Auditorium Theatre 2018-19 Issue 2 Trinity Irish Dance Company

4 | TRINITY IRISH DANCE COMPANY | FEBRUARY 2, 2019 PROFILES TRINITY IRISH DANCE COMPANY (TIDC) has significantly changed the direction and scope of Irish dance, reintroducing the art form as the phenomenon it is today. TIDC is constantly in search of original means of expression while maintaining a high regard for tradition. This innovative, nonprofit company was created to celebrate the pioneering work of Founding Artistic Director Mark Howard. Howard’s uniquely Irish-American company is considered the birthplace of progressive Irish dance, which opened new avenues of artistic freedom that led directly to commercial productions such as Riverdance. By using Irish dance as both an instrument and a metaphor, TIDC redefines the medium with passion, flair, and precision. Through the years, TIDC has collaborated with many noted contemporary choreographers, which has led to an increased vocabulary of movement and the development of a new genre of dance. Considered an American treasure by critics and enthusiasts worldwide, TIDC has performed sold-out tours in Europe, Asia, and North America, appearing in distinguished venues such as The Joyce Theater in New York; the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; Royce Hall at UCLA in Los Angeles; the McCarter Theater at Princeton University in New Jersey; the National Arts Center of Canada in Ottawa; Orchard Hall in Tokyo; and the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, among many others. The company has traveled to entertain dignitaries as varied as Monaco’s royal family, Irish and American presidents, Japanese royalty, and Indian meditation masters. TIDC holds an important place in the dance world, offering both a highly-skilled presentation of traditional Irish step dance and a brilliantly engaging interpretation of a contemporary world vision. ABOUT THE ARTISTS MARK HOWARD (Founding Artistic Director/Choreographer) For more than three decades, this Emmy Award-winning choreographer has been striving for and achieving that which is profoundly significant and equally difficult to attain — the transcendence of craft to art and the synthesis of forms to create something that is forward-looking and new. His work maintains integrity while simultaneously going beyond the framework of ethnicity to carve new traditions. Born in Yorkshire, England, and raised in Chicago, Howard began his dancing career at 8 years old at the Dennehy School of Irish Dance. He began teaching when he was only 17 years old, and by 19 he had launched the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance, subsequently leading them to unprecedented world championship team titles for the United States — the first when he was only 25. Howard’s pioneering work in the late 1980s led to his unique transition from the competitive stage to the performing arts stage and began his gradual evolution from coach to artistic director. By 1990, these formative years led to the creation of a nonprofit forum, Trinity Irish Dance Company (TIDC), to celebrate and further his work. From its inception, TIDC has been met with great critical acclaim at renowned venues across the world. Howard has been named as one of Irish American Magazine’s “Top 100 Irish-Americans” on three separate occasions. He has been honored by BAM (in 2011) and Chicago’s Lawyers for the Creative Arts group (in 2015) for his outstanding contribution to the performing arts. His work has led to numerous Choreographer’s Fellowships, awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts. From PBS and ABC specials to extensive film work for Disney, Touchstone, Universal, and DreamWorks, Howard has worked with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Ron Howard, and Sam Mendes. He was the personal dance coach for actors Tom Hanks and Daniel Craig while they were working on the film Road to Perdition . Howard himself was a regular guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1989 until 1991, and has accumulated a multitude of national and international television credits including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, CBS This Morning, The Today Show, Live with Regis, Good Morning America, Martha , and 1st Look , to name a few. Howard continues to choreograph newworks and to expand his independent career towork in theatre, television, concert, and film. The feature film screenplay SOLES , which focuses on Howard and Trinity, is currently in the works. CHELSEA HOY (Associate Artistic Director/Choreographer) At 23, Hoy, from Denver, CO, has already become a major player in the performing arts world. Generous, rebellious, creative, and complex, her choreographic influence has significantly shaped TIDC’s newest works, from 1982 and Track 6 to Communion, Soles, and Push . Hoy recently co-choreographed her first full-length piece, An Sorcas (Gaelic for “The Circus”), which began previewing in Japan and the United States this past summer.