May is a month of celebration — a time to honor two communities whose resilience, creativity, and spirit have profoundly shaped this nation: Jewish Americans and Asian American and Pacific Islanders. At Carolyn Dorfman Dance, we don’t just observe these designations — we live them. Our company is woven from the threads of many cultures, and we are deeply grateful for the AAPI and Jewish members of CDD whose artistry, perspective, and heart enrich everything we do.
From top, clockwise: Mika (Jaqi Medlock), Jacob (Jeremy Fleming), Hannah (Jaqi Medlock), Maiko (Jeremy Fleming)
Leading our organization is Board President Joan Chiang Paulin, whose journey from dancer to board leader brings an invaluable and irreplaceable perspective to everything CDD stands for. As Joan shares:
“As a Chinese woman, former dancer, and now President of Carolyn Dorfman Dance, I’m proud to celebrate AAPI Heritage and Jewish American Heritage Month alongside an organization that reflects the beauty of many cultures and voices. Art, leadership, and humanity are strongest when shaped by different histories and perspectives. I’m equally proud to be raising our biracial daughters in both Chinese and French heritage and culture — teaching them that identity is not something to divide us, but something to share, honor, and celebrate together.”
Our AAPI dancers bring their own extraordinary stories to the stage. Maiko Adela, Hannah Gross, Jacob Kurihara and Mika Miranda each carry within them a richness of culture and lived experience that deepens and animates our work.
Maiko, who was born and raised in Japan and immigrated to the US in 2014, brings that spirit of connection to students across the country:
“It is my pleasure and joy to celebrate my Japanese heritage and culture with students throughout the country through Carolyn Dorfman Dance’s educational programming. Dance is a universal language, and I believe that everyone needs to hear the message of universality especially in the times we live in.”
Hannah puts it beautifully:
“Being the granddaughter of Jewish immigrants who fled Romania under Nazi rule, and looking and feeling ‘othered’ as an adoptee from China, it is important and meaningful to be represented in Carolyn Dorfman Dance.”
Jacob Kurihara, who brings Japanese, Irish, and German heritage to his artistry, reflects on what makes CDD so distinctive:
“When presenting her work ‘American Dream,’ Carolyn often discusses the importance of how the traits that we think to be our weaknesses are in actuality our greatest strengths. She encourages us to embrace what makes us different and utilize it to develop our individual sense of artistry. As a Japanese, Irish, German dancer I feel a deep sense of pride to be able to work in an environment where everyone is celebrated for their entire selves.”
Mika Miranda says:
“As a Filipino American artist and dancer, I’m proud to bring both parts of my identity into the spaces I perform in and create within. Representation in the arts matters deeply to me, and I hope being part of such a diverse company helps others feel seen and celebrated.”
For Carolyn Dorfman, this is personal as well. As the daughter of Holocaust survivors and immigrants, her Jewish heritage isn’t something she sets aside when she walk into the studio:
“It moves with me,” she shares. “The trials endured, the traditions carried forward, the values passed down through generations: all of it lives in my body, in my choreography, in every work I’ve ever made. This commitment finds its latest expression in my newest addition to The Legacy Project: THE HERO WITHIN: The Story of Max Heller, Mary Mills and Miracles — it is a story of compassion, resilience, gratitude and giving back. One that inspires us all to find our inner angels to help one another. The results can be staggeringly consequential.”
Dance has always been a language for what words cannot hold. And at CDD, we believe the stage is one of the most powerful places to tell the full, complex, beautiful story of what it means to be human — together. Our multi-ethnic company is a living testament to that belief. We celebrate what makes each of us distinct, and we are endlessly moved by what binds us to one another.
Join us in celebrating!