David Dorfman Dance's "Lightbulb Theory" and "Impending Joy" have gone across the globe and back again.

Both dances debuted in New York in 2004. Last year, the troupe performed the works abroad - on a tour in May to Turkey, Armenia and Tajikistan.

And on Friday, they will stage the two pieces in New London for the first time, at Connecticut College. The troupe led by Dorfman, who is also a professor and chair of the dance department at Conn, has been company-in-residence at Conn since 2007.

But first, more about the trip abroad: David Dorfman Dance's journey to Turkey, Armenia and Tajikistan was part of the DanceMotion USA Program. The troupe was asked to be part of this state department-sponsored exchange program that connects dance companies from the U.S. with artists and communities abroad. It's about, as Dorfman explains, bringing "dance as a form of cultural diplomacy, but we weren't diplomats. We were artists that were representing excellence in American dance and just meeting folks there each and every day and learning about their cultural dance and their modern dances. It was just fascinating."

As part of that program, the group brought back a dance company from Turkey and another from Armenia for a summer collaboration in America. The result was "Unsettled," which premiered in August at Brooklyn Academy of Music's Fishman Space. In March, David Dorfman Dance will bring "Unsettled" to Armenia and Turkey.

Before that, though, comes the New London show of "Lightbulb Theory" and "Impending Joy."

The solo that Dorfman dances in the former has very personal origins. It was inspired by his father's death. He says he "was just not equipped to deal" when his mother died at age 71. But, when his father died some 15 years later, Dorfman was able better able to handle the loss of a parent.

"I feel there are ways you can appreciate, mourn, kind of think, resolve to some degree," he says.

The solo inspired by his father had, as its working title, "Invent Story." The name was the suggestion of a critic, with the idea that it was like an inventory, but a personal one.

"We're constantly inventing our own story, aren't we? ... It's what you come into the world with, what you do while you're here and how you leave the world - it's kind of that inventory," Dorfman says.

That solo, though, morphed, over time, into being the first segment of "Lightbulb Theory." After Dorfman's solo, the rest of the company members come out.

"It's almost as if they are angels and the next generation," Dorfman says. "They do this fun, kind of post-modern tribute to this old Herman Hermit's song called 'There's a Kind of Hush.' It's a love-y song, but there's also a hush all over the world - something has happened. What I love is co-mingling of happy and sad."

"Lightbulb Theory" - which Dorfman sees as "a radical, joyous look at loss" - eventually returns to a piano score by Michael Wall that will be played at Conn by Ian Frenkel, and the performers delve into a playful dance.

The seeds for "Impending Joy," meanwhile, were sown when Dorfman and another company member were working in Seattle. They saw, next to the house where they were staying, mangled wire and white pickets. They brought them to the studio, where the items served as choreographic inspiration.

"We felt that 'Lightbulb Theory,' which we had already started to work on, had more of a curvaceous, circle feel to it. It was rounded, and it has this softness and this idea of exultation and looking to the sky," Dorfman says. "We wanted to make a contrast, so (we used) the pickets as a cue for more straight-armed, straight-limbed activity and a bit more brisk, taut, maybe even harsh. The movement began to look really quick and everything's in line and not bending, not giving in, not yielding."

At times in the piece, the dancers hold the pickets, symbolizing, perhaps, weapons or extensions of their selves. At another point, they put the pickets into a sculpture made of wire.

The creation of "Impending Joy" was affected by 9-11 - the feeling of something having been destroyed and then segueing into a tribute or a rebuilding effort. "Impending Joy" is, in a lot of ways, an exploration of safety - what people might gain from perceived security and what they might lose - and of the ongoing nature of battle and war. Dorfman says he sometimes talks about the dancers being "warriors for peace" here.

And it's also about joy - the title reflects the notion that joy could be just around the corner.

David Dorfman Dance, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Palmer Auditorium, Connecticut College, New London; $28 ($25 seniors, $14 students); (860) 439-2787.