Michelle Dorrance
Dancer
MICHELLE DORRANCE is "one of the most imaginative tap choreographers working today” (The New Yorker) and has pushed tap dance choreography into dialogue with the international cultural landscape like no artist before. At once a composer and a choreographer, she is known for deeply musical, highly physical, and emotionally compelling work that lives at the intersection of innovation, tradition, and risk. Raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Dorrance was mentored by groundbreaking youth tap educator, Gene Medler and studied under many of the last hoofers of the jazz era. A New York City-based artist for over 25 years, she performed with notable tap companies and productions including Savion Glover’s ti dii and Off-Broadway sensation, STOMP. In 2011, she founded Dorrance Dance with the mission to help audiences view tap dance in a new and dynamically compelling context while honoring the Black American legacy of the art form. The company’s inaugural performance earned Dorrance a “Bessie” Award and the company has since performed over 20 of Dorrance’s original works nationally and internationally to great critical acclaim. A 2018 Doris Duke Artist, 2017 Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow, 2015 MacArthur Fellow, and 2012 Princess Grace Award winner, Dorrance has been acknowledged and supported by Jacob’s Pillow, the Alpert Awards, United States Artists, The Field, and the American Tap Dance Foundation. Dorrance holds a Bachelor of Arts from New York University and an honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of North Carolina.
