Pushing the Boundaries of Tap
By LAUREN KAY
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With long limbs and an angelic face that sometimes mischievously responds to the laser-fire taps about to fly forth from her feet, Dorrance has risen as a young legend and articulate authority on the tap scene. Her fierce attack is cushioned by a depth of movement, emotion, and stylistic range, and she is well-known for integrating contemporary, hip-hop and body percussion, as well as narrative and character into her work.
Her choreography and dancemaking process also reflect this mindset of amalgamation. “There might be something I want to do rhythmically, or a groove I’m interested in pursuing,” she says. “Other times I’m interested in a piece of music, specific characters, or a visual manifestation of percussion. Unlike many other choreographers, instead of thinking about movement first, I think about rhythm first, about the music coming out of my feet.”
Now, Dorrance will be exploring this “movement music” as she transforms “SOUNDspace”—a site-specific, evening-length piece she created last January at St. Mark’s Church—into a 15-minute version for the proscenium stage. “Originally, the piece had 13 dancers, including a contemporary and hip-hop dancer, and one musician,” she says. “I was fascinated by the acoustics of that grand space. I played with different textures, since we weren’t allowed to dance on the wood floor. So then, I mixed in bare feet, sand boxes, leather-soled tap shoes, and even handmade wood taps like dancers used in Bill “Bojangles” Robinson’s day. The sound within that monstrous space, along with the historical presence of the church and the tap legacy shaped the outcome.”
Molding a new incarnation for a standard proscenium stage requires facets of Dorrance’s artistry that weren’t used in the sprawling church atmosphere. “I’m enraptured by how I can isolate the space with light and small movements,” she says. “So now, leg and feet manipulations are front and center.”
Dorrance is also focusing on allowing the escalating groove of the music to reach the City Center audience. “Everyone can connect with the way a percussive score grows,” she says.
The technical issues with the move have been challenging: Since most other performances in the festival require a Marley floor (a slick, black surface that doesn’t allow for tapping), Dorrance is hauling in a small wooden panel instead of working with a non-tap surface as she did at the Church. She says working on such a limited floor is “forcing me to make interesting choices. I’m having to be inventive with moving dancers around each other in more unique patterns and formations.”
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Lauren Kay is a dancer and writer based in New York City