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OnStage at Connecticut College to present Dorfman´s ´Disavowal´

October 03, 2008

NEW LONDON, Conn. - "Disavowal," the newest modern dance production by David Dorfman Dance, performs Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. inside Palmer Auditorium as part of the 2008 onStage at Connecticut College season.

This dance-theater production reinvents the story of legendary abolitionist and "race traitor" John Brown - a white man who advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to end slavery. Brown led the Pottawatomie Massacre in 1856 and the raid at Harpers Ferry in 1859.

Using the classic "oddball" style that distinguishes David Dorfman Dance productions, "Disavowal" encourages the audience to decide for themselves if Brown was a prophet or a terrorist, a hero or a lunatic. Dorfman's production reveals that under conditions of white supremacy, racism, violence and alienation, there can be both hope and fear, courage and pain, pride and dispossession.

David Dorfman, a 1981 graduate of Connecticut College and internationally renowned dancer, is chairman of the Connecticut College Dance Department. A Chicago native, Dorfman has had honors heaped upon him, including four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, three New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships, an American Choreographer's Award and the first Paul Taylor Fellowship from The Yard.

"One of the great pleasures of watching dance in New York over the past decade or so has been seeing the growth of David Dorfman from accomplished to inspired modern-dance choreographer," said The New York Times.

Since its founding in 1985, David Dorfman Dance has been celebrated for its unique collaborations with contemporary composers and visual artists. The company has earned seven New York Dance & Performance Awards for its dancers and artistic collaborators and has performed extensively in New York City and across North America, South America, Great Britain and Europe. In 2007, the company was permanently named company-in-residence at Connecticut College.

For more information or to purchase onStage at Connecticut College tickets, call (860) 439-ARTS, visit http://onstage.conncoll.edu or visit the Connecticut College Ticket Office. Tickets to "Disavowal" are $26, 21 and 16 for adults, $23.50, 19 and 14 for seniors and $13, 10.50 and 8 for students.

Situated on the coast of southern New England, Connecticut College is a highly selective private liberal arts college with 1900 students from all across the country and throughout the world. On the college's 750-acre arboretum campus overlooking Long Island Sound, students and faculty create a vibrant social, cultural and intellectual community enriched by diverse perspectives. The college, founded in 1911, is known for its unique combination of interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.

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For more information contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu