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MCA Studio: Master Class by Nicholas Young (Dorrance Dance)

Copresented with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Nicholas Young is founding member of Dorrance Dance, and was a lead for nine years in the cast of the off-Broadway STOMP. A student of a myriad of tap masters, from Eddie Brown to Prince Spencer, he is a masterful percussionist of the hands, body, and feet. This class is for advanced and professional dancers interested in tap's indigenous jazz vernacular and its contemporary reach in club, experimental, and street dance forms. Young trains participants traditional tap technique and introduces new applications, challenging phrases, and his distinctive rhythmically compositional approach to choreography.

Limited to 30 participants.

About the Artist

Nicholas Young is forging a new world of dance and music with his long-time collaborator Michelle Dorrance. Winner of the 2014 Bessie Award for sound design and composition, he creates a polymath of sound both as dancer and musician from an electronic tap floor he hand-built that channels MIDI technology. Young entered Tapestry Dance Company at the age of sixteen, rising to principal dancer and resident choreographer under the direction of Acia Gray and Deirdre Strand. The Austin Critics Council named him "Best Male Dancer" in 2001 and honored him for "Best Choreography" in 2003. Since moving to New York, Young has performed with Manhattan Tap, Rumba Tap, Hoofing to Hitting with Jared Grimes, "Jazz in Motion" with Sarah and Leela Petronio in Paris, and most recently with Dorrance Dance. He has been a master teacher for festivals worldwide, including CHRP's Rhythm World, where he has expanded his Institute for the Rhythmic Arts, a groundbreaking, integrated approach to foot, hand, body, and vocal percussion.

Funding

The presentation of ETM: Double Down at the MCA is sponsored by Enact, a donor affinity group passionate about bringing dynamic works to the MCA Stage.