Music and Dance: A Conversation with Composer Donovan Dorrance

Donovan Dorrance is a composer living in Cincinnati, Ohio, whose innovative sounds transcend conventional boundaries. Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with Donovan to delve into the depths of his artistic journey, exploring the inspirations, challenges, and aspirations that have shaped his musical endeavours.

The Center Will Not Hold

Upon discussing his recent release "The Center Will Not Hold" he shared that this was a score to a dance performance choreographed by his sister Michelle Dorrance and her good friend Ephrat Asherie "- both incredibly talented dancers with their own separate dance companies," Donovan shared. "They assembled a group of dancers of varying disciplines for this piece that premiered in early October of 2023 at New York City Center."

"They invited me into the creative process when they received a grant to create a ~30-minute dance piece. I've worked with my sister a bunch over the years, and with Ephrat too, but the three of us had just recently collaborated in 2022 on a short dance piece called 'A Little Room', which you might notice is the first track on this EP."

Describing the creative process behind the EP, Donovan explained "It was a lot of back and forth between the three of us. I'd offer short musical ideas, they'd select their favourites, I'd expand them, they'd request edits, etc."

"I flew to New York to be in rehearsals on two separate occasions to have a better understanding of the choreography and dancers' styles. Michelle even came to my place (at the time in North Carolina) a few times and helped me record some piano."

"The piano, specifically muted & prepared piano, was an integral part of the score and something I've been very intrigued by for the last handful of years."

Influences and Innovation

"I think, like a lot of artists, my tastes have such a wide reach," Donovan mused, reflecting on his diverse musical palette. "For example, in this dance score, The Center Will Not Hold, I'm playing a lot of muted and prepared piano - so yes, contemporary classical music is influential, composers like John Cage or Hauschka - but of course Aphex Twin has a number of prepared piano pieces too."

"Another artist in that sort of electronic approach to prepared piano is Boonlorm. For muted piano playing, I've been a big fan of GoGo Penguin who sometimes employ this technique, and then we have Dawn of Midi (who directly inspired the song 'Clump') who sound like they're making electronic music but they're essentially just a contemporary jazz trio playing some sort of extra-heady Steve Reich composition on drugs, haha. But you'll also hear jungle/drum 'n' bass samples on this EP and one piece that could maybe get away with being played in a club, with its 150bpm tempo and four-on-the-floor beat and unhinged syncopated samples."

However, he underscored the symbiotic relationship between music and dance, shaping his creative choices. "Because this was a dance-score, I intentionally kept things pretty cinematic-sounding and driving. In my opinion, when approaching writing music for dance, your first priority is satisfying the choreographer and dancer, propelling and compelling them to continue moving, improvising, expressing."

Journey into the World of Dance

When I graduated from university, my sister asked me to move to New York City and help her run her tap dance company, Dorrance Dance," Donovan recounted, reflecting on a pivotal moment in his artistic trajectory. "I made my way onto the stage playing piano and eventually became music director and was composing evening-length works like Myelination."

He candidly narrated the challenges and triumphs that defined his path, from grappling with self-doubt to forging deep connections within the artistic community. "I make it sound like a natural progression that happened rather easily, but it was an emotional roller-coaster of self-doubt, imposter syndrome, combatting undiagnosed ADHD, trying to get better at everything, and the challenges of living in NYC and touring 6 months out of the year. Fortunately, I made fast friends with all the dancers in the company, but I'm incredibly grateful for my connections and long-lasting collaborations with the other musicians that perform and write music for the company."

He expressed profound gratitude for the transformative impact of familial support and artistic collaboration. "Loving the people you create with is essential, I think, for successful art-making. I'm incredibly grateful to my sister for inviting me in and encouraging me. She changed the course of my entire life and that's not an exaggeration. I hope I'm making music with her, and for dance in general, until the day I die."

Embracing Challenges and Growth

"Hah! As I just briefly touched on - ADHD and imposter syndrome!" Donovan chuckled, reflecting on the hurdles he had overcome. "For anyone neurotypical, you can translate the ADHD to just mean 'time-management.' Bringing projects to the finish line is incredibly tough for me. Right now, I'm sitting on a full-length album that I started during the pandemic that is maybe just a few weeks from being done. But those few weeks are stretching into eternity."

"Productive procrastination is my favorite thing. But perhaps just as challenging has been the imposter syndrome. Working alongside world-class dancers in New York City, people who are literally in the top of their field, was incredible, but also tough! I rarely felt like I belonged on my artistic merit alone. They're all family, of course, and showered me with love, but they're leagues beyond me in their respective fields. This goes for the aforementioned musicians too - I was the least technically skilled of the bunch in some ways. My good ear is the thing that saved me time and time again and kept me in the game. But there's this Ira Glass quote that did more for my growth, and combatting that imposter syndrome, than anything else did. In essence, he says your work disappoints you because your taste is better than your abilities and so you have to close that gap between them. The best way to close the gap is just by doing a lot of work, in my case, just making a TON of music."

A Glimpse into the Future

As our conversation drew to a close, Donovan offered a tantalizing glimpse into the future of his artistic endeavors. "As I mentioned, I'm on the precipice of releasing my debut album as a solo artist. I'm very excited by the music I made for this album as it's the closest I've come to "closing that gap". I'm singing on the whole thing too, which is fun and a nice challenge. I'm going to try to finish it this Spring and release it this Summer."

Dorrance is also a music educator, which is how I met him as I needed help with using Logic Pro! "I'm a part of the team at Golden Lotus Studio, an online community for songwriters where I help teach courses in music theory and songwriting, offer office hours (Logic Pro tutoring), and help people make original music! It's an incredible community where I've made a lot of friends and collaborators. I'm very grateful to Gary Grundei, the founder of GLS, for taking me in on the eve of the pandemic and embracing me as a creator!"

"There's a great ongoing drop-in class every week called the Friday Afternoon Songwriting Club where I've made many songs that I love and many other artists have too. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get some great song ideas brewing in a short period of time."

As our conversation concluded, Donovan's passion for music and unwavering commitment to artistic growth left an indelible impression. I'm filled with inspiration and gratitude for the insight he shared with me.

Follow Donovan here!