The Joyce to Present Dorrance Dance in World Premiere of ETM: DOUBLE DOWN

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) is proud to present one of the hottest tickets in tap (and concert) dance right now, 2015 MacArthur Foundation "Gernius" Fellow Michelle Dorrance and her internationally renowned company Dorrance Dance. The company, under Dorrance's artistic leadership and choreography, will perform the world premiere of ETM: Double Downfrom April 26 to May 1 at The Joyce Theater. Tickets range in price from $20-$50 and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

The world premiere of ETM: Double Down features choreography by 2015 MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Fellow Michelle Dorrance, and is set to live music created by vocalist Aaron Marcellus, bassist Greg Richardson, and controllorist & pianist Donovan Dorrance. In addition to the contributions from these three musicians, the tap dancers will create both melody and rhythm using electronic tap boards - an astounding technology developed by collaborator Nicholas Van Young. This exciting new work ushers in a new era of collaboration between movement and technology, through sophisticated engineering and choreography. This world premiere work will also feature special guest dancer Ephrant Asherie, a stunning multiform artist who blends breaking, house, lofting, hip-hop, and other street styles in addition to contemporary movement, adding exciting juxtaposition and complement to Dorrance's choreography.

Performances of Dorrance Dance will take place from April 26 to May 1 at The Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street) according to the following schedule: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm; Thursday and Friday at 8:00pm; Saturday at 2:00pm & 8:00pm; Sunday at 2:00pm. Curtain Chat, a free post-performance talkback with the artists, will take place on Wednesday, April 27. This enlightening discussion is open to all patrons attending that evening's performance. Tickets range in price from $20-$50 and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

ABOUT DORRANCE DANCE

Michelle Dorrance founded Dorrance Dance in 2011. The company aims to honor tap dance's uniquely beautiful history in a new, dynamic, and compelling context; not by stripping the form of its tradition, but by pushing it rhythmically, aesthetically, and conceptually. Street, club and experimental dance forms-all of which are American dreams-awake to the sound of furious rhythms, and find their boundaries missing. Tap dance, America's most long-standing indigenous jazz vernacular, is here to receive its due. Dorrance Dance's inaugural performance garnered a Bessie Award for "blasting open our notions of tap." The company has performed at Danspace Project, The Kennedy Center, The Yard, Symphony Space, Jacob's Pillow's Ruth St. Denis Stage, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (CHRP), The Barcelona Tap Festival, The DC Tap Festival, The North Carolina Rhythm Tap Festival, The Soul to Sole Festival, and Beantown Tap Festival's "On Tap!"

ABOUT THE ARTIST

MICHELLE DORRANCE (Artistic Director/Choreographer) is a New York City based tap dancer, performer, choreographer, teacher and director. A 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. 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 Tapand Jason Samuels Smith's Charlie's Angels/Chasing the Bird. Michelle's choreography has been featured on stages throughout the world as well as in a high-fashion short film for Tabitha Simmons' 2011 Fall line. Michelle 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.

NICHOLAS VAN YOUNG (Collaborator)?a New York-based dancer, choreographer, musician, and master teacher, began his professional career under Acia Gray and Deidre Strand with Tapestry Dance Company in Austin, TX, eventually as a principal dancer and resident choreographer. Since moving to New York, he has performed with Manhattan Tap, RumbaTap, Dorrance Dance, "Beat the Donkey," has toured as a drummer for Darwin Deez and spent almost a decade performing with STOMP. Nicholas recently premiered his dance company, Sound Movement, and is working closely with Michelle Dorrance on their collaborative project, ETM.

EPHRAT "BOUNCE" ASHERIE (Guest Dancer) has trained in ballet and modern dance but found her artistic home in breaking, hip hop and house. She began breaking in 2002 under Richard Santiago (aka Break Easy) and soon after was introduced to house music. She has been greatly influenced by the New York club scene ever since. Ephrat has performed and taught throughout the U.S. and Europe, as well as in Peru, South Africa and Israel. She has appeared on NBC, MTV, Comedy Central and at City Center, Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden. Ephrat worked on the creation process of the Australian-based show Magnifico, directed by Andres Heller and choreographed by Pilobolus. She is a regular guest artist with Rennie Harris Puremovement and has worked with Ann Marie DeAngelo, Doug Elkins, Bill Irwin, Cori Olinghouse, Gus Solomons, Jr., Buddha Stretch, and Kevin Wynn, among others. Ephrat is a New York Foundation for the Arts artist and has received various grants and awards to support her work including a Mondo Cane! Commission from Dixon Place, a Swing Space Grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and a Travel and Study grant from the Jerome Foundation. She was a 2012-2013 Fresh Tracks Residency choreographer at New York Live Arts and recently completed a nine month Workspace Residency with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Ephrat dances with her crew MAWU, an all-female house dance collective, and holds a B.A. in Italian Language from Barnard College. For more information please visit www.ephratasherie.com.

ABOUT THE JOYCE THEATER FOUNDATION

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences for three decades. The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, which opened as The Joyce Theater in 1982. The Joyce Theater is named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to build the theater. One of the only theaters built by dancers for dance, The Joyce Theater has provided an intimate and elegant home for more than 320 domestic and international companies. The Joyce has also commissioned more than 130 new dances since 1992. In 2009, The Joyce opened Dance Art New York (DANY) Studios to provide affordable studios for rehearsals, auditions, classes, and workshops for independent choreographers, non-profit dance companies, and the dance/theater communities. New York City public school students and teachers annually benefit from The Joyce's Dance Education Program, and adult audiences get closer to dance through informative post-performance Curtain Chats. The Joyce Theater now features an annual season of approximately 48 weeks with over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 135,000.

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