The Center Will Not Hold
The Center Will Not Hold was born from “a little room,” a short duet created and performed by Ephrat Asherie and Michelle Dorrance in December 2022. The expanded and reimagined work now includes a collective of performers deeply rooted in one or many of the following street, club, and vernacular dances: House, Breaking, Hip Hop, Tap Dance, Chicago Footwork, Detroit Jit, Litefeet, Memphis Jookin, and Body Percussion.
The work features original music composed by Donovan Dorrance with live percussion by world class drummer/percussionist, John Angeles.
FREE EVENTS: Join Michelle Dorrance and others from Dorrance Dance at free dance events taking place before and after the shows. Click here for more details!
TICKET & DISCOUNT INFORMATION
Tickets available starting from $39.
$11 STUDENT TICKETS
For UNC-Chapel Hill students (with valid UNC One Card) and all Triangle-area students K-college (with valid student ID)
- Current UNC-Chapel Hill students: Use promo code UNCST2425 and select the price type “UNC Student”
- Non UNC-Chapel Hill students: Use promo code GENST2425 and use the price type “Student”
15% DISCOUNT
Seniors, Active & Retired Military / First Responders, and Carolina Alumni save on regular price tickets with promo codes:
- Seniors: Use promo code SENIOR2425
- Active & Retired Military / First Responders: Use promo code SERVICE2425
- Carolina Alumni: Use promo code GAA2425
25% DISCOUNT
UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty & Staff / UNC Health Employees save on regular price tickets with promo codes:
- UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty & Staff and UNC Health Staff: Use promo code UNCFS2425
- Retired UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty & Staff: Use promo code UNCRET2425
Watch our video on applying discount codes when checking out!
*Limits apply. All prices include tax. A 6.5% platform fee will apply to all orders. Discounts cannot be combined. Additional exclusions may apply. Visit our FAQ page for more details.
EVENT DETAILS
- Runtime: 60 minutes
- Intermission: No intermission
- Advisory: This performance uses haze and flashing lights
- Additional information: Visit our FAQ page
CREATIVE TEAM
Created and directed by: Ephrat Asherie and Michelle Dorrance
Choreography: Ephrat Asherie, Manon Bal, Tomoe “Beasty” Carr, Michelle Dorrance, Fritzlyn Hector, Donnetta “Lil Bit” Jackson, Richie Maguire, Mike Manson, Charles “Lil Buck” Riley, Matthew “Megawatt” West, plus solo improvisation
Original Music: Donovan Dorrance
Live percussion by: John Angeles
Lighting design: Kathy Kaufmann
Sound design: Christopher Marc
Costumes facilitated by: Amy Page
ABOUT EPHRAT ASHERIE
Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie, co-creator is a NYC-based director, choreographer, performer and b-girl and a 2016 Bessie Award Winner for Innovative Achievement in Dance. Asherie has received numerous awards to support her work including Dance Magazine’s Inaugural Harkness Promise Award and two National Dance Project Awards. In 2019 she was the recipient of a NYFA Fellowship and was a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow from 2021-2023. As Artistic Director of Ephrat Asherie Dance (EAD), Asherie’s work has been presented on stages nationally and internationally with commissions from companies including Malpaso, Philadanco! and Parsons Contemporary Dance and additional commissions from Vail Dance Festival, Fall for Dance, River to River Festival, Firatàtrrega, Works & Process at the Guggenheim and the Kennedy Center.
Learn more at www.ephratasheriedance.com.
ABOUT MICHELLE DORRANCE
Michelle Dorrance, co-creator is “one of the most imaginative tap choreographers working today” (The New Yorker) and has pushed tap dance choreography into dialogue with the international cultural landscape like no artist before. At once a composer and a choreographer, she is known for deeply musical, highly physical, and emotionally compelling work that lives at the intersection of innovation, tradition, and risk. Raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Dorrance was mentored by groundbreaking youth tap educator, Gene Medler and studied under many of the last hoofers of the jazz era. A New York City-based artist for over 25 years, she performed with notable tap companies and productions including Savion Glover’s ti dii and Off-Broadway sensation, STOMP.
Learn more at www.dorrancedance.com.
ARTISTS ARE ATHLETES / ATHLETES ARE ARTISTS
Carolina Performing Arts recently collaborated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Women’s Soccer team and Dorrance Dance to launch the next video in the “Artists are Athletes / Athletes are Artists” campaign series. The video features UNC-Chapel Hill alumni and Seattle Reign FC professional midfielder Sam Meza, and tap dance trailblazer and 2024 UNC-Chapel Hill honorary degree recipient Michelle Dorrance, daughter of legendary UNC Women’s Soccer coach Anson Dorrance.
Dizzying footwork and percussive kicks are set to an original score created in collaboration with Dorrance herself, including tap beats and sounds straight from the soccer field. The video is the second installment of the campaign, which launched last January with a collaboration between UNC Men’s Basketball and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
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