Trinity Irish Dance Company to Perform at Merrill Auditorium, 1/29

Portland Ovations kicks off the second half of their 2015-16 season with the inimitable Trinity Irish Dance Company, presented on Friday, January 29th at Merrill Auditorium.

Founded in 1990 by Choreographer/Artistic Director Mark Howard, Trinity Irish Dance Company was the birthplace of progressive Irish dance, which opened new avenues of artistic expression leading directly to commercial productions such as Riverdance. Howard's Emmy Award winning work has been met with great critical acclaim around the globe, with sold out tours in Europe and Asia and appearances at the Kennedy Center, New York's Joyce Theater and UCLA's Royce Hall, among many others. Trinity has appeared in feature films by Disney, DreamWorks, Touchstone, and Universal and on numerous national television programs, including six appearances on the Tonight Show. Now Howard and his Company of dancers are back with a revitalized production of new and classic works.

Over the past year, Howard and his talented cast have created five new works that accomplish the refreshing, unexpected result TIDC is known to deliver. Among them are U.S. premieres: "Push" choreographed by Howard and Company and "Communion" choreographed by Howard and body percussionist Sandy Silva. Both have become instant classics. "Listen", choreographed by Colin Dunne, widely recognized as the greatest Irish step dancer to have ever lived, will be previewed.

Howard describes the Company's work as "progressive without losing touch with tradition, and entertaining while putting a premium on integrity." As a contemporary repertory Irish Dance Company, TIDC is not only the best at what they do, they are the only ones who do what they do.

While in Portland, Mark Howard will be leading a masterclass at the Stillson School of Irish Dance, the only certified school of Irish dancing in the state of the Maine. Interested dancers should contact Ovations Offstage at either Offstage@portlandovations.org or 207-773-3150, x3to register. The school's director, Carlene Moran Stillson, will lend her expertise to a pre-performance lecture-demonstration on the history and transformation of Irish dance. Always free and open to the public, this lec-dem will take place at 7 pm on January 29th in the Merrill Auditorium Rehearsal Hall. Local talent will also be on display on the Merrill stage as Stillson dancers will get the crowd going with a brief performance before the curtain rises on Trinity at 8 pm.

Tickets for Trinity Irish Dance are $31.50 to $50 for Ovations' Members, $35 to $55 for the general public and a limited amount of $20 student tickets are also available. Trinity Irish Dance is sponsored by Bangor Daily News. To purchase tickets, visit www.portlandovations.org, contact PortTIX at 207-842-0800 or visit the box office window at Merrill Auditorium.

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