Award-winning dancer brings 'Familiar Movements' to U.

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Oct 19, 2003 by Scott Iwasaki Deseret Morning News

David Dorfman always wanted to dance. "I remember tugging on my mother's apron strings and telling her I wanted to run a dance school," the New York choreographer said. "I was about 8 years old, and I had just watched some dancing on TV."

Dance had made its impact on Dorfman's life. And while he tried to stifle the drive -- he played sports and studied business in college - - dance and the preforming arts had a way of getting under his skin. "Finally, while a junior in college, I decided to follow my creative urge. I just knew I wanted to do it. I wanted to dance."

That decision has led Dorfman to four fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, three fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the first Paul Taylor Fellowship, a New York dance Performance Award (affectionately known as a "Bessie") and an American Choreographer's Award.

Dorfman's path has also led him to the University of Utah's Performing Dance Company. And the work he's staging is the one that won him the Bessie -- "Familiar Movements: the Family Project." "This work is actually the second work of a community collaboration called 'The Family Project,' " Dorfman said. "The first work was called 'Out of Season,' and dealt with sports and featured members from the community."

Two of those performers were a mother and daughter, said Dorfman. "They had a great working relationship. And they inspired me to do 'Familiar Movements.' "

"Familiar Movements" utilized dancers and their family members or significant others. They used movement, spoken text and dance to create a collage of performance that possessed an intimate quality, a quality that showed many audience members that modern dance could be enjoyed by anyone.

"That was one of my goals," Dorfman said. "I wanted to show people that anything was possible with modern dance. It's a dance form that isn't as rigid as other dance forms. And that it didn't have to follow rules."

"Familiar Movements" was originally set on his own company, David Dorfman Dance, back in 1996. It was custom-made for that particular company and those who were performing at that time.

In order for it to work here, Dorfman said it had to be custom- fitted for PDC. "I have some sections of the work that remain universal, no matter who performs it. But when it comes to the text, it's an entirely different production."

Before he arrived in Utah, Dorfman asked PDC members to write down thoughts, history and ideas. "It was like asking for journals. When I got here, I sifted through pages of writings and found a lot of personal histories and introspective thoughts. I encouraged everyone to keep writing and asked them to be more metaphoric in their words. So the work has a poetic feel to it."

Like the original "Familiar Movements," Dorfman has recruited the general public to be a part of this performance. "They're actually friends and family members of the dancers. Some of them are trained dancers and some are not. And that makes it interesting, because it's real."

If you go . . .

What: Fall Concert, Performing Dance Company

Where: Alice Sheets Marriott Center for Dance, University of Utah

When: Thursday-Saturday and Oct. 30 and Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m.

How much: $8

Phone: 355-2787 or 1-800-451-2787

Web: www.arttix.org

E-mail: scott@desnews.com