Trinity Irish Dance Company Comes to The Joyce Theater This Month

Trinity Irish Dance Company (TIDC) today announced it will bring its internationally celebrated legacy and awe-inspiring precision to The Joyce Theater this Saint Patrick's Day Season.

Founded by Artistic Director / Choreographer Mark Howard and under the leadership of Associate Artistic Director / Co-Choreographer, Chelsea Hoy, TIDC is on a mission to save the integrity of Irish dance from the overly commercialized productions that have become synonymous with the form. They have been fighting and increasingly winning that battle through an innovative vision and diverse repertoire.

TIDC is the high watermark of the art form; a uniquely Irish-American dance legacy that is rooted in tradition, yet forward-looking and ever-evolving. The result is a fresh, engaging, and integrity-filled vision that goes beyond the source without losing touch with its essence.

The NYC Joyce Theater performance will feature three New York premieres:

• 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.
• 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.

The program will also include 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, was created for and premiered on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and ultimately altered the landscape of Irish dance.

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 Hoy, "We're expected to!"

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."

For more information go to https://trinityirishdancecompany.com.

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