Edges of Light to Mix Contemporary and Traditional Music at Irish Arts Center

Irish Arts Center is pleased to present Edges of Light, a new collaboration between Irish dance legend Colin Dunne, fiddler Tóla Custy, harpist Maeve Gilchrist, and uilleann piper David Power, for three performances, June 1-3 at 8pm.

Inspired by the sights and sounds of an Irish dawn, the concert mixes traditional and contemporary music with percussive dance, offering a stirring a celebration of melody and rhythm.

Tickets start at $35 and are available by visiting www.IrishArtsCenter.org or calling 866.811.4111. Irish Arts Center is located at 553 West 51st Street.

Colin Dunne is best known for his performances in, and choreography for, Riverdance, Dancing on Dangerous Ground, and Out of Time (Baryshnikov Arts Center). He has toured with musical groups The Chieftains and De Dannan and performed at such venues as Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall. The Daily Telegraph has described him as "a fantastically articulate mover." The Irish Times has said that Tóla Custy, a founding member of groundbreaking band Guidewires, "creates the finest of shapes around his chosen tunes." David Power is a former member of Liam Clancy's Fairweather Band and a regular collaborator with Martin Hayes' Masters of Tradition Project. The Irish Times has said that "the sheer breadth of expression" in his playing is "enough to stop many listeners in their tracks." The music magazine Dirty Linen has called Maeve Gilchrist "a phenomenal harp player who can make her instrument ring with unparalleled purity."

Edges of Light builds upon Irish Arts Center's rich history of showcasing cutting-edge musicians that redefine what it is to be an Irish artist, such as Irish / Sierra Leonean singer-songwriter Loah, theatrical songstress Camille O'Sullivan, and Martin Hayes of The Gloaming, whose residency paired him with Brooklyn Rider, pianist Utsav Lal, and fiddle player Brian Conway, to name a recent few.

Founded in 1972, Irish Arts Center is a New York-based arts and cultural center dedicated to projecting a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America for the 21st century, building community with artists and audiences of all backgrounds, forging and strengthening cross-cultural partnerships, and preserving the evolving stories and traditions of Irish culture for generations to come. Our multi-disciplinary programming is centered around three core areas: Performance - including live music, dance, theatre, film, literature, and the humanities; Exhibition - including visual arts presentations and cultural exhibitions that tell the evolving Irish story; and Education - with dozens of classes per week in Irish language, history, music, and dance.

Located in New York City, a global capital of arts and culture, Irish Arts Center serves as a dynamic platform for top emerging and established artists. Irish Arts Center is currently developing plans to construct a new facility to serve our multi-disciplinary program and will be the strongest possible gateway for artists to reach into our cultural community and nourish their work, to connect with our partner institutions who help them innovate, and to become visible in the New York City media market which enhances their ability to achieve U.S and further international success.

The New Irish Arts Center will contain a purpose-built, state-of-the-art contemporary performance space for music, dance and theatre seating up to 160; industry-standard back of house and support facilities to allow artists to achieve their vision; a second, intimate performance space - the renovated historic Irish Arts Center theatre - optimized for live music, literature, film, talks, large classes and special events; classrooms and studio space for community education programs in Irish music, dance, language, history, and the humanities, and for master classes and workshops by visiting and resident artists; technology capability to project the Irish Arts Center experience on the digital platform; an avenue-facing café lobby to engage with the neighborhood and provide a social setting for conversation and interaction between artists and audiences; a beautiful new courtyard entrance on 51st Street where the historic Irish Arts Center building and the new facility meet.