MICHELLE DORRANCE choreographs complex rhythms and phrases to the works of jazz musicians like Thelonius Monk. "I want to be able to communicate the passion and the truth of tap that I know through all those who have inspired and influenced me," says Dorrance in an interview with Jane Goldberg of Dance Magazine.
A graduate of Gallatin School of Individualized Study, Michelle is a sought-after ensemble dancer with a wide range of companies, including Glover's Ti Dii, Barbara Duffy and Company, Max Pollack's Rumba Tap, Heather Cornell's Manhattan Tap, and she's appeared in Cintia Chamecki's fusion concert piece Ritmico.
Credits include dance captain and soloist in the premier run of Common Ground, a spotlight dancer with the vintage jazz band "The Squirrel Nut Zippers," as well as with the dynamic duo "Bitch and Animal," and was a cultural ambassador to Russia for the town of Chapel Hill representing tap dancing as an indigenous American art form. Michelle's choreography has been showcased throughout the country and internationally, and has been featured at Jacob’s Pillow with Cintia Chameki’s "Ritmico," at Birdland with members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, in the New York City Tap Festival's Gala performances, as well as in a commercial for Toyota Taiwan.
Michelle began dancing under the Tutelage of Leading Youth Tap director Gene Medler at the Ballet School of Chapel Hill in North Carolina. She spent ten years with his North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble performing both as a company member and as a soloist at the St. Louis Tap Festival, the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, and international festivals in Europe and South America. She was a founding member of Savion Glover’s company "Ti Dii," performing with him at the Joyce Theater, Monaco Dance Festival's "Nijinsky Awards," the "2002 Winter Olympics," the "Jerry Lewis Telethon," and the "Cannes Film Festival, with Tapology's own Alexandria Bradley." She has taught and performed as a solo artist at the "North Carolina Rhythm Tap Festival," the "International FeetBeat Festival in Finland," "Tap Encontro in Brazil," the "Groovin High" workshops in Japan, as well as both the Dusseldorf and the Heidelberg Stepptanz Festivals in Germany.
She is honored to have spent time with and has been heavily influenced by Gene Medler, Savion Glover, Dianne Walker, Josh Hilberman, Ted Levy, Sam Weber, Brenda Buffalino, Barbara Duffy, Buster Brown, Cholly Atkins, Jimmy Slyde and Mable Lee.
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