THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: David Dorfman Considers His Legacy with "Downtown to Uptown. Past to Forward" at 92NY

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: David Dorfman Considers His Legacy with "Downtown to Uptown. Past to Forward" at 92NY
Theo Boguszewski

By Theo Boguszewski
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Published on February 4, 2025
Photo: Sean Elliot courtesy of Connecticut College

Save The Date: In-Person on Saturday, February 8 (7 PM ET) & Online on Sunday, February 9 (12 PM ET)

David Dorfman, a visionary choreographer and founder of David Dorfman Dance (DDD), returns to the 92nd Street Y as Harkness Dance Center celebrates its 90th anniversary and DDD approaches its 40th. In Downtown to Uptown. Past to Forward, Dorfman revisits three works — Lightbulb Theory, Impending Joy and Approaching Some Calm — which were created in the early 2000s. These works explore themes of love, loss, and societal change.

The Dance Enthusiast’s Theo Boguszewski spoke with Dorfman about his decades-long relationship with the Y, his belief in the transformative power of dance as a bridge across generations, and how he thinks of his choreographic legacy. For tickets: CLICK HERE


Theo Boguszewski for The Dance Enthusiast: You've been associated with 92NY since the early 80s. How has the venue influenced your artistic journey over the years? 

David Dorfman: I'm speaking to you from New London, Connecticut, where I teach at Connecticut College. I'm in my 21st year of teaching. I also got an MFA in dance here. I graduated and hit the New York scene in 1981, and  went to the Y and  took a class with David Parsons.  At that point,he had danced for Paul Taylor and had just started choreographing. I saw Paul Taylor at American Dance Festival, and it made a big impression on me. And then seeing someone who was starting to do their own work and breaking away from a major company, that also made an impression. I know it sounds silly, but that one class was so influential.

The American Dance Festival was held here at Connecticut College for 30 years. There’s a green floor underneath our sprung floors, and that green floor was danced upon by Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Pauline Kohner, Paul Taylor, Dan Wagoner. So I get this incredible sense of history. And that's the same feeling that I got that first visit at the Y and every time I've been there.

You’ll be showcasing three pieces as part of Downtown to Uptown. Past to Forward: Light Bulb Theory, Impending Joy, and Approaching Some Calm. Why did you choose those particular works for this show?

 

David Dorfman: In 2004, David Dorfman Dance had a season at The Duke on 42nd Street. We premiered two dances that evening: one was Light Bulb Theory, and the other was Impending Joy. Those two dances were restaged in 2014 as part of STRIPPED/ DRESSED at 92NY.

Joseph Poulson, Jenna Riegel, Paul Matteson and Aya Wilson in rehearsal for “Lightbulb Theory." Photo: Sean Elliot, courtesy of Connecticut College
 

Light Bulb Theory was basically taking bodily and emotional inventory of where I was at that moment in time. Right now I'm sitting across from my wonderful wife, Lisa Race. In 2004, we had been married a couple years and we had our child Samson. So I was saying, 'Oh my gosh, look at this bounty.' And my 93-year-old dad was basically getting ready to die. I hadn't taken the death of my mom very well years before, and I thought, I'm going to prepare for this,  celebrate and mourn, and I'm going to make a dance.

I asked this question, 'Have you heard about the two different types of light bulbs?' It's just a theory, really. The first flickers before it goes out, the second just goes out. Do you think it's better if a light bulb flickers before it goes out, or do you think it's better if it just goes out? That kind of became an underpinning of Light Bulb Theory.

Aya Wilson in rehearsal for “Lightbulb Theory." Photo: Sean Elliot, courtesy of Connecticut College
 

There's one section we call "Mentors" where I asked the company, way back in 2003 or 2004, to make solos based on their mentors and the way their mentor would be moving at that moment. Some of them might have been 70 or 80. Now these dancers are in their 40s and 50s, and they're the mentors of so many young dancers. I just find that time travel so interesting.

