Trinity Irish Dance Company to Perform at Harris Center, 3/13

The Trinity Irish Dance Company quickly dispels whatever notions you may have about Irish dance. They bring their innovative and award-winning dance style to Harris Center for the Arts in Folsom for two performances in one evening.

Founded in 1981 by Artistic Director Mark Howard, this innovative dance group is constantly searching for original means of expression while maintaining a high regard for old traditions. Trinity, a uniquely Irish-American group, was the birthplace of progressive Irish dance which opened new avenues of artistic expression that led directly to commercial productions such as Riverdance.

Trinity Irish Dance Company will perform Friday, March 13, 2015 at 3 & 7:30 pm. Tickets are priced at $25-$39; Premium $49; Children 12 and Under $20; 10% Discount on Matinee Single Tickets. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from the Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

A majority of Trinity's dancers came through the ranks of the prestigious Trinity Academy of Irish Dance, the Chicago/Milwaukee-based school that has garnered an unprecedented 17 world titles for the United States at the World Championships of Irish Dance. Many of them have danced together since they were children; building an instinctual bond that allows them to take risks no other dance group would dare attempt. Their years of rigorous training are evident in every perfectly paced spin, leap and click, making them a lethal powerhouse of speed and sound that has electrified audiences around the world.

Not content to be simply the world's best however, Founding Artistic Director and Emmy Award-winning choreographer Mark Howard has moved outside the framework of ethnicity, expanding Trinity's range and repertoire in a host of imaginative and new directions. By using Irish dance as an instrument and a metaphor, Trinity crosses both cultural and disciplinary boundaries in important ways. The result is a thoroughly fresh and engaging artistic vision that goes beyond the source without losing touch with its essence.

Over the past several years, Trinity has also collaborated with many noted contemporary choreographers which have led them to an increased vocabulary of movement. Two of Mr. Howard's students, Deirdre Mahoney Vrbancic and Ellen Gahl Waller, were named as Associate Artistic Director of the group in 2003 and 2005 respectively. Deirdre and Ellen are the first of many young choreographers that will emerge from the bridges built by the unique Trinity program.

The Trinity Irish Dance Company has performed to great critical and popular acclaim on stages throughout the world, with sold-out tours in Europe and Asia and appearances in such distinguished venues as Washington's Kennedy Center, New York's Joyce and New Victory Theatres, and Los Angeles's Royce Hall. Trinity has appeared in feature films by Disney, Dream Works, Touchstone and Universal including Backdraft and The Road to Perdition and on countless National television programs including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, CBS This Morning, Live with Regis, Good Morning America, and the Martha Stewart Show. The group has toured internationally as invited guests for dignitaries as varied as the Royal Family in Monaco, Ireland's President Mary Robinson, and Indian meditation master, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda. Trinity has appeared on the PBS Television Specials, One Step Beyond and World Stage, and were featured in the ABC special Dignity of Children, hosted by Oprah Winfrey.

Trinity holds a unique place in the dance world, offering both a highly skilled presentation of traditional Irish step dance and a brilliantly engaging interpretation of contemporary world vision.