dorrance dance
featuring Elizabeth Burke and Luke Hickey
SOUNDspace | REDUX (2013)
Choreography by Michelle Dorrance with solo improvisation by the dancers
Original Music by Gregory Richardson
Lighting Design by Kathy Kaufmann
Dancers Christopher Broughton, Brittany DeStefano, Sterling Harris, Luke Hickey, John Manzari, Dylan Szuch, Tommy Wasiuta
Musician Gregory Richardson (bass)
A Swing Suite (2023)
Choreography by Elizabeth Burke & Luke Hickey with solo improvisation by the dancers
additional choreography by Gene Medler
Music: “(Back Home Again In) Indiana” (James F. Hanley, arranged by Lester Young); “This Could Be (For The Traveling Soul)” (Theo Croker and Kassa Purush Overall, arranged by Theo Croker); “So What” (Miles Davis, arranged by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, additional arranging and engineering by Donovan Dorrance); “Come Dance With Me” (Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, arranged by Oscar Peterson Trio); Untitled Original Composition by Toru Dodo; “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (Fats Waller, Harry Brooks, and Andy Razaf; arranged by Fats Waller); “It Happened In Monterey” (Mabel Wayne and Billy Rose, arranged by Oscar Peterson Trio)
Lighting Design by Christopher Gilmore
Sound Design by Christopher Marc
Costumes Facilitated by Elizabeth Burke, Luke Hickey, and the performers
Dancers Christopher Broughton, Sterling Harris, Luke Hickey, John Manzari, Dylan Szuch, Tommy Wasiuta
Musicians Andrew Atkinson (drums), Art Hirahara (keys), Greogory Richardson (bass)
A Note from Elizabeth and Luke
This work is tremendously inspired by the music our mentor, Gene Medler, exposed us to as kids, and how it has shaped our tastes and interests throughout our entire artistic lives. These tunes are core memories to us; connected to very visceral classroom studies and explorations. We danced, scatted, and listened to the catalogues of jazz giants including Oscar Peterson, Fats Waller, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and Dave Brubeck every week with Gene. Each of these artists have influenced us deeply and guided us throughout the creation of this work.
The title, A Swing Suite, serves to honor the rich history of this art form and the music that influenced the dancers (and vice versa) of the early 1900s. Swing is the root of tap dance’s groove, technique, vocabulary, physicality and feeling. It is not a device that we use but a destination where we live. Themes of repetition, counterpoint, togetherness, joy, groove, and swing dominate the works landscape and are the pillars of both our childhood education and our continued artistic philosophy. It's an homage to Gene, first and foremost, and an offering around the idea that just about every road leads back to home. We would like to thank Michelle Dorrance, Dianne Walker, Jason Samuels Smith, Dormeshia, Derick Grant, Sam Weber, Josette Wiggan, and Brenda Bufalino for being constant influences to us both and generously sharing a lifetime of wisdom with us. We stand on their shoulders.
And of course, Gene Medler lives and breathes throughout this entire work, and we are indebted to him in more ways than we can ever express. Thank you, Gene.
A Swing Suite was produced by Dorrance Dance. The creation and development of new work is funded, in part, through the Laslo-Srere Fund for New Work; founding supporters: Hilary Srere and Michael Lemle.
A Swing Suite is made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Artist Bios
Elizabeth Burke (Choreographer) is a New York City based tap dancer, choreographer, teacher, and performer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. A "deft and impassioned" (The New York Times) dancer, she has worked with Dorrance Dance consistently since their inaugural 2011 season; highlights include being an original cast member of many repertory works. She trained under her mentor, Gene Medler, in the acclaimed North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble, performing worldwide. Elizabeth is a sought after teacher, frequently teaching worldwide in festival and conservatory settings. Stage: Carnegie Hall; New York City Center; Sadler’s Wells; Birdland Jazz Club; The Joyce Theater; Screen: The Bride! (dir. Maggie Gyllenhaal); Other career highlights include work with living legend, multi-hyphenate artist Brenda Bufalino, Bessie Award Winner Nicholas Van Young, and Bessie Award Nominee Max Pollak.
