Talk about having the luck of the Irish. Every Saratogian who bleeds green will be glad to know that the Trinity Irish Dance Company will be making its Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) debut on Monday, July 30. With its emphasis on innovative choreography and aerial grace, Trinity offers a unique fusion of traditional Irish dance and contemporary American music, which has resulted in success and critical acclaim the world over. Trinity’s performed sold-out tours in Europe and and as far off as Asia, and made appearances at the Kennedy Center, New York’s Joyce Theater, The Tonight Show and has been featured in a number of films, including the Oscar-nominated Backdraft.
The Company’s performance on Monday is part of an effort by SPAC to bring more world music to the Spa City. “Last year we created an immersive, Argentinian festival around Che Malambo’s performance that resulted in one of the most memorable programs of the season,” says Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of SPAC. “Due to the overwhelming response from our audiences, we are expanding our program offerings with a continued focus on world music and dance ensembles.”
Trinity was founded in 1990 by Emmy-award winning choreographer and the Company’s current Artistic Director, Mark Howard. Howard’s own background reflects the company’s melding of two different worlds: Born in Yorkshire, England, but raised in the American Midwest, Howard began his dancing career at the age of eight at Denney’s School of Irish Dance in Chicago. In 1982, he founded the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance (now in Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison, WI), whose dancers soon began to win a record number of titles for the United States at the World Championships of Irish Dance. Howard then began experimenting with dance formats and expanding the Academy’s range and repertoire. This eventually led to the founding of the Trinity Irish Dance Company, which features traditional Irish dance set to modern music, and has been credited as the birthplace of progressive Irish dance (this, of course, led to phenomenally successful productions such as 1995’s Riverdance).
The July 30 concert will also include a pre-show performance at 7:15pm: The final show of the professionally choreographed “The Performance Project: Youth in Motion.” Headed by the National Dance Institute and presented in partnership with the Capital District and Saratoga Regional YMCAs, the program will feature the talents and dance moves of 80 local children who’ve been training in an intensive two-week dance camp at the Schenectady YMCA.
Tickets for the amphitheater-only performance range from $27 – $57. For more information visit spac.org.