Company Bios


DAVID DORFMAN (Artistic Director), a native Chicagoan, is the recipient of a 2005 Guggenheim Foundation fellowship. He has also been honored with four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, three New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships, an American Choreographer's Award, the first Paul Taylor Fellowship from The Yard, and a New York Dance & Performance Award ("Bessie") for David Dorfman Dance's community-based project Familiar Movements (The Family Project). Dorfman's choreography has been produced in New York City at venues ranging from the BAM Next Wave Festival to The Joyce Theater, The Kitchen, Dance Theater Workshop, The Duke on 42nd Street, Danspace Project/St. Mark's Church, P.S. 122, and Dancing in the Streets. His work has been commissioned widely in the U.S. and in Europe, most recently by AXIS Dance (Oakland, CA), Bedlam Dance Company (London), d9 Dance Collective (Seattle), Eisenhower Dance Theatre (Detroit), and the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia for the musical Green Violin, for which he won a 2003 Barrymore Award for best choreography. An avid fan of collaboration and collective processes, Dorfman is pleased to tour an evening of solos and duets Live Sax Acts with dear friend and collaborator Dan Froot (UCLA faculty), most recently in New York City and at the Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe. Dorfman has been a guest artist at numerous institutions across the country and abroad, most recently at University or Nebraska – Lincoln, Smith College, and the University of Iowa. As a performer, he toured internationally with Kei Takei's Moving Earth and Susan Marshall & Co. Dorfman holds a BS in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis and an MFA in Dance from Connecticut College, where he joined the faculty in 2004 and is currently Professor of Dance and Department Chair. Dorfman would like to thank long-time mentors Martha Myers and Daniel Nagrin for taking a chance and rescuing him from counting leisure suits in St. Louis, his mom Jeanette for inspiring him to dance to heal, his dad Oscar for teaching him the magic of a good joke, and Lisa Race and Samson Race Dorfman for collaborating with him on a very wonderful version of The Family Project.

PERFORMERS

KYLE ABRAHAM (performer) professional dancer and choreographer, began his training in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He continued his dance studies in New York, receiving a BFA from SUNY Purchase and an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He is the recipient of several choreographic awards including a Pennsylvania Council for the Arts Fellowship, Thayer Fellowship, The HARLEM STAGE/Aaron Davis Hall, Inc. Fund for New Work Award and listed as one of Dance Magazine's 25 To Watch in 2009. Abraham’s choreography has been presented throughout the United States and abroad. As a performer, Abraham has worked with Nathan Trice/Rituals, Mimi Garrard Dance Theater, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Dance Alloy, and The Kevin Wynn Collection. He happily joined David Dorfman Dance in 2007.

MEGHAN BOWDEN (performer) a Florida native, is a contemporary mover through space, rhythm and geographic location. From Ghana to West Philadelphia, Categena to Brooklyn, her experiences with choreographers Curt Haworth, Samantha Speis, Sara Pearson, Patrik Widrig, and Nita Leim daily inform her role as dancer, teacher, mover, and speaker. Performing internationally with Gesel Mason Performance Projects, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, and Urban Bush Women, Bowden earned her B.F.A. in dance education and minor in strategic advertising from University of the Arts in 2006 and teaches in the Maryland/D.C. public schools.

TIMOTHY EDWARDS (performer) began his journey into dance at the age of fourteen. From then on, his teacher, Desiree Kramer, would give him the tools and inspiration to pursue his newfound dance dream. He graduated with a B.A. in Dance at Hunter College in NYC in 2011. Timothy has worked and performed with Nicole Wolcott, David Capps/ dances, Gerald Otte and Company, Camille A. Brown, Monica Bill Barnes, Robin Dunn's Middleground Dance Theater, The IndoRican Dance Company and The Hunter College Dance Company. His most recent choreographic work, Driven, a modern dance piece with West African and Hip Hop influences has been featured at Hunter College, The Ailey Studios (F.A.C.E. Showcase) as well as a 2010 New York City High School tour. He is ecstatic to be working with David and feels honored to be part of David Dorfman Dance.

