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Jacob's Pillow: The Center Will Not Hold celebrates resistance in the best way – with dance

Tomoe “Beastie” Carr in The Center Will Not Hold
© Christopher Duggan
The Center Will Not Hold at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2025
© Christopher Duggan
John Angeles and Michelle Dorrance in The Center Will Not Hold
© Christopher Duggan
Zakhele “Bboy Swazi” Grabowski in The Center Will Not Hold
© Christopher Duggan
The Center Will Not Hold at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2025
© Jamie Kraus
By Gillian Ebersole, 28 June 2025
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“the whole work feels liberatory in its quest for solidarity and resilience”
Reviewed at Ted Shawn Theatre, Becket on 28 June 2025
Programme
The Center Will Not Hold (Michelle Dorrance, Ephrat "Bounce" Asherie)
Performers
Kathy Kaufmann, Lighting Designer
John Angeles, Percussion
Ephrat "Bounce" Asherie, Dancer
Michelle Dorrance, Dancer
More Dance reviews
Tap City at the Joyce Theater: an exercise in nostalgia
Ivy Lin, 19th May
A collection of tributes to former world class tap dancers alongside some new works that clearly thrilled the capacity audience at the Joyce Theater.
****1
The Center Will Not Hold: Dorrance Dance thrills at Sadler’s Wells
Daniel Pratt, 17th April
Dorrance Dance offer a compelling mix of genres in The Center Will Not Hold – high energy, full of surprises, top quality performances.
****1
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
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.
*****
More reviews...
Read reviews of
Donovan DorranceEphrat "Bounce" AsherieJohn AngelesMichelle DorranceThe Center Will Not Hold
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Gillian Ebersole
Gillian Ebersole

Gillian Ebersole is a dancer and choreographer, as well as a poet, dance writer and educator. Gillian graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola Marymount University with a dual degree in Dance and English. Their first poetry book The Water Between Us received the Charlotte Mew Prize and was published by Headmistress Press in 2021. Gillian lives and creates in Berkshire County with their partner.