Michelle Dorrance (Artistic Director/Choreographer) is a New York City-based artist. Mentored by Gene Medler (North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble), she was fortunate to study under many of the last master hoofers. Career highlights include: STOMP, Derick Grant’s Imagine Tap!, Jason Samuels Smith’s Charlie’s Angels/Chasing the Bird, Ayodele Casel’s Diary of a Tap Dancer, Mable Lee’s Dancing Ladies, and playing the bass for Darwin Deez. Company work includes: Savion Glover’s Ti Dii, Manhattan Tap, Barbara Duffy and Co., JazzTap Ensemble, and Rumba Tap. Solo work ranges from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to commissions for the Martha Graham Dance Company, Vail Dance Festival, American Ballet Theatre, Trinity Irish Dance Company, and New York City Center. Michelle made her Broadway choreographic debut with James Lapine’s Flying Over Sunset at Lincoln Center Theater in 2021. A 2018 Doris Duke Artist, 2017 Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow, and 2015 MacArthur Fellow, Dorrance is humbled to have been acknowledged and supported by United States Artists, The Joyce Theater, the Alpert Awards, Jacob’s Pillow, Princess Grace Foundation-USA, The Field, American Tap Dance Foundation, and the Bessie Awards. Dorrance holds a Bachelor of Arts from New York University and an honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of North Carolina. She is a Capezio athlete and was recently named an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells.
Luke Hickey (Choreographer/Performer) is a tap dancer, choreographer, actor and teacher based in New York City. Named by Dance Magazine "25 To Watch" in 2020, Hickey studied with legendary tap educator and founder of the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble, Gene Medler. As a choreographer, he has presented at venues including Birdland Jazz Club, Little Island, and Jacob’s Pillow. “never unmusical” (New York Times), Hickey has performed consistently with Dorrance Dance since 2019. As an educator, Hickey is dedicated to passing on the history and wisdom that Gene, Brenda Bufalino, Dianne Walker and many others so generously shared with him. Stage: New York City Center; LA’s The Ford; Detroit Jazz Festival; Guggenheim Museum; Kennedy Center. Screen: The Bride! directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal; “A Bread Factory” directed by Patrick Wang.
Andrew Atkinson (Performer) is that rare type of musician who can play just about anything, and play it all with gusto. His drumming draws on the seductive beats of his native Jamaica, the percolating rhythms of his childhood home Miami, and the world of jazz that has beckoned and captivated him in all his travels. With reggae-ska band The Monjees, Atkinson got his first taste of life on the road by performing on the 2002 Warped Tour and opening for James Brown at the 2002 Sunfest.
Atkinson has also performed with Randy Brecker, Oz Noy, Arturo Sandoval, Danilio Perez, Donald Harrison, and two time grammy award winning artist, Gregory Porter. He also had the pleasure of performing on three seasons of America's Got Talent as the drummer/percussionist at Radio City Music Hall. In 2022, he had the opportunity to arrange and record the drums for the critically acclaimed Micheal Jackson on Broadway Musical after previously playing on Hamilton and Ain't Too Proud the Musical. “The plan is to always play good music,” says Atkinson. “Always.”
Christopher Broughton (Performer) is from Los Angeles and began dancing at age 11. Under Paul and Arlene Kennedy at Universal Dance Design, he was a member of the Kennedy Tap Company and received the national NAACP ACTSO Award twice. He is a current member of nationally proclaimed New York-based tap dance company Dorrance Dance, under the direction of MacArthur Genius Grant award winner Michelle Dorrance. His noteworthy performances include Capezio’s 130th Anniversary, New York City Center’s Cotton Club Parade; Juba! Master’s of Tap and Percussive Dance at the Kennedy Center; #1 Apple TV+ Movie of all time “ SPIRITED” and Broadway’s Tony Award–winning production After Midnight.
