Trinity Irish Dance
Chicago-based troupe connects Celts
It has been a busy 12 months for Trinity Irish Dance Company. Following lengthy tours of Japan and North America, the troupe rounded out their roadwork with a recent appearance on The Tonight Show, before performing to a sold-out St. Patrick's Day crowd at The New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
Founded in 1990 by Artistic Director Mark Howard, the troupe's mandate has evolved over time; today, it seeks to elevate Irish dance through performance; engage in gender equity, celebrating male and female equally through costuming, choreography, and casting; and empower audiences and artists alike through dance experiences and meaningful collaborations.
No stranger to show business, Howard was a regular guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, CBS This Morning, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Today Show, Live with Regis, Good Morning America, and many more. From PBS and Network specials to extensive film efforts for Disney, Dream Works, Touchstone, and Universal, he has worked with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Ron Howard, and Sam Mendez, and was the personal dance coach for actors Tom Hanks and Daniel Craig. His work has brought numerous grants and awards, including choreographer's fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, an Emmy award, and accolades from New York to Tokyo. He has twice been named one of Irish America Magazine's Top 100 Americans and in 2023 was inducted into the Irish American Hall of Fame.
In 1990, after the first decade of his career as an Irish Dance teacher, Howard - whose Irish-born father emigrated to the United States in 1962 with a young family in tow - made a seismic shift to devoting his life to elevating Irish Dance as a choreographer.
“The performing arts stage provided me with a passion and an outlet that I didn't see coming,” he explains via email. “It was like somebody flipped a light switch. The concern was no longer whether you were going to get paid for it or whether you were going to go on and be successful. It was, as they say, no longer about the destination but the journey. I was alive to what I was doing, and I still am.”
“Mark's job requires an intuitive feel for emotions which has made him a brilliant connector,” notes Chelsea Hoy, who joined Trinity in 2014 and is now the troupe's Associate Artistic Director. “Through his passion and his craft, he builds goodwill and community wherever he goes. He cares about people and likes to inspire them. When you are in his presence you come to understand how much he is rooting for you as well as everyone else.
“As an artist who has worked with him for what is now a decade, I am continuously astonished by his versatility as well as his ability to transform the mundane and find power and beauty in literally everything that he creates,” she continues.
“In an industry where mimicry is king, I have never seen him create something even remotely familiar. He seems to have infinite range.”
Hoy adds that the reward is knowing that the Trinity Irish Dance Company continues to carve out a space for Irish dance to breathe and evolve.
“Our artists know that they are carrying the torch for a globally beloved cultural form, to ensure it is celebrated as a serious art.”
Given the current state of the world, Howard believes that the show's healing properties are needed now more than ever.
“I see our dancers and musicians as movement and sound doctors - always searching for something real, something human. They are powerful connectors that surround audiences with a field of positive energy, emphasizing the critical importance of savoring the joyful moments. Dance and music are commodities that we consume with our imaginations. As humans, we often personify art to help us understand our own humanity. The dances and songs are alive because we are, and I believe the inverse is also true.”