Press Release: UK Premiere of American Tap Dance company Dorrance Dance at Sadler's Wells

[Jan McNulty]

UK PREMIERE 
Dorrance Dance
ETM: Double Down                                                                                               
Sadler’s Wells, EC1R 4TN
Wednesday 12 - Saturday 15 July 2017
Performances at 7.30pm
Tickets: £12 - £45
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com

“The distinction between dancer and musician, between electronic and acoustic, fades. When ETM: Double Down is rocking, Dorrance Dance is one big band.” The New York Times

Groundbreaking tap dancer and choreographer Michelle Dorrance, winner of a 2015 MacArthur Fellowship and “one of the most imaginative tap choreographers working today” (The New Yorker), brings her company Dorrance Dance to Sadler’s Wells this summer with the UK Premiere of ETM: Double Down opening on Wednesday 12 July.

Dorrance brings tap into the age of electronic music with collaborator Nicholas Van Young whose electronic tap boards make the stage talk back, as every step, swipe and scrape sets off an element of sound, building musical loops, turning the stage into a musical instrument in its own right. With Afro-Brazilian, indie-pop, and music from Adele triggered by the eight dancers’ footwork, ETM: Double Down takes the first American dance form to a new level and reminds the audience that tap dancing is something to both watch and listen to.

Performing on percussive electronic tap boards designed and made by Young, the company creates a thrilling combination of movement and music, producing what Dorrance calls ETM (electronic tap music).  Young built the ETM: Double Down equipment by hand over two years, connecting them to a MIDI controller, popular in electronic music since the 1980s. ETM: Double Down also features live music by an acoustic trio including vocalist Aaron Marcellus, bassist Gregory Richardson and pianist Donovan Dorrance. Along with the musicians there are seven tap dancers and Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie a b-girl (2016 Bessie Award nominee), whose movement also activates the music.

Dorrance is a New York City based tap dancer, performer, choreographer, teacher and Founder and Artistic Director of Dorrance Dance. Born in North Carolina she began dance training at the age of three and was mentored by Gene Medler, the legendary head of the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble. Dorrance and Nicholas Van Young first met as teenagers at the St. Louis Tap Festival, where they became enthralled by Gregory Hines and Savion Glover. They went on to perform together in the cast of STOMP on Broadway and on tour. Dorrance also danced for many other New York City-based tap dance projects, companies, and choreographers from her late teens through her mid-twenties including Manhattan Tap, JazzTap Ensemble and also for one of Dorrance’s childhood inspirations, Savion Glover in his production ti dii.

Dorrance founded her company in 2011 with an aim to honour the unique history of tap dance in a new context, upholding the traditional form whilst still pushing its rhythmic, technical, and conceptual boundaries. The work the company creates is committed to expanding the audience of tap by incorporating other forms that have shaped the foundation of American culture, such as street, club and experimental dance.

Dorrance has been the winner of many accolades and awards since the company was founded, including a United States Artists Fellow in 2016 and the 2013 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. She is currently a 2017 Choreographic Fellow at New York City Center and an Artist in Residence at the American Tap Dance Foundation. Dorrance Dance won a Bessie Award in 2012 following its inaugural performance for “blasting open our notions of tap.”

Dorrance’s choreography is performed at theatres, clubs, and festivals throughout the world. Highlights include a short film for fashion designer Tabitha Simmons, being commissioned by The Martha Graham Dance Company for its Lamentation Variations series and most recently an instillation at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, in February 2017. As a soloist, highlights include performing on CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in October 2015.

Listing:
UK PREMIERE
Dorrance Dance
ETM: Double Down                                                                                                
Sadler’s Wells, EC1R 4TN
Wednesday 12 - Saturday 15 July 2017
Performances at 7.30pm
Tickets: £12 - £45
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com

Notes to Editors:

ABOUT SADLER’S WELLS
Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance house, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the best international and UK dance to London and worldwide audiences. Under the Artistic Directorship of Alistair Spalding, the theatre’s acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap.

Since 2005, it has helped to bring over 130 new dance works to the stage and its award-winning commissions and collaborative productions regularly tour internationally. Sadler’s Wells supports 16 Associate Artists, three Resident Companies, an Associate Company and three International Associate Companies. It also nurtures the next generation of talent through research and development, running the National Youth Dance Company and a range of programmes including Wild Card, New Wave Associates, Open Art Surgery and Summer University.

Located in Islington, north London, the current theatre is the sixth to have stood on the site since it was first built by Richard Sadler in 1683. The venue has played an illustrious role in the history of theatre ever since, with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera all having started at Sadler’s Wells. Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and currently receives approximately 9% of its revenue from Arts Council England. 

ABOUT MICHELLE DORRANCE
Michelle Dorrance is a New York City based tap dancer, performer, choreographer, teacher and director. A 2016 United States Artists Fellow, 2015 MacArthur Fellow, 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, Michelle is the Founder and Artistic Director of Dorrance Dance/ New York. She is currently a 2017 Choreographic Fellow at New York City Center and an Artist in Residence at the American Tap Dance Foundation.

Mentored by Gene Medler, Michelle grew up performing with the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble and has since performed with: STOMP, Savion Glover’s ti dii, Manhattan Tap, Barbara Duffy & Co, JazzTap Ensemble, Rumba Tap, Ayodele Casel’s Diary of a Tap Dancer, Mable Lee’s Dancing Ladies, Harold Cromer’s original Opus One, Derick Grant’s Imagine Tap, and Jason Samuels Smith’s Charlie’s Angels/Chasing the Bird. Her choreography is performed across the country and internationally and has been featured at countless theatres, clubs, and festivals throughout the world, in a high-fashion short film for Tabitha Simmons, and The Martha Graham Dance Company commissioned her choreography as a part of their Lamentation Variations series. As a soloist, recent highlights include collaborating with Bill Irwin, Kate Davis, Robbie Fairchild, Lil’ Buck and Melissa Toogood, under the direction of Damian Woetzel at Vail International Dance Festival and performing on CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Dorrance embodies a true passion for teaching and strives to share this passion wherever she goes. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from NYU, played bass for Darwin Deez, teaches on faculty at Broadway Dance Center, is a Capezio Athlete and has been featured on the covers of Dance Magazine and Dance Teacher Magazine. Michelle wishes to credit the master hoofers from whom she studied with in her youth for constant inspiration and influence.

ABOUT DORRANCE DANCE
Dorrance Dance aims to honor tap dance’s unique history in a new context by upholding the traditional form while pushing its rhythmic, technical, and conceptual boundaries. The company is passionately committed to expanding the audience of tap dance, America’s long-standing indigenous jazz vernacular. By incorporating other forms that have shaped the foundation of American culture – such as street, club & experimental dance – Dorrance Dance highlights the traditional elements of tap dance and its musical rhythms in a contemporary light.

Founded in 2011 by Artistic Director and 2015 MacArthur Fellow, Michelle Dorrance, the company’s inaugural performance garnered a Bessie Award for “blasting open our notions of tap.” In the following years, the company has received countless accolades, rave reviews, and performed for packed houses at venues including Jacob’s Pillow, The Joyce Theater, The Kennedy Center, New York City Center, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Vail International Dance Festival, National Arts Centre of Canada, Spoleto Festival USA, Fira Tarega (Spain), Staatstheater Darmstadt (Germany), and more.

The company is currently touring its repertory nationally and internationally while rehearsing and creating new works in its NYC home and through additional creative residency opportunities. As Dorrance Dance continues to expand its programs to help shape and educate the next generation of tap dancers, the company will partner with Nicholas Van Young's Institute For The Rhythmic Arts among other educational initiatives for the 2017-2018 season.