 LUKE GUTGSELL (performer) is a 2004 B.F.A. graduate in Dance Performance from Ohio State University and also attended the Naropa Institute. Arriving in New York City in 2004, he trained on scholarship at the Merce Cunningham Studio and apprenticed and performed with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Shen Wei Dance Arts. He has performed in the companies of Chris Elam, Risa Jaroslow, JoAnna Mendl Shaw, Tiffany Mills, Jody Oberfelder, Laura Peterson, Christopher Williams, and Michou Zsabo. Danspace Project, LaMaMa Theater, and West End Theater have produced Luke’s work. Also, Luke is a certified yoga instructor and guest artist at Dance New Amsterdam in NYC. He would like to thank his parents for their unlimited love and support.

RENUKA HINES (performer) hails from Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated from Columbia University in 2008 where she received the Louis Sudler Prize for the Arts and was also a finalist for the ACDFA/Dance Magazine award for Best Performer. Renuka joined David Dorfman Dance in 2008. She is also currently performing with Nicholas Leichter Dance and has worked on projects with Tze Chun, Colleen Thomas, and Bill T. Jones. In addition to dancing and performing, Renuka is happy to be teaching young dance students at schools and studios around NYC. Renuka is constantly humbled by the incredible support of her family and friends and would like to thank them for believing in her as much as they do.

RAJA KELLY (performer) Raja Kelly, 2009 DancerWEB Scholar, performer and choreographer, has recently been presented at Dance New Amsterdam and The Construction Company in New York City. Currently, Kelly lives between NY, NY and Seattle, WA as a company member with David Dorfman Dance, RaceDance, Christopher Williams Dance, and with zoe | juniper (SEA). He has performed with Kyle Abraham/Abraham.in.motion, in Abraham’s THE RADIO SHOW, for which Kelly received a New York Dance & Performance Award. Kelly has been a guest artist at the University of Virginia, Pittsburgh University, Dance New Amsterdam, and most recently at Coker College and Memphis U, teaching his own choreography and setting the repertory of David Dorfman Dance. Kelly is a co-founding co-producer of a summer dance showcase in Bushwick, Brooklyn called RoofTop Dance and is company manager for Race Dance and zoe | juniper. Kelly holds a BA with Magna Cum Laude Honors in Dance and English from Connecticut College.

KENDRA PORTIER (performer) hails from Columbus Ohio, where she trained at BalletMet and received a BFA in Dance from Ohio State University. Kendra absolutely loves dance and has been continuously inspired by the brilliant beings she has had the fortune of learning and creating with. Her own work has been presented at a variety of colleges, dance spaces, festivals, theaters, workshops, rooftops, and tattoo shops; as she continues to make loud dances and tiny ink sketches. Kendra is on faculty at Dance New Amsterdam and Hunter College, and is currently performing with Annie Kloppenberg & Co., mvworks, and Vanessa Justice Dance. She is completely and thoroughly thrilled to be part of David Dorfman Dance.

KARL ROGERS (performer) originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, defected to the Midwest, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Knox College, and then trained at the Dance Center Columbia College. He completed an MFA in Choreography at Ohio State University in 2003, where he was the first dance artist to receive the University's top award, a Presidential Fellowship. He is currently working on a PHD in dance at OSU. Karl is thrilled to have recently joined the faculty at The College at Brockport- SUNY. He has taught at colleges and festivals around the world; most notably, since 2009 he has co-directed the Young Dancers Workshop for pre-professional teens at Bates Dance Festival. Karl also dances with Heidi Henderson's Elephant Jane Dance. He and Heidi are working on a week-long installation- dance work. His credits include projects with Terry Creach, Paul Matteson, Colleen Thomas, Hoi Polloi, Meghan Durham-Wall and many others. He also edits the annual Proceedings journal for the Congress on Research in Dance. Karl has been a member of David Dorfman Dance since 2005.

WHITNEY LYNN TUCKER (performer) is from the hills of southern Illinois, and moved to New York in 2006. She graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University with a B.F.A. in Dance Education. Her interests over time have led her to study Capoeira, Contact Improvisation, various lineages of yoga, boxing, and social dance. She draws from experiences as a public school teacher (Vancouver, WA) and from those as the creator/facilitator of a movement-program for women who were recovering from prostitution (Phoenix, AZ). When she's not dancing, she is working as a labor doula or teaching at Studio 26, an Eco-friendly fitness + wellness center she co-founded in 2010. Visit her at studio26nyc.com.