Impending Joy started when we were on a residency in Seattle with D9 Dance Collective. We were staying at one of the members’ houses, and there were these white pickets that had been kind of tossed aside, with a little fencing material around them.  I thought, wow, that's really interesting. It reminded me of the security that many people want, with the white picket fence.  Also, the pickets reminded me of swords and pointed objects. And so in contrast to the  circular, luscious movement in Light Bulb Theory, we began to work with more jagged, linear material. And it basically became an anti-war, anti-violence piece. It's got really driving music and dancing. The original score is by Chris Peck.

David Dorfman Dance Company in “Impending Joy." Photo: Adam Campos

 

And we were deep into the Iraq War in 2004, right?

David Dorfman: Yeah. I mean, almost every piece I've ever done is about life and death and anti-war, anti-violence. And also intimacy — how can we cultivate intimacy and push away violence?

And then, Lisa and I had made a duet as pals working in the company in 1995 called Approaching no Calm. We were younger, figuring out our lives and all that. Then fast forward 10 years after that when we became family,  we did a sequel called Approaching Some Calm. We premiered it at the Joyce Theater. There are three sections, and our plan is to do one or two of the three. We're a little bit sore today because we did it yesterday.

What was it like revisiting the works with both original cast members and new performers? Did the pieces evolve in unexpected ways?

Well, the cast for Light Bulb Theory arrives tonight, and we have three intensive days together. The first rehearsals were  joyous. They were intent on remembering the complexities and reliving it. And then an occasional email like, “I don't know if we can do this the way we did it before.” The exact dialogue that Lisa and I had yesterday. I'm 69-years-old, and I feel really fortunate to be alive and dancing. And so the idea of adjusting things, it's just what happens. I feel that every day I'm adjusting my expectations for the world, or at least I'm trying to. And so it's the same thing we do with our bodies. I also really believe in intergenerational dance companies, and that's what we've had forever. Some of the issues I was dealing with, of life and death, when I created these works, the former company members are now dealing with in their own families, in their own lives. And so it feels like coming full circle.

Aya Wilson, Jenna Riegel and Joseph Poulson in rehearsal for “Lightbulb Theory." Photo: Sean Elliot, courtesy of Connecticut College
 

With DDD nearing its 40th anniversary and 92NY celebrating 90 years, how do you reflect on the intertwining legacies of the company and the venue?

David Dorfman: I'd have to say, I'm just beginning to deal with legacy, really. I love our company. I've kept it going for almost 40 years. But I've  been so focused on the next project, the next piece, and getting resources for the company that I haven't looked back. I feel that now our board of directors is better than it's ever been.  I feel that it’s not a coincidence that now we are digging into the past.

David Dorfman in “Lightbulb Theory." Photo: Ani Collier
 

It’s challenging because many times you're honored or paid attention to when you think of your next new idea; people want the new premiere. So with limited resources in modern, postmodern experimental dance, it’s harder to say “I'd really like you to give us some money to bring back this old piece.” This is just such an ideal circumstance because the Y is looking back and forward. And, I do think that it's given me an opportunity to open up a little bit, in honoring what we have done for almost 40 years.

I know that you're a longtime educator. Can you share a little bit about how teaching informs your choreography and the work you do with your company?

David Dorfman: Absolutely. I find teaching inextricably linked to creativity and choreography and our code of behavior as a company. I'm an over-the-top positive reinforcer. I do really believe that you can be critical and positive at the same time and get the best from colleagues and students. And students are brilliant, so I get inspired by them.

Joseph Poulson, Aya Wilson, Jenna Riegel and Paul Matteson in rehearsal for “LightbulbTheory." Photo: Sean Elliot, courtesy of Connecticut College
 

Then there's the growth in the company. The growth that I see in company members these days, is just immeasurable. I'm all about planting seeds and seeing growth and finding new ways to express oneself. At our intensives, we don't set repertory, we always make a new piece. And I see the students soaring, literally and figuratively. I'm kind of a dreamer — anything is possible and we just need to not hold ourselves back and help each other and find the tools.

