(Artistic Director/Choreographer)
Known as a creator of provocative dances that reflect her concerns about the human condition, Dorfman is interested in creating “worlds” into which the audience can enter. CDDC’s high-energy and technically demanding repertory uses movement as metaphor to take audiences on what one reviewer described as “intellectual and emotional journeys.” She has created stunning pieces that are a tribute to family and legacy as well as humanity in its entirety. They are about a spirit and passion for life, people and truth, survival and renewal. Carolyn Dorfman is that rare artist, acclaimed not only for artistry, craft, and vision but also her leadership. Since founding her Company in 1982, she has created more than 50 works for CDDC and achieved a highly respected position among artists and arts institutions regionally, nationally and internationally.

A Michigan native, she received her BFA in Dance with certification to teach K-12 from the University of Michigan and her MFA from New York University Tisch School for the Arts. She has been designated a Distinguished Artist and granted five Choreography Fellowships by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA), in additional to other choreography honors. She was the first artist to receive the prestigious, and nationally selected, Prudential Prize for Non-Profit Leadership in 1994. In 2004 she received the Jewish Women in the Arts Award for Dance from the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit and the Janice Charach Epstein Gallery.

A former Assistant Professor of Dance at Centenary College she uses her collective experiences as a master artist/teacher, leading residencies and master classes for both the professional dancer and those new to the art form. She is a guest artist/choreographer at major universities in the U.S. and is on the guest faculty at the Lim—n Institute in New York. She is a consultant to the Education Program at City Center and a Principal Affiliate in Arts Education for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. She is sought after for professional development training for educators and artists and is designated a Master Artist and Mentor by Young Audiences of New Jersey. Carolyn is a member of the All Stars Artist Committee of the All Stars Project (NY/NJ).