TRINITY IRISH DANCE COMPANY February 26, 2006

With a thundering display of fabulous footwork and live music, Celtic pride takes front and center as the twenty-two time world champions of Irish step-dance, the Trinity Irish Dance Company returns to the Marin Center on Sunday, February 26th at 3PM. On the heels of their sold-out 2005 show, the acclaimed dance company incorporates traditional Irish choreography with jazz, tap, ballet, and modern dance for an action-packed performance. Featuring colorful costumes, dynamic soloists, and intricate ensemble dancing, years of rigorous training are evident in every perfectly paced spin, leap and click, making them a lethal powerhouse of speed and sound that has electrified audiences around the world. The performance takes place at Marin Veterans? Memorial Auditorium, Avenue of the Flags at Civic Center Drive in San Rafael. Tickets are $40; $35 and $28; Students 18 and under $20, Gold Circle $80- which includes post-performance reception with the dance company. Call the Marin Center Box Office at 415-499-6800 or visit ticketmaster.com or ticketmaster outlets throughout the Bay Area. Visit www.marincenter.org for more information.
Corte Madera native and Trinity member since 1999, Alisa Ranum will be featured in this Marin Center performance. 23 year old Ranum holds a World Championship medal for placing 14th in the Senior Ladies Ceili in 2004 and is an instructor at the Healy Irish Dance studio based in San Francisco with classes in Marin and Sonoma counties as well. The Healy Irish Dance School has been offering Irish dance lessons to Bay Area boys and girls since 1870.
Trinity has significantly changed the direction and scope of Irish dance, re-introducing the art form as the phenomenon it is today. Founded in 1990 by Emmy Award winning Artistic Director Mark Howard, this uniquely Irish American company was the birthplace of progressive Irish dance, opening up the artistic pathways that led to productions such as ?Riverdance.? ?Edgy, Exotic and electric, miraculous unison,? says The Village Voice. ??Trinity is constantly pushing the limits and expanding the range of the art in every direction. Trinity is not only the most interesting Irish Dance Company, it is one of the most interesting dance companies of any kind,? says the San Francisco Examiner.
It was Howard who first choreographed the groundbreaking and highly evolved Irish step, which catapulted Irish dancing beyond contest and competition and into the realm of sheer entertainment and enjoyment.
Over the past several years, the company has also collaborated with many noted contemporary choreographers which has led them to an increased vocabulary of movement and the development of a unique form of story ballet, which tells the ancient and modern history of the Irish people through dance and specially commissioned live music. Inspired by ancient Celtic myths and stories, theirs is a world of fairies, pirate queens and ethereal mists, translated with all the passion, flair and precision that made many of these company members repeated world champions of Irish Dance. ?A vibrant blaze of movement,? says the Chicago Tribune.
In addition, Trinity has an enviable list of film and television credits with Disney, Touchstone and Universal, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, CBS This Morning and more. Trinity has also performed as invited guests for dignitaries as varied as the Royal Family in Monaco, Ireland?s President, and appeared in distinguished venues including New York?s Joyce Theater and Washington D.C.?s Kennedy Center, to name a few. Today Mark Howard and this company, made up of 22 dancers between the ages of 18 and 24, are crossing dance and cultural boundaries in important ways. It is an example of the transcendence of craft to art and the synthesis of forms to create something that is clearly rooted in tradition but also is forward looking and new.
BENEFIT GALA
Following the afternoon performance of Trinity Irish Dance Company, the Redwood Foyer will be transformed into an Irish Pub, complete with a special art exhibit from the Marin Arts Council. Special Gold seating tickets will also benefit Friend of Marin Center and include the post-performance reception gala with the dancers. The Friends of the Marin Center supports cultural programming at Marin Center and provides opportunities for low-income groups to attend Marin Center shows.