Performers from previous projects

PATRICK FERRERI (performer) is a dancer, teacher, and explorer who is happy to have recently landed on the west coast, San Francisco to be specific. In addition to supporting the arts across the country with David Dorfman Dance, he has recently been found dancing with Clare Byrne in Burlington, VT, Jane Weiner’s Hope Stone Dance in Houston, TX and is currently rehearsing and performing with Kunst-Stoff Arts, LaAlternativa, and Sara Shelton Mann in the city by the bay. He also teaches yoga and movement as called to in said city and beyond, chants at the Laughing Lotus, and enriches young minds at the LINES Ballet BFA program as well as with the Bates Dance Festival’s Youth Arts Program where he spends his summers teaching area youth the joy and empowerment of moving. Patrick wishes to send his love and gratitude long distance to his aunt and grandmother, as well as a shorter distance to his mother whose strength and courage paved the path for him to be the man that he is today.

TANIA ISAAC (performer), a self-described kinesiophile and lover of information, both physical and verbal, was born in Castries, St. Lucia. She has taught, lectured and performed throughout St. Lucia, the USA, and internationally as the founder/choreographer/artistic director of Philadelphia based TaniaIsaacDance. She is a graduate with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received her MFA from Temple University.  A former member of Rennie Harris Puremovement, Urban Bush Women, and Li Chiao-Ping Dance, Tania was one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch" in 2006.  She recently made her debut with David Dorfman Dance during September’s engagement at The Dance Center of Columbia College.

HEATHER McARDLE (performer/costume designer) ) is a native Californian who began her movement career with gymnastics. She graduated from Cal State University at Long Beach with a BFA in dance. Her most influential mentors include Keith Johnson, Jacques Heim and, most notably, Bella Lewitzky. Heather joined the professional world of dance with LA based hyper physical dance troupe, Diavolo Dance Theater, and spent 9 years traveling around the world with Bill Young, Colleen Thomas and David Dorfman. Heather has enjoyed teaching just about everywhere and has been an artist in residence at multiple colleges around the country. She has received grants through the Sugar Salon and Dance New Amsterdam to make what she calls "Performance Collages" a combo of dance, film, still image and music. Heather is currently designing jewelry. Upon her return to Brooklyn she will be tending to her new hive of honeybee's, canning fresh fruits, and planning a store opening!

MOLLY POERSTEL (performer) is a downtown dance artist who has been active in the New York City dance community for the past ten years. She graduated from Virginia Commenwealth University on a Dean of the Arts Scholarship in 2000 and since then, has worked with many artists as a physical and theatrical collaborator. Such artists include: David Grenke, Mark Jarecke, Jeanine Durning, David Dorfman Dance Company ('05-2010), Susan Rethorst, Alex Escalante, Hilary Clark, and Larissa Valez. Additional collaborations include working as a moving model for visual artist Terry Rosenberg, where she has participated in the creation of three works. Currently, Ms. Poerstel is the 2009-2010, 2010-2011 guest artist in the Dance Department at the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center at Rutgers University where she teaches advanced technique and improvisation. She has taught at Dance New Amsterdam, 100 Grand, The Open Look Dance Festival in St. Petersburg Russia, and currently teaches for CLASSCLASSCLASS in New York City and The Dalton School.

JOSEPH POULSON (performer) is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and relocated to New York City in 1999. He is currently working and performing with Susan Marshall Company, Creach/Co., Bill Young and Dancers, Jeanine Durning and, since 2001, with David Dorfman Dance. He has also worked with many other choreographers in NYC including Alexandra Beller, Gerald Casel, Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris, Melinda Ring and Peter Schmitz, to all of whom he is very thankful.

JENNA RIEGEL (performer), a native of Fairfield, Iowa, has been a New York-based dancer, performer and teacher since 2007. Jenna holds an M.F.A. in Dance Performance from the University of Iowa and a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Maharishi University of Management. Since moving to New York City, Jenna has had the honor of performing with Daara Dance (choreographer Michel Kouakou), Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company, Tania Isaac Dance, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Bill Young/Colleen Thomas & Company. Jenna currently tours nationally and internationally as a company member of David Dorfman Dance, Alexandra/Beller Dances and johannes weiland. Jenna would like to thank her family and friends for their love, laughter and never-ending support and encouragement.

FRANCIS A. STANSKY (performer), originally from Worcester MA, is a graduate of Connecticut College, currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. Since moving to NY in 2003 he has been fortunate to work with many great artists and study under the direction of Barbara Mahler.  He continues to work with Jeremy Nelson, Luis Lara Malvacias, Wally Cardona, and  David Dorfman Dance. He has performed with David Dorfman Dance since 2005 in LightBulb Theory, Older Testaments and Underground.