Brittany DeStefano (Performer) is a multi-form dancer from New York who began her training at Seven Star School of Performing Arts under the mentorship of Nicole Aravena. After dancing competitively, she pursued dance professionally touring with Tap Kids across the U.S. and Canada, and as a guest artist for Ohio-based contemporary dance company, Exhale Dance Tribe. She later trained under the direction of Derick K. Grant at Steps on Broadway & The American Tap Dance Foundation, and is also an alumna of the School at Jacob’s Pillow (Tap Programs 2012 & 2014). Brittany has collaborated and performed with New York City–based companies including, Dorrance Dance, Music From the Sole, and Caleb Teicher & Company at venues such as The Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow, and the Guggenheim Museums, and has taught internationally at festivals and studios in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, and the U.K. Other performance credits include Jason Samuels Smith's A.C.G.I and Lisa LaTouche's Tap Phonics.
Sterling Harris (Performer) a Chicago native, holds a B.A. in Neuroscience from Northwestern University but is grateful to be able to pursue his passion for tap dance. He is an Artistic Associate of Chicago Tap Theatre, a Company Member of MADD Rhythms, a guest artist with Music From The Sole, and began the honor of performing with Dorrance Dance in Spring 2023. Sterling is also a two-time alumnus of the School at Jacob’s Pillow and recipient of the 2021 Lorna Strassler Award.
Art Hirahara (Performer) is a New York-based jazz keyboardist, composer, and producer. From the traditional to the avant-garde, Art has found a sound of his own that cuts across genres and boundaries. He has recorded eight albums as a leader on jazz label, Posi-Tone Records, and is featured on the recordings of dozens of other artists. He has toured as a performer in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, the Middle East and extensively around North America. Art has had the privilege to perform with Stacey Kent, Don Braden, Freddy Cole, royal hartigan, and Akira Tana, among many others.
John Manzari (Performer) is a dancer, singer, actor & choreographer. Stage: Funny Girl (OBC); Anything Goes (MUNY); The Tap Dance Kid (Encores!); Bzzz. Television: Law & Order SVU; Black Broadway: A Proud History, A Limitless Future; Rooted; The Kennedy Center at 50. Concerts: one man shows Recenter & The First Set; guest appearances with the NY Pops, NSO, Seattle, Houston, Vancouver symphonies and others; The Hot Sardines; Fall for Dance; Fall for Dance North; Amelia Island Dance Festival. Films: Reimagined. Short Films: I Get Knocked Down; Ghost; To: Everything I Love; Slip. Documentaries: Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back; Leonard Soloway’s Broadway.
Gregory Richardson (Performer) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in upright and electric bass and guitar. He is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Music From The Sole and musical director of Dorrance Dance. His compositions for dance have been presented by Lincoln Center Education, Jacob’s Pillow, The Yard, Guild Hall, Works & Process, BAM, The Joyce, and New York City Center, including a collaboration with actor Bill Irwin. He has also performed with Toshi Reagon in her opera Parable of the Sower, toured internationally with indie band Darwin Deez, and played with Grammy-winning artists Keyon Harrold and Marcus Gilmore.
Dylan Szuch (Performer) (He/They) is a 20-year-old tap dancer and musician originally from Wilmington, NC. He has been tap dancing for 11 years. They invest their tap dance energy in training under the mentorship of Brenda Bufalino, performing, and studying music at Berklee college of music in Boston, MA as a Tap Dance percussionist. From 2018 to 2023, under the artistic direction of Gene Medler and Nicholas Van Young, he was a member of the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble. They are most proud of their time performing with Dorrance Dance at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and with Brenda Bufalino at the Guggenheim museum in NYC. He is deeply inspired by storytelling and he hopes to explore the beauty of narrative story telling, expressing impressions of nature, and human connection in his art. Szuch is pursuing tap dance and music as a professional career and plans to continue creativity as a lifelong endeavor.
