Carolyn Dorfman Dance in SOPAC Virtual Gala Performance and Benefit on April 24
THRIVE
WHEN: Saturday, April 24. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. with a pre-glow event for company and donors starting at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: online
TICKETS: $10 per link; free for SOPAC members
For tickets to the April 24 performance go to www.sopacnow.org/events/carolyn-dorfman-dance/.
Supporters of the dance company can purchase gala tickets and virtual ads securely online at http://cddc.ejoinme.org/gala2021.
The box office may be reached at 973-313-2787
Carolyn Dorfman Dance will appear in a virtual gala
performance and benefit presented by SOPAC. The evening will feature three works by the 10-member Company, plus
interview footage of Artistic Director and Choreographer Carolyn Dorfman speaking
with dance writer and critic Robert Johnson.
The evening begins with Facets Redux, a collage of excerpts from dances about love, which includes some of the company’s most memorable and favorite works. Keystone (Part 1) which premiered in 2012, uses the music of Rufus Wainwright. This duet features extraordinary dancers Jacqueline Dumas Albert and Louie Marin as videotaped by Nel Shelby Productions.
The program then moves to an excerpt from Cercle
d’Amour, which critics praised as “compelling” when it premiered in 2010.
Redone by Carolyn for this performance and taped at SOPAC by PCK Media, the
dance features Quinton Guthier, Nina Chong-Jimenez and Brandon Jones, including
Dorfman’s favorite additions to her dances, the use of props. This piece includes
the use of brilliant red hula hoops.
Drawing on the bittersweet love songs of Patsy Cline,
Carolyn created Love Suite Love in 1992. This excerpt utilizes Cline’s hit “I
Fall to Pieces” danced by Carolyn Dietz, Lara Friedman-Kats, and Kaila Moses.
Facets Redux also includes a section from Carolyn’s
newest work PRIMA! taped to the Louis Prima hit “I Want You to Be My Baby” sung
by Gia Maione Prima. This selection is part of a larger piece set to several of
Louis Prima classics, commissioned by Ocean County College, underwritten by the
Gia Maione Prima Foundation in celebration of the opening of the 400-seat Gia
Maione Prima Foundation Studio Theatre at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for
the Arts at Ocean County College in Toms River. Unfortunately, the pandemic has
put the official opening of the theatre on hold.
“Facets Redux” concludes with an excerpt from the 2012
dance, Narcoleptic Lover, by guest choreographer Doug Elkins who used his
signature eclectic style to set this section to the music of Sinead O’Connor.
This blend of new and vintage performances features Katlyn Waldo, Mica Bernas,
and Louie Marin in the work which the Star-Ledger
called “rowdy” and “zany.”
The program then transitions to excerpts from WAVES, a dance created by Carolyn in 2015. The piece explores the movement connections
between the dancers, the dance and the music which was commissioned to include
cello, recorder and beatboxing. Using the SOPAC stage and videography by PCK
Media, the company adhered to CDC Covid 19 guidelines in a reimagined section
of the dance followed by the extraordinary final movement which was filmed in
2019 by Francesco Cordaro.
The virtual performance concludes with the filmed
version of the premiere of Snap Crackle Pop, a groundbreaking collaboration
between Carolyn Dorfman and Renee Jaworski, co-artistic director of PILOBOLUS. This
premiere is also significant because for the first time in the history of
Pilobolus, a collaborative work is a part of their touring repertory.
“We are so grateful to SOPAC for presenting the
company as part of their 2021 dance series,” said Carolyn Dorfman. “ This
presentation has allowed us to use this opportunity as our annual benefit gala fundraiser
entitled ‘Thrive.’ Since it is still impossible to have live performances, but
maintaining our company and operations during the pandemic requires funding. We
need everyone’s support more than ever to help us ‘Thrive’ beyond this year. We
deeply appreciate this opportunity to showcase the company and the work. I want
to thank everyone in advance for supporting Carolyn Dorfman Dance.”
The Company retains ten dancers including Jacqueline
Dumas Albert (the Associate Artistic Director), Samantha Altenau, Jarred Bosch,
Nina Chong-Jimenez, Caroline Dietz, Lara Friedman Kats, Quinton Guthier,
Brandon Jones, Kaila Moses, and Katlyn Baskin (formerly Waldo.) The hard-working
office staff includes Anita Thomas, Executive Director, Anna Shaffner, Communications/Development
Manager, Stephanie Byrnes Harrell, Company/Production-Stage Manager, Flora
Attardi, Financial Administrator, and Selena Alvarez, Digital Marketing
Assistant.
Under the leadership of Acting Executive Director Dee Billia, SOPAC has a particular interest in presenting dance and is focusing on the work of women choreographers..