Contemporary Dance: David Dorfman, Soles of Duende, and Joffrey Concert Group

For almost 40 years, David Dorfman Dance (DDD) has created movement that seeks to de-stigmatize the notion of accessibility and interaction in post-modern dance by embracing audiences with visceral, meaningful dance, music and text. By sustaining a vision to create innovative, inclusive, movement-based performance that is radically humanistic, DDD maintains a core commitment to examine and unearth issues and ideas that enliven, incite, and excite audiences in dialogue and debate about social change and a myriad of other topics. In advocating his mission “to get the whole world dancing,” Dorfman’s work has enjoyed broad and diverse audiences nationally and internationally. DDD has performed extensively throughout the world and has regularly performed in New York City at major venues including The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), The Joyce Theater, The Kitchen, Danspace Project/St. Mark’s Church, La Mama Theater, and more.

A Brooklyn-born Puerto-Rican from New Haven, a Mexican Puerto-Rican Jew from the Lower East Side, and a Bengali Indian from Jersey walked on to the wooden floor & the rest? History. Bonded by their deep love of music, their crafts, and true connection, Soles of Duende is on a lifelong mission to elevate the joy and music of true collaboration across disciplines and the celebration of the forms they practice. Based in the sounds of Tap (Amanda Castro), Flamenco (Arielle Rosales) and Kathak (Brinda Guha), Soles of Duende’s fire is the spirit that lives within each of these women to celebrate their connection given their beautiful differences and to uplift the forms that made them.

Founded by Robert Joffrey in 1981, and currently under the direction of Bradley Shelver, The Joffrey Concert Group is the pre-professional repertory ensemble that provides selected artists from Joffrey Ballet School's year-round Trainee Program the opportunity to experience life as a professional dancer. In the years since its inception, the dancers have toured domestically and internationally, performing the celebrated classical and contemporary repertoire of Gerald Arpino, Robert Battle, George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Dwight Rohden, and Africa Guzman among others. The Joffrey Concert Group is the company in residence of the Joffrey Ballet Center. The Concert Group connects communities in and around the tri-state area by engaging in outreach initiatives, masterclasses through the annual ICONS Dance Festival, and lecture demonstrations. The Concert Group supports up-and-coming ballet and contemporary choreographers through the annual Creative Movers Choreographic Initiative, providing them valuable time and resources to develop a new original ensemble work for the company. Aspiring professional dancers have the opportunity to develop relationships with various choreographers and hone their artistic capabilities.