Last week, American Ballet Theater announced that tap sensation Michelle Dorrance will be choreographing a new work for their spring gala. Dorrance, who is the recipient of a MacArthur Genius grant, is known for her collaborative style and ability to work with multiple genres of dance. However, this will be the first time that she is partnering with a company as large and classically-focused as ABT.
This is the first time that Dorrance has choreographed for the company, but it won't be the last. Dorrance is artist in residence at the Vail Internation Dance Festival, which commissioned not only the piece for the spring, but a second work that will be performed when ABT makes their inaugural appearance at the VIDFl this summer. And what's more, ABT will debut a THIRD work by Dorrance in the fall.
The first work will be performed in a program with AFTERITE, by Wayne McGregor, and segments from Harlequinade, by Alexi Ratmansky. Though it's not clear if ABT will be donning tap shoes or not, one thing is for sure - we can't wait to see where this collaboration leads!