Tommy Wasiuta (Performer) described as a "breath of dance freedom" (New York Times), is a tap dance artist from St. Louis, Missouri. Based in New York City, Tommy has performed at The Joyce Theater, 92NY, Little Island, Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and American Dance Festival, performing under the direction of artists like Michela Marino Lerman, Max Pollak, Luke Hickey, Christina Carminucci, and Ulysses Owens Jr. His solo tap dance album "Drum Shoes" explores the tap shoes as a stand-alone instrument and was invited to perform at the Percussive Arts Society International Conference (PASIC). Tommy was a choreographer for the 2025 Tap Dance Project with Dance Lab New York and presented work at the Making Moves Dance Festival in Queens, NY. He is on faculty at New York University, Steps on Broadway, the Joffrey Ballet School, and OneBeat Dance Brands. @tommywasiuta
Christopher Gilmore (Lighting Designer, A Swing Suite) With Luke Hickey: A Swing Suite (Excerpt) at New Victory Dance Festival 2025; A Little Old, A Little New (The Joyce @ Chelsea Factory, American Dance Festival 2022, NVDF 2023)
Kathy Kaufmann (Lighting Designer, SOUNDspace | REDUX) is a New York City native, and two time Bessie recipient. She is resident designer at Danspace Project at St. Marks Church, has taught at Sarah Lawrence and NYU, and has toured extensively throughout the world. She designs regularly for Dorrance Dance, Joanna Kotze, The Bang Group, Mariana Valencia, Ephrat Asherie Dance, Vicky Shick, and Music From The Sole.
Devin Koenig (Production Manager/Lighting Supervisor) is a lighting supervisor, production manager, and programmer based in Astoria, New York. Currently, she is the production manager and lighting supervisor for Dorrance Dance, and has previously worked with Music from the Sole, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Joyce Theater Productions, and the Radio City Rockettes.
Christopher Marc (Sound Designer) is a NYC-based sound designer and production manager from Minneapolis, MN. He has designed and engineered sound for Michelle Dorrance, Music From the Sole, Variety Life Productions, Lincoln Center Restart Stages, Luke Hickey and Michael Jellick, as well as regional and Off-Broadway productions with the Kennedy Center, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, IJB Productions, Aquila Theatre and Mills Entertainment. Marc also designs/builds custom floors for percussive dance and is owner/operator of @CMarcAudio.
Joey Wolfslau (Audio Engineer)
Dorrance Dance (Producer) was founded in 2011 as a tap dance company, passionately committed to sharing the complex history, powerful legacy, and infinite possibilities of tap dance on a musical, conceptual, and emotional level. After 15 years of being the world’s most lauded tap dance company, Dorrance Dance’s mission has expanded.
As a producing entity, the organization seeks after work that continues to contextualize tap dance’s history and its diaspora in a culturally significant way. The company aspires to support the development and touring of new works that continue to deepen the relationship between tap dance and the forms that have a direct relationship to its lineage.
www.dorrancedance.com | Instagram: @dorrancedance | Facebook: facebook.com/dorrancedance/
As seen in tonight's performance, Dorrance Dance is deeply committed to creating and producing new works and employment opportunities for artists that intersect, innovate, and honor the cultural legacy of tap dance. Please join our mailing list for updates and consider donating to support the art and artists!
Dorrance Dance is generously supported by The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Howard Gilman Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, New Music USA, The O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation, One World Fund, and The Shubert Foundation.
Rehearsal and development for this performance was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. These performances are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Dorrance Dance is a recipient of a U.S. Small Business Administration Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, made possible by the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Charles D. Schumer.
Dorrance Dance Staff
Artistic Director - Michelle Dorrance
Executive Director - Adriana Ray
General Manager - Hillary Kooistra
Production Manager/Lighting Supervisor - Devin Koenig
Associate Producer - Gabby Benavides
Rehearsal Director/Dance Captain - Elizabeth Burke
Company Manager - Sally Race
Administrative Associate - Brooklyn Toli
Financial Administrator - Arts FMS
Booking Representative - Barbara Frum, outer/most
Dorrance Dance Board of Directors
Henri Benaim (Chair), Marc Steglitz (Treasurer), Deb Klowden Mann (Secretary,) Courtney Blackwell Burton, M’Liss Dorrance, Michelle Dorrance, Joseph Gallo, Hilary Srere