An idea I’ve been examining for years now is our multiple selves, that sometimes we are at war with parts of ourselves. And acknowledging that and then transforming ourselves through honoring ourselves — that is really intimate, peaceful and progressive. Teaching helps me do that. When I feel that I'm making progress with a student piece or a student class, that positive energy goes into the company work. And teaching has made my work ethic better.  I think I'm more concentrated and a better leader than I was five years ago.

David Dorfman in “Lightbulb Theory." Photo: Julie Lemberger
 

I know that making dance more accessible is an important component of your mission, and that your company does a lot of community outreach work. Can you speak about that?

David Dorfman: Outreach is important to our company, and we try to arrange it whenever possible. Lately Lisa and I have been teaching a disco class for senior citizens.

Many times I tell the story of visiting a really broken down orphanage in Tajikistan. There were sometimes two or three kids in a single wooden wheelchair, it was really sad. We had been doing these soul train lines and just getting everyone dancing, putting on good music, and I remember one company member was like, “I don't know if we can do that here.” And then another company member was like, “yes, we can.” And I was on the “yes we can” side of things. And that room floated up in this incredible way. Everyone was just having a fabulous time. The way that they were waving at us when we had to leave, we didn't want to leave.

We did another one in Turkey in a tough neighborhood where ISIS had been recruiting. We went out there with a famous protester called Standing Man. And some young kids were in the park, and it was raining, and at first they were like, what are you doing? And we had Standing Men to help us translate, and by the end, we were all dancing together, it was just the greatest.

Our ethic is you learn everyone's name, that’s the way we begin every class. And I think people feel seen and honored.

Your work often engages with social issues; we talked about anti war, anti violence. What dialogues or themes do you hope audiences will engage with during this program, in particular this iteration of these pieces in this moment in time?

David Dorfman: Yeah, I'll say, with Light Bulb Theory, I made up this term “sweet-non-irony” for this period I was in, where I wasn’t trying to be the coolest, grooviest guy in town, but instead saying, “I love my family, I'm gonna miss my dad. I'm gonna do a dance about that.” And, you know, that might not be the exact story for the younger company members, but there are things that they love and they miss. And, it seems trite, but I'm gonna say it,  this really divisive world where there's hate-speech of one kind or another and falsehoods being thrown about by the second. People are going to do what they do, but to show what you believe in — I think it's a great time for that.

And the same with Lisa and I showing joy and intimacy in our duet at our age. I think dance can get pigeonholed into “it should only be done by 20-year-olds.” And we love fierce dancing. Oh, my God. The company is just unbelievable. But dance shouldn't be only measured by how fierce and how technical you are. There are so many aspects to movement art and dance.

What are your hopes for the future of DDD and the broader dance community? Are there new directions or projects you’re particularly excited about?

David Dorfman: You know, I've always defined success as being able to do more of what you like doing as opposed to, I won this award or I got this review. My own barometer of success, legacy and all that, has changed. So on one level, there's a little bit of a part of me that would like to up the ante on how we're regarded as a company because I'm proud of what we've done. And then the other part of me says I don't care so much about that anymore. And all I want to do is put good work in the world, and invite people to hopefully come enjoy it.

Interestingly, this is the first time that I can remember, and maybe the first time ever that I haven’t defined the next project. I’d like to go into the studio with no agenda and say, okay, we're going to start from scratch and wherever we go is where we're going to go. 

So, I don't know exactly where we're going, but I feel that the talent in the room and the desire in the room is at such a high level with our current company and our organization is more solid than ever. And I'm really excited about that. I just feel so thankful. Check in with me on February 9th and maybe I'll have more of an idea. But right now I've been thinking, okay, I really want to do a good job with truce songs and then the 92NY Program and then I'll take a breath.

You know, legacy is a big word, but it's just like everything else. One day at a time.  I'm looking forward to those one days at a time. 


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