Our deepest gratitude to FirstEnergy for being the major sponsor of STILLNESS; In the Eye of The Storm, to all our sponsors and all the people who contributed to the success of our production. Thank you for your trust and your continued support.
OUR MISSION
Dafmark passionately embraces creative arts to enrich the human experience. This is brought to life through thought-provoking dance theater performances steeped in social consciousness and is put into practice through arts education and community outreach programs. This is rooted in the belief that compassion, understanding and empathy are the building blocks of a diverse and inclusive community.
DEI Statement
Dafmark Dance Theater believes that diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental principles that guide its mission. Placing DEI at the center of Dafmark Dance Theater’s engagement with children, families, schools, artists, and other communities is essential to its vitality and integrity.
DAFMARK PRODUCTIONS HIGHLIGHTS
WHEN WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH
Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 PM at Dafmark, 1033 State Street
New and revisited works of choreography by Dafna Rathouse Baier framed this multi media evening featuring our amazing artists/performers: Jennifer Dennehy, Kelly Armor, Casey Corritore, Nibal Abd El Karim, Marsha Cisek, Virginia Brocki & Dafna Rathouse Baier.
Photo artist: Galia Shapiro
Video of the performance: https://youtu.be/hbIIGs5Njpc
DisAppearance
Performed on July 14, 2023 at FEED. A collaborative project featuring Dafmark Dance Theater with Sofy Yuditskaya + vaporstack, visiting artists in residence at Feed, 1307 State Street in Erie. This play on space and light centered on the creation of visions dealing with the past, when one’s home is taken away.
____________________________________
Dixon violin performed at Dafmark on June 8 and we can’t thank him enough for sharing his artistry and humanity with our community and choosing Dafmark as a venue. Full house for music that feeds the soul! If you missed this performance, Dixon has assured us that he will be back!
____________________________________
A PLAY for the SENSES
Performed at Dafmark on April 21 & 22, 2023. Dance, music, poetry, visual arts and theater coming together in this deeply personal statement about being a woman in this century. Dafna Rathouse Baier has gathered a team of artists who bring their personal interpretation to this shared artistic journey.
We would like to thank our audiences and supporters for making A PLAY FOR THE SENSES such an incredible experience. Thank you to our cast and to all the people who participated in making our vision come true. A special thank you to Cloud 9 for catering a beautiful reception that followed Saturday’s performance. Our gratitude to National Fuel for being our corporate sponsor.
Photo credit: Mike Conway
—————————-
Not so long ago…
MEASURING TIME WITH OUR BODIES!
This is what we did at Dafmark on November 18 & 19, 2022! It was an event to be remembered which culminated in a standing ovation and a beautiful reception catered by Make it Fabulous. From Dafna’s extraordinary vision to our amazing performers and magnificent audience, every aspect of the event turned into perfection, beauty and meaning. Our deepest gratitude to our passionate board of directors and to our talented cast. To our friends from out of town and from Erie braving the weather, our greatest appreciation for your support and your presence! To our supporters, we have no words to express our gratitude! Onward to the next show!
—————————-
UNDER THE GREAT ICE SHEET
April 1 & 2, 2022
https://youtu.be/UwmUFltu1vc
—————————-
Friday, Nov. 12 & Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021
An evening of dance, live music and poetry. It was an incredible weekend, the coming together of 5 different artists of extraordinary caliber linking together dance, music, poetry and the visual arts.
&
Dixon Hammond performed at Dafmark on October 1st, 2021.
It was an amazing experience, a combination of brilliant artistry, generosity and wisdom. Thank you Dixon for sharing your passion with us! Here is the beautiful introduction to Dixon Hammond’s music written by John Chacona as a preview:
https://www.johnchacona.com/previewing-dixons-violin-at-dafmark-dance-theater/
—————————-
Dafmark opened its 2021 season with “POETIC DUET IN THE TIME OF COVID-19.” The bringing together of dance and nature in this 4 minute choreographed video is meant to celebrate the beauty of our surroundings and the solace it has been providing to our community during this Pandemic. It is also sharing Erie’s uniqueness and beauty, a constant source of inspiration and creativity. This video has been made possible in part by the support and generosity of the Erie Community Foundation. Thank you for watching.
CELESTIAL MUSINGS, Dafmark’s latest production was performed at Dafmark on May 28 & 29, 2021. The original choreography of Dafna Rathouse Baier links the personal to the cosmos and the choices we make after a year of tragedies and losses. This 36’12” video features three Dafmark dancers, Jennifer Dennehy, Trinity Walker and Annie Wiesner with original music by Kelly Armor and Dixon Hammond. Support for this project was provided in part by the Clarence E. Beyers Music Performance Fund of the Erie Arts Endowment and Erie Arts & Culture Unrestricted Ignite Arts Grants Funds.
ERIE THROUGH THE LENS OF COVID-19 is a Dafmark Dance Theater two-part documentary featuring in part one, four illustrated interviews with Kevin Arrington, Jada Best, Amanpreet Oberoi, and Barbara Smith. Part two introduces the creation of INTROSPECTION, a solo created during the pandemic by Dafna Rathouse Baier, which was performed by Jennifer Dennehy in accordance with health guidelines from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Jacqueline George and Jean-Marc Baier produced and edited this video.
Hiroshima Shadows: excerpt from 2020@1020, performed on November 21st, 2020. Dafna’s choreography was inspired by the kimono artwork created by Marsha Cisek. Featuring Jennifer Dennehy dancing to DELIQUESCENCE, music composed and performed by Kelly Armor.
Dates: The exhibit opened on November 7 and closed on November 21
Themes of the exhibit : 2020 Artwork from Community – World Issues such as Coronavirus Pandemic, Black Lives Matter, Climate Change & Weather Disasters, 100th Anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote, and 75th Anniversary of Atomic Bombings in Japan
This event followed all health guidelines from The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in connection to the present Pandemic.
______________________________________________________________________________
WILL THERE BE SINGING?, conceived and choreographed by Dafna Rathouse Baier was performed on August 2, 2020 for the Erie Blues and Jazz Festival. It was streamed on WQLN TV. This particular recording was done at Dafmark. The performers: Jessica Annunziata, Jennifer Dennehy and Dafna Rathouse Baier.
——————————————-
A short retrospective celebrating Dafmark’s 30th anniversary.
An excerpt from “AND IF NOT NOW WHEN” performed at Dafmark on April 7, 2017. This question remains at the heart of our lives, now more than ever.
——————————————
This is a small slice of time in a dance continuum! Thanks for watching!
——————————————
