“One of the most imaginative tap choreographers working today” according to The New Yorker, will step onto the NAC Theatre stage with her piece ETM: Double Down on October 14 and 15. Michelle Dorrance will treat the audience to a modern take on one of the oldest dance forms in America. The performance will feature seven astounding tap dancers, three musicians and one B-girl (2016 Bessie Award nominee Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie).

Cathy Levy, NAC Dance Executive Producer, is thrilled to include Dorrance in the 2016-17 season. “From the first time I saw Michelle Dorrance perform, I knew I wanted to introduce her to our NAC audiences. Dorrance expands the boundaries of tap technique, brilliantly linking tradition with innovation.”

Dancer, choreographer and artistic director of her company Dorrance Dance, Michelle trained in ballet as a young child before discovering her true love for tap. Former cast member of STOMP, her passion led her to develop her career in New York, the city she now calls home.

Always seeking new ways to push boundaries, Michelle strives to redefine the conventions of tap dance. She notably distinguishes herself with her rhythm tap techniques and her experimentations with different sounds and music. In ETM: Double Down, Michelle has collaborated with Bessie Award Winner Nicholas Van Young who invented wooden trigger boards she incorporates in her choreography to bring in elements of electronic music.

“None of this work is remotely possible without tap dancer, percussionist and innovator, my long-time friend, Nicholas Van Young. He is the man behind the curtain. He has been developing the instruments and has been experimenting with the technologies for years in order to make this world possible”, explains Michelle.

Not only does she consider herself a dance artist, but a musician as well. Music is an essential and central component of her choreographies. According to the artist, the body becomes percussion and the feet create melodies and harmonies that allow her stories to come alive.

ETM: Double Down is performed in the NAC Theatre on Friday October 14 and Saturday October 15. Tickets for adults start at $40 and $22 for students.

ABOUT DORRANCE DANCE

Dorrance Dance aims to honor tap dance’s uniquely beautiful history in a new and dynamically compelling context, not by stripping the form of its tradition, but by pushing it: rhythmically, aesthetically and conceptually. Street, club and experimental dance forms–all of which are American dreams–awake to the sound of furious rhythms, and find their boundaries missing. Tap dance, America’s most long-standing indigenous jazz vernacular, is here to receive its due.

ABOUT MICHELLE DORRANCE

Michelle Dorrance, founder and artistic director of Dorrance Dance, is one of the most sought after tap dancers of her generation and “one of the most imaginative tap choreographers working today” (The New Yorker). A 2015 MacArthur Fellow, a 2014 Alpert Award Winner, 2013 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award winner, 2012 Princess Grace Award Winner, 2012 Field Dance Fund Recipient, and 2011 Bessie Award Winner, Dorrance performs, teaches and choreographs around the world. Mentored by Gene Medler, Michelle grew up performing with the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble and has since performed with STOMP, Manhattan Tap, Savion Glover & Ti Dii, JazzTap Ensemble, Barbara Duffy & Co, Rumba Tap, Derick Grant’s Imagine Tap! and Jason Samuels Smith’s Chasin’ the Bird to rave reviews. She holds a BA from New York University and teaches on faculty at Broadway Dance Center.

CHOREOGRAPHERS: Michelle Dorrance and Nicholas Van Young with Ephrat Asherie and solo improvisation by the dancers

DANCERS: Ephrat "Bounce" Asherie, Elizabeth Burke, Warren Craft, Michelle Dorrance, Leonardo Sandoval, Caleb Teicher, Byron Tittle, Nicholas Van Young

MUSICIANS: Donovan Dorrance, Aaron Marcellus, Gregory Richardson

LIGHTING DESIGN: Kathy Kaufmann

TECHNICAL DIRECTION/PRODUCTION MANAGER: Christopher Marc

COSTUME DESIGN: Shiori Ichikawa with Amy Page and Len Burton

MASTERCLASS WITH MICHELLE DORRANCE

Saturday, October 15, 2016, 10:00 am at ALLSAINTS

NAC Dance in collaboration with Ottawa Rhythm Initiative is pleased to offer a one and half hour master tap class followed by a 30 minute Tap Talk with the award winning Michelle Dorrance.

Level: Intermediate / advanced tap class for ages 14 and up

Approximately 2 hours.