If you go to see Trinity Irish Dance Company at Chicago's Auditorim Theatre (on Saturday, February 2nd at 7:30pm), you may very well be enchanted by the riveting visual pageant of intricately imagined movement, and you may be mesmerized by the complex rhythmic score. But if you've read any of the things people have said about this company, you might not be entirely surprised; their performances from New York to Tokyo and a lot of places in between get big time respect. What is more likely to surprise you is how unique, how completely in its own space this exceptionally creative performance is. Mark Howard is the founder and Artistic Director of Trinity Irish Dance Company, and the process, patience, and unending possibilities for inspiration that have become Trinity Irish Dance Company were something that we wanted to learn much more about, so we asked him. Here's what he told us:
Lou Conte not only has a name that is important to the Chicago dance community, but as the founder of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago he is someone who has changed the history of contemporary dance. He created what is today an internationally acclaimed company that dancers from all over the world dream of being a part of. I myself was one of those young dancers, and Lou helped make my dream come true by bringing me into the company just before he stepped down as director in 2000. Lou will forever hold a special place in my heart, and not only by having initiated my entire dance career. With his values and the standards to which he held his work and company, he helped shape who I am today as a dancer, artist, and now choreographer. Lou is being honored at Chicago's Dance for Life this year, and when I was given the opportunity to talk with him and ask him a few questions, I couldn't help but be thrilled at the thought. Here's what he shared with me:
They say the best gifts are the ones you make yourself. The time, energy and thoughtfulness put into a handmade item is forever ingrained within it, making it truly unique. Here at DancerMusic, some of the best gift makers we know are the ones that create dance. These choreographers often spend countless hours in the studio creating movement, plus an ample amount of time researching and reflecting to refine what they make. No two creations are ever quite the same, and become more unique when you consider that no two performances of the same piece of choreography are identical. As
One of the reasons that Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is known all over the world is because they perform all over the world. Just this summer, audiences in Mexico, Canada, and across the United State have seen them, but when it gets to be the middle of August, if you want to see Hubbard Street perform you have to come to Chicago, and it's been like that for twenty-seven years. Thats how long Hubbard Street Dance Chicago has been performing at Dance for Life -- since the first Dance for Life, and once again this year, they'll be at Dance for Life
As artists, the best way for dancers to express and work through something as close to home as body expectations is, of course, through dance. This is exactly what The Joffrey Ballet will be bringing to the stage at Dance for Life 2018 with Myles Thatcher's Body Of Your Dreams. DancerMusic caught up with choreographer Myles Thatcher to learn more about his work, as well as Joffrey Artists Derrick Agnoletti and Nicole Ciapponi to get perspectives on working with Myles and dancing this highly athletic work. Here's what they told us: