Dorfman says, shows the dancers propped against each other in a self-sustaining arch. They remain dependent upon each other through most of the duet’s first movement, sharing their weight in a display of virtuoso partnering. “Keystone” has its bittersweet moments, as romance runs the gauntlet of real life. Dorfman has selected three songs that she feels capture the right sentiment, from Rufus Wainwright’s version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” to Louis Armstrong singing “What a Wonderful World” and Jamie Randolph’s funky adaptation of “White Christmas.” The zany “Narcoleptic Lovers” offers a more skeptical—even hostile—take on relationships. Elkins composed this piece as a “letter” to his former lovers, and this choreographic kiss-off features a mix of hip-hop and scrappy martial-arts moves derived from Aikido and Capoeira. “He’s irreverent. He’s funny and he has a broad, eclectic movement range,” Dorfman says. “I thought, ‘What better time to bring in somebody whose work I admire, that will stretch the company in a different way?
pulsating soundtrack demonstrating Diaz’s unique flavor and point of view. Mother-Son (Days) choreographed by Pioneer Winter, danced exquisitely by Ana Bolt and the choreographer, made use of silence and the spoken word, fully embodying the intention of the piece through impeccable focus, line, National Dance Week: Daniel Lewis and depth of feeling. Narrator Marie Whitman found just the right nuance for the journal entries that formed the Miami Dance Sampler backdrop of the work. Date Posted: April 29th, 2012 Sitting Stand by Afua Hall was danced by Ronderrick By: Michele Kadison Mitchell and Quilvio Rodriguez who, with their unwavering connection, defined their relationship with In celebration of National Dance Week in Miami, Dance beautiful partnering. The two, with their contrast in body Now! Miami, the Florida Dance Association, and the Little types, made the audience a part of the weave as they Haiti Cultural Center generously threaded their story together. presented two exciting evenings, Kinetic interactions created both tension showcasing the talents of nine local and fluidity in Luis Alberto Cuevas’s It companies, with a special Gets to a Point. With his performance by members of New European-influenced movement, a bit like York’s Carolyn Dorfman Dance early William Forsythe, it will be Company. interesting to follow Cuevas as he seasons The Sampler was originally founded with time. by South Florida dance pioneer, Brigid Baker and WholeProject Daniel Lewis, who has had a long and presented Wonderlawn, an excerpt from Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company: Keystone illustrious career as a dancer, Master her larger piece, Comet Lovejoy Survives, Photo: Whitney Browne Teacher, choreographer, and author. which I reviewed in a previous blog. With Lewis became the Dean of Dance at the New World School a constant emotional connection to the work, the dancers of the Arts in 1987, where he created the eight-year created a seamless relationship amongst themselves and to professional program for Dance. No longer acting dean, he the subdued yet intense emotional pitch that reached remains a present and ever-vital force helping to bring directly for the heart. Miami dance companies to the fore. Carolyn Dorfman’s Keystone, a duet danced by Jacqueline With myriad voices and styles, the Sampler was a perfect Dumas Albert and Louie Marin was a riveting example of example of the diversity that makes Miami one of the most two bodies organically blending as they melded into one, important destinations for the arts in the United States. finding all the nuanced places where they could bind and Without spending a fortune on a ticket, audiences can take rebound. In three sections, the piece was a moving, playful, pleasure in the high quality and adventurous spirit of both and rich commentary on relationship, coming full circle at up-and-coming and highly seasoned choreographers. In the end. this sampler one also had the opportunity to view dancers at Arts Ballet Theatre presented A Celebration to Klimpt various levels of proficiency, a perfect venue for young, with lovely costumes and capes painted in the vibrant and developing performers to cut their teeth alongside those jewel-like Klimpt-style. Here the youthful dancers had a with experience and maturity. chance to explore their performing dynamics within the Resident company at Miami’s Little Haiti Cultural Center, airy and light classically-mounted choreography. Dance Now! Miami was founded in 2000 by A collaboration between choreographer and dancers Jenny choreographers Diego Saltarini and Hannah Larsson and John Beauregard was behind the creation of Baumgarten. Over the years they have created a prolific Potpourria, presented by Karen Peterson and Dancers. repertoire consisting of balletic, modern, and jazz work Danced to the exquisite tango music of Astor Piazzola, imprinted with their signature combination of lyrical and wheelchair-bound Beauregard received Larsson as she athletic corporal language. Mitosis, choreographed by created the corporal shapes to seduce him. Saltarini, gave two young dancers the opportunity to hone Liminally Venn by Lara Murphy is a contemporary pas de their stage skills with its sensual lines and classical details deux in the abstract, showcasing two young dancers, wrapped in a contemporary voice. Baumgarten’s excerpts Katelynne Draper and Courtney Horton, who found the from Visions of Unrest, coming later in the program, began shape and sense of the movement within the complex with athletically strong and beautifully danced solo music of Gabriel Prokofiev. displaying the choreographer’s talent for strong, vital statements that continued throughout the piece. The evening was an ideal way for the audience to taste a diverse menu of choreographic offerings, and the presenters Roberto Diaz’s Brazarte Dance Company presented have promised to showcase many more dance companies in Corpo, a flow of energy and pauses punctuated by a future events. Stay tuned.
