NOBA's 50th Anniversary Season Opens With The Champion Dancers And Musicians Of Trinity Irish Dance Company

For the first time since 2002, the New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA) presents the award-winning Trinity Irish Dance Company (TIDC) on October 19 at 8 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. This globally renowned company will kick off its season in New Orleans with a new show that will then tour the world. Since its founding in 1990 by visionary choreographer and director Mark Howard, TIDC has been hailed as the birthplace of the progressive Irish dance movement, blending the virtuosity and rapid-fire rhythms of traditional Irish dance with contemporary American innovations that paved the way for commercial productions like Riverdance. Continuing to push boundaries and sell out performances around the world, this awe-inspiring company of 16 champion dancers and a phenomenal band of four musicians dazzles and entertains with percussive power, lightning-fast agility and aerial grace that is simply irresistible and the "real deal" (Chicago Tribune). "The virtuosic rhythms, technically skilled Irish dancing, and music from the on-stage band explode with creative energy that fuels this company's pioneering spirit and invigorates its audiences wherever they go." (See Dance Chicago)

Trinity Irish Dance Company tickets start at $35 and are available online at NOBAdance.com; by calling (504) 522-0996; in-person at NOBA's Box Office, 935 Gravier Street, Suite 800; or through Ticketmaster by calling 1-800-982-2787 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more, students and seniors are also available. Season ticket packages including Trinity Irish Dance Company offer subscribers up to 20 percent off single ticket prices.

Trinity Irish Dance Company is sponsored by Hyatt Regency New Orleans with additional support through a special gift In Memory of John D. Lambert Jr.; July 15, 1931 - July 7, 2019. "May the wind be always at your back."

A pre-performance talk with Artistic Director Mark Howard will begin at 7:15 p.m. on Mezzanine Level M2 of the Mahalia Jackson Theater.

Editor's Note: Trinity Irish Dance Company hi-res press images and video are available from Dropbox by clicking here.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM: The award-winning Trinity Irish Dance Company brings a powerhouse program of nine dances and three musical performances, including innovative new works and company favorites set to original and traditional music. "All the pieces look incredibly different," says Chesea Hoy, associate artistic director and company dancer. "While everything we do is connected to our ancestors, we are also pushing the boundaries to make our art form matter in the contemporary world."

The evening features seminal works by trailblazing director Howard that started the progressive Irish dance movement and ignited a global love affair with the infectious movement, rhythms and music of traditional Irish dance. In 1991 for a special appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, the company premiered the work Johnny, Howard's special retirement gift to Carson. This nationally-televised performance launched TIDC onto the world stage, inspiring the formation of more commercial Irish music and dance shows, such as Riverdance. Unlike these spectacles, Trinity remains faithful to its mission and authentic roots by preserving the integrity of classic Irish dance and creating contemporary works that honor those traditions.

For their first choreographic collaboration, Hoy and Howard, along with company member Michael Gardiner, examined the battle between substance and spectacle to create the company's most ambitious work to date, An Sorcas (The Circus, 2018). With original music and exploring the idea that society's emphasis on commercialism is backwards, An Sorcas opens with the full ensemble bowing and dancing backwards. "We've taken the glitz and glam of the Irish dance world and repurposed it for the performing arts stage," Hoy says. "It's a piece that begins with idolatry and progresses towards empathy. Halfway through the piece, we shed jackets made from deconstructed flashy Irish dance dresses to reveal an understated, hopeful company."

Other visionary works by Howard include Soles (2018), which opens the evening with tribal rhythms in the simple, honest joy of non-stop dancing and Black Rose (2004), which features a giant, 120-year-old Irish drum called "Big Horse," and integrates both soft and hard elements of Japanese Taiko drumming.

Push (2014) celebrates the strength and power of women that is a common theme for Howard. "More commercial Irish dance shows emphasize the male 'savior' figure against a backdrop of women in revealing costumes," says Hoy. "Howard sees it as part of his mission to present women on an equal footing with men, showing female empowerment through movement." "The women bring the thunder," says Howard.

A New Dawn (2018) is a reimagined version of the Trinity classic The Dawn. Originally designed to break boundaries on the competitive stage, The Dawn won America's first senior choreography world title in 1998 and has gone on to win an unprecedented number of world gold medals. Howard's restaged version is a thrilling dance at breakneck speed with explosive soft-shoe dancing and rapid fire arm movement.

In addition to works by Howard, the company performs Curran Event (2000) by contemporary choreographer and NYU Tisch Department of Dance Chair Seán Curran. This playful dance is hailed as Irish dance meets STOMP!

Between dances, three musical sets by the TIDC Band fill the stage with both traditional and original Irish music, featuring guitar, voice, bass, drums, fiddle and the Irish bodhran drum.

TRINITY IRISH DANCE COMPANY IN THE COMMUNITY: On October 18, TIDC artists will conduct a master class for the Irish dance community from 7-8 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. Register for the Irish dance community master class by clicking here.

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