Scope and arrangement
The David Dorfman papers (1980-2017) document Dorfman's performance and teaching career, as well as the activities of David Dorfman Dance, through video and sound recordings; photographs; programs, clippings, and publicity files; and the files of Art Sweats, Inc. (Dorfman's non-profit management company).
Series I: Art Sweats, Inc. Files (1990-2012) includes technical staging and lighting information; financial and development files; curriculum development files; and files on events or performances.
Series II: Photographs offers strong documentation of Dorfman and his company from the 1980s to 2009, including performance and rehearsal images for most of his major works, as well as residencies, classes, and publicity images.
Series III: Programs, Clippings, and Publicity holds comprehensive media coverage and performance programs from the mid-1980s to 2017.
Series IV: Video and Sound Recordings (1980-2012) contains the most significant content in the collection, revealing all of Dorfman's major works in rehearsals and/or performances, as well as residencies, workshops, interviews, post-performance discussions, and commissioned music.
The David Dorfman papers are arranged in four series:
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1990-2012
This series documents the activities of David Dorfman and David Dorfman Dance through the files of Dorfman's non-profit management company. It includes technical information for staging, lighting, and sound; financial statements; development and benefit files; information on educational curricula; files on performances, events, or individual works; files pertaining to Rena Shagan Associates, the booking and publicity firm for David Dorfman Dance; letters and cards written to Dorfman; and files on events or performances.
The technical files contain technical requirements for individual works as well as venue-specific information. The files, which are in both paper and digital formats, comprise lighting plots; stage designs; photographs; video or still-image projections; and correspondence with venues or presenters. Some of the digital files are in software-specific formats such as Expression Off-Line, Vectorworks, Photoshop, and AutoCAD.
The financial and development files contain grant applications and reports, financial reports, and files on event planning for benefits.
The Curriculum Development file holds guides for classes and workshops prepared for the Brooklyn Academy of Music and for public schools.
The letters and cards to Dorfman are concerned primarily with fundraising.
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1989-2009
The photographs document Dorfman, David Dorfman Dance, and collaborators such as Lisa Race and Dan Froot. They depict individual works in rehearsal and performance; performances of multiple works at specific venues; publicity shots of Dorfman or his company; and residencies at Emory and Duke Universities. Most of the series is comprised of images of individual works dating from the late 1980s onward. Works with significant content include Live Sax Acts, Familiar Movements (The Family Project), Underground, Disavowal, Approaching No Calm Counting Laughter, Out of Season (The Athlete's Project), See Level, and Sky Down.
The images are present as slides, prints, and in digital formats.
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1986-2017
This series contains a deep collection of documentation and media coverage of the activities of David Dorfman and David Dorfman Dance from the mid-1980s to 2017. The programs are for David Dorfman Dance performances at New York venues such as Danspace/St. Mark's Church, the Dance Theater Workshop, the Kitchen, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Joyce Theater, and at arts centers, universities, and theaters across the United States and abroad; benefits; solo performances by Dorfman or with other performers, such as Dan Froot; lectures; workshops; dance festivals; and performances of Dorfman's work by other dance companies or students.
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1980-2012
This series, comprising the bulk of the collection, holds thorough documentation of Dorfman's career from the early-1980s forward.
The video portion has several main divisions: Individual Works, Dorfman Solo Performances, Full Performances of Multiple Works, Excerpts (for use in publicity or fundraising), Workshops, and Interviews.
Much of the series consists of video of works performed by David Dorfman Dance, or by Dorfman with other collaborators. Works with significant content include Abused Women and Children, Approaching No Calm Counting Laughter, A Cure For Gravity, Disavowal, Familiar Movements (The Family Project), Gone Right Back, Live Sax Acts, Out Of Season:The Athletes Project, Prophets of Funk, See Level, Subverse, To Lie Tenderly, and Underground, among many others.
Some works also include workshops or discussions with audiences and dance students, and multi-media content projected behind dancers during performances. Some content of this nature can also be found in the technical files in Series I.
The rest of the video consists of collaborations with other artists or companies, such as Ballethnic, Mickey McLaughlin, and Stuart Pimsler; student performances; David Dorfman Dance rehearsals and run-throughs at various venues; dance festivals; panel discussions; and work by other choreographers, such as Art Bridgman, Myrna Packer, Trisha Brown, Doug Elkins, Joe Goode, and Gabrielle Lansner.
The sound recordings contain music or sound effects commissioned for Dorfman's work, pre-show music, and music submitted to Dorfman that may never have been used. Composers featured include Amy Denio, Guy Klucevsek, Robert Een, Iain Johnstone, Chris Peck, Michael Wall, and Hahn Rowe. The sound recordings also hold a 1990 radio interview with Dorfman.