Daniel Lewis Miami Dance Sampler: A Recap BY MIGUEL ANGEL ESTEFAN JR. | 3 COMMENTS CATEGORIES: ARTBURST EXCLUSIVE, ARTICLE TYPE, ARTS BALLERT THEATRE, BALLET,CONTEMPORARY, DANCE COMPANY, DANCE NOW!, GENRE, KAREN PETERSON, LITTLE HAITI CULTURAL CNTR, MEDIA, REVIEWS, VENUE
The sampler presented a diverse concert representing 10 companies and choreographers, including a special performance of Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company’s Keystone, danced by Jacqueline Dumas Albert and Louie Marin. The duet moved in three acts to the accompaniment of Rufus Wainwright’s haunting cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah; the ever inspiring Louis Armstrong recording of What a Wonderful World; and a modern cover of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas by Jamie Randolph. Using a vocabulary full of counterbalance and weight-sharing, the couple gorgeously maintained an intense and athletic energy while making the most difficult partnering look seamless and effortless. Albert and Marin’s physicality was ever present in both the most intimate and moody moments to the most jubilant. time… [the entries] reflect similar personalities, fears, and even In celebration of National Dance Week, the Florida Dance [the] same humor.” Association and Dance Now! Miami presented the Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler on April 27, 2012 at the Little Haiti In less capable hands this could have easily been a maudlin Cultural Center. The eponymously named event is a revival of and overly sentimental piece. But Winter’s true genius is that the Modern Dance Sampler, founded and run for many years the he created a movement landscape that, although was as by former New World dance dean Daniel Lewis. The ongoing abstract as the dialogue was literal, mission of the event is to feature and existed alongside the narration within celebrate the diversity of local the same tone poem. The dancing companies and individual rested like a subconscious layer over choreographers that make their work the words without any literal in South Florida. Lewis, a former translation yet still provoked the sense Jose Limón dancer and of love, loss, and humor without any choreographer in his own right, sentimental manipulation. His work developed the dance program at New evidences a profound maturity in such World School of the Arts and through a young creator whose talent was well his company Miami Dance Futures matched by the incomparable stage produced, among others, the Miami presence, subtlety and intensity, of Balanchine Conference, the Dance Bolt. Both dancers mirrored and History Scholar’s Conference, the Photo: “Keystone” (choreography by Carolyn Dorfman), informed each other in their separate with dancers Jacqueline Dumas Albert and Louie Marin; by aforementioned Modern Dance landscapes only to join at the very Whitney Browne Sampler, and various dance end to the echoed sentiment of how companies such as Houlihan and Winter and his mother both really didn’t like Sundays. Dancers. It was very fitting to see a former Houlihan dancer, The Brigid Baker WholeProject Bill Doolin, director of the Florida Dance Association, along performed Wonderlawn excerpted from Comet Lovejoy with co-directors Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini of Survives and choreographed by Baker. Baker is known for her Dance Now! Miami, present to Lewis an honorary award in “hand made environments” and the piece opens with a dim lit recognition of his dedication and success in nurturing and stage offset by a garden of glittery and illuminated trash promoting dance in Miami. including lights, shiny garlands, and gold paper strewn about Pioneer Winter’s Mother-Son(days) was a profound piece the stage that has transformed the space into something performed by Winter and Ana Bolt as the mother-son pair. The otherworldly. The dancers, in black evening wear and dresses, duet was accompanied by the live narration of Winter’s walk through this landscape while one of the men throws paper mother’s diary from when she was 17 years old, ruminating on airplanes as he walks the circumference of the stage. her future about love, family, and death — and from Winter’s Ultimately the company dons sanitary gloves and collects the own diary as a 10 year old facing the death of his mother. The garbage and heaps it into a corner. Once the stage is cleared diary entries are almost 20 years apart and illustrated the the pedestrian act of sweeping the stage follows. The second similarities in the mother’s and son’s emotional and sometimes movement with the full company is lush and gestural, with prophetic tenor. To use Winter’s own words, “separated by large sweeping unison movement. The dancers seemed
