A dance performance exploring political activism and the concert version of a musical theater piece about Sleeping Beauty’s experience in a sleep disorder center –both featuring Jewish artists — are the first two events in the 2009-2010 Ovations Series at Edison Theatre on the campus of Washington University.

David Dorfman Dance will perform underground at 8 p.m. Sept. 25 and 26 and on Oct. 2 and 3, GrooveLily, a musical trio, will present Sleeping Beauty Wakes. David Dorfman, artistic director of the 10-member dance company that bears his name, and Valerie Vigoda, founder of GrooveLily, recently took time to talk about their work.

David Dorfman Dance

The documentary The Weather Underground was the inspiration for underground. Released in 2002, the film is the story of a group of anti-war activists in the 1970s. “Five years ago, I was watching the film and I found myself transfixed,” said Dorfman, 53. “Seeing this documentary reminded me of my formative years, and that got me thinking about art and politics in regard to activism or apathy. I decided I wanted to make a piece of dance theater centered around The Weather Underground.”

Co-directed by Alex Timbers, underground received its New York premiere in 2006 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. That same year, Dorfman met Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, who were part of The Weather Underground. “I wanted to understand that time in history and their continued activism,” he said. “This was a journey for me that went way beyond the stage.”

A native of Chicago, Dorfman is the 2007 recipient of The Martha Hill Fund for Dance’s Mid-Career Award and a 2005 Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, among others. Dorfman’s company is celebrated for its exuberant and “delightfully oddball” style, though Dorfman holds a B.S. in the decidedly normal field of business administration, which he earned from Washington University in 1977.

Dorfman later received an M.F.A. in dance from Connecticut College in New London, Conn. He joined the faculty there in 2004, and now serves as head of the dance department. His company is in residence at the school. The company’s newest work is Disavowal, inspired by the life and legacy of radical abolitionist John Brown.

In April, Dorfman was presented with the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Olin Business School at Washington University. Dorfman said he was looking forward to being in St. Louis again, where he has many friends who “feel like family.”

Asked whether Judaism influences his work, Dorfman said, “Always – though you can debate what makes a ‘Jewish’ artist. I have done pieces that refer to Jewish vernacular or behavior or history. A religious studies professor I know thinks of himself as a philosopher, and I have started thinking that in a way, religion is a philosophy. That’s the way I love to think about Judaism, which has a prominent place in my heart.”

Dorfman holds another heartfelt belief – that the whole world should dance. “I’ve led a ton of workshops with people who have not danced, and they adore it,” he said. Dorfman begins the workshops by asking each person to say his or her name with an accompanying gesture. “When you put all the gestures together, you have a big dance phrase. I like to think that dance-making offers little moments of peace-making. And I love that.”

GrooveLily

When Valerie Vigoda approached Rachel Sheinkin (she won a Tony for Best Book for a Musical for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Vigoda was thinking about adapting Rumpelstiltskin for the stage. Sheinkin steered Vigoda to Sleeping Beauty instead. The result was the acclaimed Sleeping Beauty Wakes, first performed by Deaf West Theatre in spring 2007 in Los Angeles.

GrooveLily – with Vigoda on six-string electric violin and vocals, Brendan Milburn on piano and Gene Lewin on drums — will present the concert version here, telling the story and singing the songs about a woman in a sleep disorder center.

“There is much humor and heart, which is a great combination, in this show,” said Vigoda, 42. “It’s really about parents and children, about the king trying to let his daughter go. In many ways, it’s also about our son, so it’s a fun evening, with an emotional element.” Vigoda is married to Milburn, and their son, Mose, is 4. The couple lives in Glendale, Calif. Lewin lives in Brooklyn.

Vigoda, who founded GrooveLily in 1994, is a native of McLean, Va. A classically trained musician, she is a graduate of Princeton University and a former Army lieutenant. Vigoda has toured the world with Cyndi Lauper and opened for Tina Turner and Cher. Twice, Vigoda — along with Milburn — has won the Jonathan Larson Award for Excellence in Writing for the Theatre.

In 2007, GrooveLily brought Striking 12 to Edison Theatre, their concert-musical that won numerous music awards. Currently, Vigoda and Milburn are working on songs for Disney’s Toy Story: The Musical and Tinkerbell’s Lost Treasure and also on Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, Vigoda’s one-woman “fever-dream musical.”

“The world of theater and music is not predictable, so you have to grab opportunities as they come along,” Vigoda said, listing several other projects in the works. “I have always loved the exhilaration and energy of performing, and I have always assumed that music would be special in my life.”

Vigoda’s grandfather was a renowned cantor, and her father is a jazz pianist. “Growing up, I was well acquainted with my grandfather’s history. I remember listening to him practice and hearing him sing,” she said. “My grandfather sang at my bat mitzvah. Today, I am more of a cultural Jew than an observant Jew, but my work honors many of the Jewish traditions.”

David Dorfman Dance

WHEN: 8 p.m. Sept. 25 and Sept. 26

WHERE: Edison Theatre at Washington University, 6445 Forsyth Boulevard

HOW MUCH: $32 for adults, $28 for seniors, $20 for students or children

TICKETS: Edison Theatre Box Office (314-935-6543), MetroTix (314-534-1111) or www.metrotix.com

GrooveLily

WHEN: 8 p.m. Oct. 2 and 3

WHERE: Edison Theatre at Washington University, 6445 Forsyth Boulevard

HOW MUCH: $32 for adults, $28 for seniors, $20 for students or children

TICKETS: Edison Theatre Box Office (314-935-6543), MetroTix (314-534-1111) or www.metrotix.com