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OUT
OF SEASON I
am an athlete turned dancer and choreographer who combines risky athletic
movement with a more delicate gestural vocabulary. Combining humor and
drama, I attempt to create an atmosphere of passionate theatricality. Out of Season is a project in which David Dorfman Dance, our
six-person company, rehearses over a two-week period with a group of
volunteer athletes selected from the communities to which we tour, and
performs the finished piece along with other work from the company's
repertory at the end of the residency. During
the two weeks of the project, the full company works with the athletes,
usually for three hours a day, five days a week.
We combine the sequences of movement and theatrical staging
developed in other performances of the project with new material created
on and for the present athletes. In
this way the project is always evolving and pertaining to the public to
which we are performing. It
is very exciting to reach new audiences in this way and to feel that the
usual, presumed audience is now on stage with us (in fact, we usually
begin by having at least a portion of the athletes run onto the stage from
some section of the audience.) At the end of the second week, final preparations are made
for performance. Our company
uses a group process in many of our choreographic decisions. The athletes are also welcomed into this process and really
do help to shape the dance from start to finish. This
exciting and intense preparation process culminates in the public
performance. Most of the
athletes, who range widely in age, training, and social makeup, have never
been on stage before and when performance time comes, the level of
personal expression and physical expertise is breathtaking. We are dealing
not only with an extreme physicality and a shared movement vocabulary, but
with an emotional vulnerability as well. In its rawness and inclusiveness,
Out of Season is, in many
ways, a microcosm of my artistic desires. The
project is not strictly about athletics.
It is more about a dialogue between any two groups of people that
share a common language of some sort. The ability--or inability--of people
from different cultures or social roles to integrate and assimilate
provides a potent starting point for much of our exploration of the human
spirit. The project is about
encouraging people that have never been on stage before to use their
bodies and voices in potent ways. We are interested in telling stories, uncovering aspects of
athletics, dance, and life that are not often dealt with in a theatrical
context. Issues of intimacy
in athletics and winning or losing in dance are of key concern to us.
Aspects of competition (personal and societal), media views of
events and personas, and definitions of worth and value also fit
prominently into our investigation. The
result has been both intensely moving and extremely humorous to
participants and audiences alike. By
the end of the 2000-2001 season, the project will have been performed
eighteen times in 14 states and one foreign country, with hundreds of
amateur athletes participating in the company's workshops, rehearsals, and
performances. -
David Dorfman Approximate Time Line I.
One preliminary visit (usually a weekend) by David Dorfman and a
company assistant, to audition interested athletes and to meet with local
presenter to plan the residency. II.
Two weeks with full company working with 15-25 athletes selected
from the audition participants. Company
production team arrives during the second week to prepare for the
performance(s). During
the two-week residency, the company will be available for up to five
residency activities over and above the daily Athletes Project rehearsals. (See Residency Activities) PROJECT HISTORY
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