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released from some confinement just as the stage had been cleared of its debris and they moved as dark whispers in the wind. On their own, both the hand-made environment prelude and the subsequent dance were interesting and captivating. The only detraction is the two put together felt like they belonged to two different pieces, or needed a more unifying transitional component.
this final moment was the most interesting and arresting and just as the piece actually found its legs, it had ended. Afua Hall’s Sitting Stand starts with Quilvio Rodriguez wearing nothing but dance briefs with his back to the stage. The striking and vulnerable moment fades too quickly without further exploration as partner Ronderrick Mitchell dresses Rodriguez in matching Bermuda shorts and unbuttoned shirt. What follows are different partnering sections that although sometimes interesting, together seem disjointed and awkward and never fulfill the promise of such a strong and provocative beginning. Karen Peterson and Dancers Potpourria, a 2012 excerpt, is another duet that had visually interesting moments in a “mixed-ability” partnering duet but did not create any distinguishable emotional tenor or overt definition of the space. The bookend pieces of the concert were offerings by Dance Now! Miami. Megan Holsinger and Quilvio Rodriguez partnered in Mitosis, the opening duet piece by Salterini. Costumed in shiny body suits and lit in purple hues, the dancers moved and appeared like pieces of silk in a stream of water through a series of lifts before coming to a full and breath catching stop, alone, on opposite sides of the stage. The closing piece by Baumgarten, Visions of Unrest, is excerpted from a larger work and presents the final three of five movements. The piece progresses from Dariel Milan’s solo where he moves like flesh turned liquid in his fluid but frenetic rendering of IN-somnia to the duet in the fourth act, Dreams, and finally the group finale in Awakening. The piece is rich in Baumgarten’s quirky original motifs such as the opening head toggle and sauté. Baumgarten builds layer upon layer both in the emotional tones of her piece and in the carving of space through progressive variations, canons and inversions as dancers weave in between each other and join together in satisfying unison.
Arts Ballet Theater danced a lively ensemble, A Celebration to Klimt that lifted the Handel selection off the floor with a swash of bright colors and strong diagonals in this pleasant interpretation by Vladimir Issaev of Gustav Klimt’s art nouveau symbolist paintings. Another ballet offering was the modern balletic duet Liminally Venn choreographed by Lara Murphy with an articulate, tense, quick, and staccato vocabulary impressively danced by the duet. Brazarte Dance Company’s Corpo was a piece more driven by the music than the movement vocabulary. The strong rhythmic music dictated the transitions in the piece, whereas the movement, at times overly pedestrian and posturing, felt flat despite the energy of its accompaniment. The ensemble at times was blatantly not together in the unison sections and the appearances at the beginning and the end of the piece by the one male dancer lacked reason or device for his entrances and exits. Luis Alberto Cuevas’ It Gets To A Point, similarly relied on music changes for its choreographic transitions. The recorded accompaniment of classical strings playing pop selections from the Isley Brothers and No Doubt was jarring and the piece deserved to live free of these selections. However, as a group ensemble this was a stronger piece and there is some build to the final moment of one single dancer moving frenetically as the lights fade. In terms of vocabulary,
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