The Center Will Not Hold: Dorrance Dance thrills at Sadler’s Wells

Dorrance Dance in The Center Will Not Hold

Tomoe “Beasty” Carr in The Center Will Not Hold

Dorrance Dance in The Center Will Not Hold

John Angeles and Michelle Dorrance in The Center Will Not Hold

By Daniel Pratt, 20 April 2026

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“made me think about dance as social expression, away from the gilded theater and mirrored studio”

Reviewed at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London on 17 April 2026

The Center Will Not Hold (Michelle Dorrance, Ephrat "Bounce" Asherie)

Dorrance Dance

Kathy Kaufman, Lighting Designer

John Angeles, Percussion

Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends: bubbling over with passion

Amanda Jennings, 12th March

Last seen in London in 2023, Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends made a hugely welcome return with the same programme, differently ordered.

****1

Speak: four icons of dance in fleet-footed exchange at 92nd St Y

Carla Escoda, 21st February

Rachna Nivas, Rukhmani Mehta, Dormeshia and Michelle Dorrance joined forces with top-notch Indian classical and jazz musicians to deliver an imaginative tour de force of kathak and tap.

*****

Stylish and stirring: Turn It Out With Tiler Peck & Friends

Carla Escoda, 16th October

Much acclaimed in 2022, a mixed bill curated by Tiler Peck returns to New York City Center with new cast members.

****1

The Center Will Not Hold celebrates resistance in the best way

Gillian Ebersole, 28th June

The Center Will Not Hold rings in the 93rd Festival at Jacob’s Pillow, a celebration of American and Black vernacular dance styles led by Ephrat Asherie and Michelle Dorrance.

*****

Dorrance Dance's Nutcracker Suite a toe-tapping treat at the Joyce

Ivy Lin, 17th December

Does the world really need another Nutcracker? Turns out the answer is yes, if it's as clever and well-done as Michelle Dorrance's version.

*****

BalletNOW suffers from miscasting

Jeff Slayton, 28th July

BalletNOW returns to the Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center in Los Angeles. The production features dancers from six different major ballet companies, but fails to impress.

***11

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Daniel Pratt

Daniel Pratt trained in London, England, attending the Royal Ballet School Associates program before completing his vocational training at Central School of Ballet where he gained a BA (hons) in Professional Dance and Performance. Daniel joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2012, dancing a broad range of works including ballets by Ashton, Balanchine, MacMillan, and modern works by Taylor, Graham and Tharp. Daniel has also performed with Northern Ballet and English National Ballet. Daniel’s writing on dance has appeared in The Dancing Times and Tanz Magazine. Daniel currently serves on the board of the American Guild of Musical Artists.