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The theme may have been timeless, but some of the routines were not.
Although much of the choreography of the Trinity Irish Dance Company may have been based on traditional Celtic and Irish dance, it was the troupe’s take on modern dance and song that surprised many.
Of the group’s 11 routines, the one that stuck out the most was “Curran Event.” Besides the play on words, it was also a play on mixing traditional Irish dance with some post-modern choreography. Some of the choreography was so modern that it involved the slapping of shoes and legs, similar to one would see in some sororities and fraternities in the South.
Throughout much of the show, the dancers mainly wore traditional Irish clothes, but in this routine, they decided to change it up. In addition to the plaid skirts that maintained the Irish theme, they wore black tops, and some of them wore bandanas and backwards hats to give the crowd an idea of a modern flare.
As the routine began, one dancer started with the traditional style of dance and transformed it into a mix of modern tap and jazz dancing. Once the dancer set the stage for what was to come, the rest of the troupe came out and joined her. Not only did the increase of tempo excite the crowd, but it also found its way into the dancer’s legs as their movement also increased.
The routine ended with the original dancer doing a jig and yelling “Yeah!” at the crowd.
Before their take on modern dance intermingled with traditional Irish dance, the group opened the show in an odd formation as they were intertwined. The setting provided a smoky atmosphere as the brown costumes with the camouflage face paint signaled the dawning of time.
When the dancers were out of the formation, a booming Irish voice was explaining the story of the Trinity Dance. As the dancers performed, they used a more ballet approach instead of tap to tell the story.
Once the dancers were finished, a drummer from the band that told the story came on stage and played for about three minutes. After his solo, the drummer walked across stage to join the band, comprised of Barret Harvey, Christopher Layer and Brendan O’Shea. Before performing, one of the members told the crowd a story concerning Irish love songs.
“There are three types of Irish love songs – the one about the long, lost love, the one about our relationship with liquor and the one we are about to perform right now about a hollow moon.”
As the band broke into song, the Irish feeling persisted with the group’s use of a high-pitched flute. The flute combined with an acoustic guitar and drums that mellowed the crowd before the troupe continued the rest of the show.
Not only did they find a way to mix different styles of dance, but they also found a way to keep the crowd into the show with these changes. Although the point could be made that dancing around a timeline can be confusing, that point can be crushed with the clapping hands of an audience.
