Trinity Irish Dance Company Returns To Uihlein Hall After Nearly 20 Years

Trinity Irish Dance Company (TIDC) is bringing its renowned legacy and awe-inspiring precision to the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts for a one-night-only performance on March 26, 2022. This company of elite performing artists comes home to Milwaukee fresh off a week-run at New York City's esteemed Joyce Theater. Tickets are on sale now at the MPAC Box Office, MarcusCenter.org or 414.273.7206.

Founded in 1990, TIDC points to Milwaukee as a formative place that ultimately led to its creation. A performance at the Marcus Center over 30 years ago helped pave the way for this pioneering company to alter the landscape of Irish Dance. This March, they will return to Milwaukee proper for the first time in nearly 20 years, bringing with them dynamic new artists.

TIDC is the birthplace of progressive Irish dance, an innovative movement genre that "ushered in a new era for Irish step dance, one which led directly to commercialized stadium tours like 'Riverdance.'" (Chicago Tribune) Pushing the boundaries of a traditional form through a performing arts lens, TIDC celebrates Founding Artistic Director Mark Howard's unique vision to fuse vibrant Irish traditions with ever-evolving American innovation.

Through a blend of percussive power and aerial grace that consistently presents males and females on equal footing, TIDC sends a clear message of female empowerment. "The women of TIDC don't only get to make noise," says Associate Artistic Director Chelsea Hoy. "We're expected to make noise."

The strength of TIDC's movement to save the integrity of Irish dance brings dancers and musicians together from around the world. Rather than seeking sameness, TIDC celebrates unique and diverse individuals who bring the repertory to life in dynamic ways. "Everything about our company members is extraordinary," Howard says. "The scope of their work, their virtuosity, and the ease with which they command a stage. Their honesty and commitment allows them to reach out, grab the hearts of audiences, and take them anywhere they want to go."

TIDC's 2022 season will culminate in a three-week summer tour of Japan.

THE PROGRAM

Marcus Performing Arts Center's presentation of Trinity Irish Dance Company will feature seven Milwaukee premieres, including:

• An Sorcas (Gaelic for "The Circus"), choreographed by Howard and Hoy, examines the battle between substance and spectacle. In a progression from idolatry to empathy, with original lyrics, music, and layers of symbolism, An Sorcas points a mirror to the oversaturation of glitzy, formulaic productions in their medium.

• American Traffic, choreographed by NYC-based tap dancer and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Michelle Dorrance and tap dancer and choreographer Melinda Sullivan, is a hybrid of Irish step and American tap that plays at the intersection of rhythmic sensibilities and rebellious histories. Celebrating the nuanced differences between the two forms, it presents a new percussive language. "Trinity Irish Dance Company is the cutting edge of Irish dance. They achieve a powerful combination of cultural depth, innovation, and artistry with exceptional technical range." - Michelle Dorrance

• Sparks, choreographed by Howard and Artistic Associate and dancer Ali Doughty, brings together the technical prowess and virtuosic skill of Doughty, who won a solo world championship title during her competitive career, and New York-born, All-Ireland champion fiddle player Jake James.

Other Milwaukee premieres are: Soles, a tribal and timeless rhythmic study; Push, an explosion of virtuosic footwork where "women make the form their own" (The Boston Globe); Communion, a synthesis of forms rooted in the profound power of connection, and A New Dawn, folk dance for the future at breakneck speed.

Featuring a live band fronted by Killarney-born, New York-based singer/songwriter Brendan O'Shea, the program will be rounded out by classic pieces from Howard: Black Rose and Johnny, one of Howard's signature works from 1991 that was created for and premiered on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and ultimately altered the landscape of Irish dance.

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