Myelination (2015)
Choreography: Michelle Dorrance
Music: Gregory Richardson and Donovan Dorrance
Photos: Julieta Cervantes

“Featuring 12 dancers, a full instrumental band and singers Myelination is one of the most inventive and ambitious productions I’ve seen from the tap genre.”

-Olga El, Broadway World

“As a prologue, it was playful, strange, militaristic, cool — an apt setup for a dance that showcases a bit of everything: from graceful, gliding swoops to one-armed balances that pull hip-hop back to tap. Ms. Portner, beguiling as she contorts her frame into odd angles, balances on her toes and pirouettes. Throughout, Ms. Dorrance, a brilliant conductor, pushes the boundaries of tap while exposing its true nature: that it is music. She juxtaposes quick duets and then, in fast gusts, pulls all of her instruments — the dancers — together in rows, bringing the stage to life with unison footwork. It’s a rush, and not a cheap one; Ms. Dorrance has choreographed a glittering closer that needs to have a second life after the festival. Please, someone, make that happen.”

-Gia Kourlas, The New York Times