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:
Picture in your mind a dancer who you love to see perform. Now, imagine that dancer... in drag! If you're having trouble picturing this, then grab a ticket to Dance Divas 2018, where male dancers from some of Chicago's most recognized professional dance companies take on a fabulous, new persona for an even more fabulous cause. Dance Divas is the kickoff event to Dance for Life 2018, an event that Chicago Dancers' United describes as the "annual benefit performance that showcases the city’s unique diversity of talent, dance traditions, and styles." Both events directly benefit The Dancers' Fund, which supports dancers in the local community affected with critical health issues. DancerMusic's Kristi Licera caught up with one of the choreographers and original Dance Diva, Harrison McEldowney, to learn more about Dance Divas 2018. Here's what Harrison told us: