Five Fast Facts: Dorrance Dance
Michelle Dorrance and her company, Dorrance Dance, return to Northrop on Sat, Oct 19 with Myelination. Here are Five Fast Facts about the company and the performance to know in advance.
- The term “myelination” refers to the process of a myelin sheath forming around a nerve to allow nerve impulses to move more quickly. This term is illustrated within Dorrance’s choreography, which increases speed and intricacy throughout the piece.
- Myelination was originally produced as a 16-minute piece for the New York City Center’s 2015 Fall for Dance Festival. After this initial premiere, Dorrance expanded the original piece to an evening-length production. The Northrop performance also features two shorter pieces, Jungle Blues and Three to One, preceding the featured Myelination.
- Michelle Dorrance worked closely with Prawn til Dante (Donovan Dorrance and Gregory Richardson) and Aaron Marcellus to create the score for Myelination. This made production a family affair, as Donovan is Michelle’s younger brother.
- This is Dorrance Dance’s second time at Northrop, following their debut performance in October of 2015.
- Dorrance was a 2015 MacArthur Fellow, the only person to ever receive the “Genius Grant” for tap dance and choreography. This grant is awarded to people who have shown “extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.”
