Keene audience members were given a chance to explore the unknown through modern movement choreography, live music and unpopular performance techniques that most of us possess- speech.
David Dorfman Dance (DDD)’s performance, A (Way) Out of My Body, is an in-progress project. DDD Director David Dorfman said this project began around two years ago when he asked his troupe to start writing down memories, phrases or dreams that reminded them of what an out-of-body experience means to them.
Each spoken piece is taken from a true story told by one of the dancing members, other forms of expression were seen by the fast-paced and sometimes contorted movements.
Dorfman said it is not common to have a “preview” of a dance presentation. He also added that he does not believe in sneak-peaks because every showing is a full performance on its own and performers are always making adjustments for the next show.
Redfern Director Shannon Mayers said, “It’s not always possible to see a work in progress. [The audience’s] feedback is really important, as Dave mentioned, to his process and for us to understand it.” She added, “[The audience’s] feedback and responses help feed this work and helps us understand what makes dance in our community hum.”
Mayers has followed this showcase of Dorfman’s work for two years and talked about some unique features this performance has.
“It’s rare for a dance company to be able to travel with live music,” Meyers said. “Most times you hear the music through playback. So again, that experience of music and movement playing off of one another is a really interesting dynamic of the piece.”
Dorfman also hosted a dance workshop for New Hampshire dance students the night prior to the show, most of whom attended the performance. He spoke of these techniques during his workshop.
New Hampshire Dublin School student Temple Nightingale attended the workshop and said she has been dancing since she was in elementary school.
“We did a lot of improv and body contact and getting out of ourselves by doing things we’ve never done before,” Nightingale said. “We did some talking while we danced, which they did here [at the performance].”
Nightingale said Dorfman “seems fearless,” which inspires her as a dancer. She added, Dorfman seemed to like to try new things which were shown in his workshop such as speaking at certain parts of the piece.
Another “fearless” move was shown to the audience when a dancer brought out a cello and began playing for the crowd as she was lifted and sat on a chair made from the other dancers’ body stances.
Dorfman said it was a risk putting both music and dance into one performance, but it worked. He said the cello represents a human body in shape, which is exactly what connected that section of the performance together.
This piece by David Dorfman Dance will be coming back to campus in March 2021.
Angelique Inchierca
can be contacted at
ainchierca@kscequinox.com
