We're talking with tap dancer, MacArthur Fellow, and founder of Dorrance Dance, Michelle Dorrance, alongside brother and musical collaborator, Donovan Dorrance, about Michelle's new show, The Center Will Not Hold, co-directed with b-girl Ephrat Asherie.
Get acquainted with Dorrance Dance, see their upcoming tour schedule, and be sure to check out their listed educative resources dedicated to the history and legacy of tap here.
Michelle Dorrance (Co-Director/Performer) is a New York City-based artist. Mentored by Gene Medler (North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble), she was fortunate to study under many of the last master hoofers. Career highlights include: STOMP, Derick Grant’s Imagine Tap!, Jason Samuels Smith’s Charlie’s Angels/Chasing the Bird, Ayodele Casel’s Diary of a Tap Dancer, Mable Lee’s Dancing Ladies, and playing the bass for Darwin Deez. Company work includes: Savion Glover’s Ti Dii, Manhattan Tap, Barbara Duffy and Co., JazzTap Ensemble, and Rumba Tap. Solo work ranges from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to commissions for the Martha Graham Dance Company, Vail Dance Festival, American Ballet Theatre, and New York City Center. Michelle made her Broadway choreographic debut with James Lapine’s Flying Over Sunset at Lincoln Center Theater in 2021. A 2018 Doris Duke Artist, 2017 Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow, and 2015 MacArthur Fellow, Dorrance is humbled to have been acknowledged and supported by United States Artists, The Joyce Theater, the Alpert Awards, Jacob’s Pillow, Princess Grace Foundation-USA, The Field, American Tap Dance Foundation, and the Bessie Awards. Dorrance holds a Bachelor of Arts from New York University and an honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of North Carolina. She is a Capezio athlete and was recently named an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells.
Donovan Dorrance (Composer) hails from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he trained as a multi-instrumentalist. After earning a Bachelor's Degree at UNC, he moved to Brooklyn to work with Dorrance Dance, his sister’s dance company, later becoming music director and composing original music for the company. Outside of dance, Dorrance scores films, teaches music technology, and produces and mixes music for other artists. His composition for The Center Will Not Hold was made possible, in part, by a New Music USA grant. If you'd like to hear music from this show or additional works, please visit www.donovandorrance.com.
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Episode Produced by Camila Moreiras
Edited by Marc Maximov + Camila Moreiras
Mix by Marc Maximov
Music by Donovan Dorrance
Logo by Steven Cummings
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