NEWPORT NEWS— Dorrance Dance Company, founded by Michelle Dorrance, will bring rhythm and tap dance to the Ferguson Center on April 23.
Elizabeth Burke and Luke Hickey, longtime members of the dance company, recently sat down with WYDaily to explain the show.
The Dorrance Dance is a contemporary American tap dance company founded around 2010–2011 by acclaimed choreographer and dancer Michelle Dorrance in New York City.
From the beginning, the company set out to reimagine tap as both a musical and physical art form—honoring its roots in Black American history while pushing it in new, innovative directions. Its debut performance, presented at Danspace Project, earned a prestigious Bessie Award for “blasting open” traditional ideas about tap dance.
During the show on April 23, guests can expect both a cappella performance and performances that feature musical instruments.
“Act I and Act II are choreographic distinct ideas. What I think is true of them both is that they both showcase what is most thrilling and unique about tap dance. It is simultaneously physical movement and music at once,” Burke said.
SOUNDspace, an original work by Dorrance, was choreographed as a way to showcase to audiences that tap dance was a version of music in and of itself. When performed during Act I of the show, Burke and Hickey use lots of improvisation to make the piece their own.
“Something that is deep in the root of tap dance is the idea of improvisation. We are charging both the musicians and the dancers to explore and bring their own history, lineage, and heritage to the work. While Michelle’s work is heavily choreographed and has a lot of unison, there is a lot for room and space for us as individual artists soloists to express ourselves through the work,” Hickey shared.
Act II, A Swing Suite, will feature musical instrument accompaniment. The overarching themes of the show include unity, tension, release, hesitation, anticipation, love, listening, gathering, and counterpoint.
“We’re more so creating emotional pallets that people can eat from and drink from and you can let marinate within yourself as you experience the art. There are very clear emotional moments in both works, but there is not an official beginning, middle, and end,” Burke explained.
Overall, Burke and Hickey hope that the show brings the art of tap dance to audiences across the Hampton Roads region.
“I would be concerned if we didn’t feel the weight of being tradition bearers in all of this. We’re creating visibility of this Black art form that is suppressed by our country. Federal funding has been almost completely wiped out for arts. It is also thrilling to be in collaboration with these communities. Tap dance is meant to be shared and I don’t think anyone in the history of the Dorrance Dance Company has ever thought of performance as this one way street. We’re always after that reciprocity, we’re always after connection,” Hickey said.
Tickets for the April 23 show are available at vafest.org.