The most cutting-edge companies of their respective genres, New York-based tap dance company Dorrance Dance, and two of Chicago’s finest; Trinity Irish Dance Company (TIDC) and tap dance company M.A.D.D. Rhythms will join forces for a thunderous one night only performance on Saturday, April 22 at 7:30 PM at Chicago’s historic landmark Auditorium Theatre.
This never-before-seen evening of percussive dance will celebrate two dynamic forms, American tap dance and Irish step, forms both born of resistance, and simultaneously joyful and rebellious.
Both Dorrance Dance and TIDC share long-standing visions to ensure their movement forms are respected on the concert stage, presenting internationally celebrated, innovative work that honors the forms’ complex histories while pushing boundaries for the next generation. M.A.D.D. Rhythms is a revolutionary Chicago arts organization focused on giving back, driven by their mission to teach tap dance history, represent its culture, advocate for its future, and use the form as a catalyst to make a difference in the underserved communities of Chicago and the world.
Through individual company works as well as never before seen collaborations, this one-night-only performance will present the power of tap dance and Irish step dance and the intersection of their rhythmic sensibilities and rebellious histories.
“We are thrilled to be hosting this novel collaborative evening of dance” says Auditorium Theatre CEO Rich Regan. “It will be electrifying to witness the cutting-edge Dorrance Dance make their Auditorium debut alongside two of Chicago’s favorite top-notch percussive dance companies.”
The evening will feature:
M.A.D.D. Rhythms excerpt of A M.A.D.D. Mix Tape: transporting the party from the club to the stage and bringing the audience along for the choreographic ride. Choreographed by Donnetta Jackson with additional choreography by Star Dixon, Andrew Carr, Caleb Jackson, Alexandrya Fryson, A M.A.D.D. Mixtape is the perfect example of African Diasporic lineage and the rhythmic connections of Tap and Footwork. Some of Hip-hop & R&B’s most treasured gems will provide the musical backdrop as a live DJ spins on stage.
Dorrance Dance New York‘s critically acclaimed SOUNDspace (2013): Originally a site-specific work that explored the unique acoustics of New York City’s St. Mark’s Church, adapts thrillingly to the proscenium stage, investigating the myriad sounds and textures of the feet – and making full use of tone, timbre, volume, tempo and, of course, rhythm, constructing patterns that lock together thrillingly.
Trinity Irish Dance Company will be honoring the memory of Irish musical icons Dennis Cahill, Mick Maloney, and Seamus Begley with a riveting combination of A-list Irish musicians and rapid-fire footwork choreographed by Founding Artistic Director Mark Howard. The program will also include Howard’s tribal and timeless Soles, revamped Push; American Traffic, a hybrid of Irish step and American tap choreographed by Michelle Dorrance and Melinda Sullivan, and Howard and Associate Artistic Director Chelsea Hoy’s An Sorcas (The Circus).
The evening will culminate in a collaborative finale rooted in Dorrance Dance’s classic work, The 12/8 with thrilling adaptations created in collaboration with TIDC and M.A.D.D. Rhythms.
(Program is subject to change)
Mark Howard will be introduced into the Irish American Hall of Fame later this year, an honor bestowed on the most influential Irish Americans including Conan O’Brien and John McCain. In advance of his induction, the evening will also include a short video celebrating Howard’s global impact on Irish dance and TIDC’s mission to save the integrity of Irish dance from the overly commercialized productions that have become synonymous with the form.
Performance Information
Rhythms of Resistance: Dorrance Dance, Trinity Irish Dance Company and M.A.D.D. Rhythms performs at the Auditorium Theatre Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 7:30 PM. Tickets start at $25 and are now available at auditoriumtheatre.org, or by calling 312.341.2300, or at the Box Office at 50 E Ida B Wells Drive in Chicago, IL. Click here for phone and in-person hours.
Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more people are available. The Auditorium Theatre offers $20 student rush tickets to full-time college students and $5 tickets to young people ages 13-19 with Urban Gateways’ Teen Arts Pass program. The Auditorium also offers a Student Savings Club for both college and high school students. The Auditorium Theatre’s ADMIT ONE program offers complimentary tickets to Chicago-area community groups.
Special Thanks
The Auditorium Theatre is grateful for the support of the 2022-23 Season Global and Chicago Dance Series Sponsor, The Florian Fund; Chicago Dance Series Sponsors Joyce Chelberg, Pamela Crutchfield, Patti Eylar and Charlie Gardner; Trinity Irish Dance Company Presenting Sponsor Marsha and Phil Dowd; Dorrance Dance, Trinity Irish Dance Company, M.A.D.D. Rhythms Performance Sponsors Joyce Chelberg and Pamela Crutchfield.
The Auditorium Theatre 2022-23 Season is made possible in part with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. The Auditorium’s official hotel partner is the Palmer House Hilton.
About the companies
Trinity Irish Dance Company
The Chicago-based Trinity Irish Dance Company is the high watermark of the art form; a uniquely Irish-American dance legacy that is rooted in tradition, yet forward-looking and ever-evolving. The result is a fresh, engaging, and integrity-filled vision that goes beyond the source without losing touch with its essence. Founded in 1990, by Founding Artistic Director Mark Howard, TIDC is the birthplace of progressive Irish dance, an innovative movement genre which opened new avenues of artistic freedom that led directly to commercial productions such as Riverdance. TIDC has significantly changed the direction and scope of Irish dance, re-introducing the art form as the phenomenon it is today. With a unique blend of uncompromising power and grace, TIDC sends a consistent message of female empowerment with a repertory that has elevated the art form for nearly three decades. For more information, visit TrinityIrishDanceCompany.com.
Dorrance Dance
Dorrance Dance is an award-winning tap dance company based in New York City. Led by Michelle Dorrance, the company supports dancers and musicians who embody and push the dynamic range that tap dance has to offer. The company’s mission is to engage with audiences on a musical and emotional level, and to share the complex history and powerful legacy of this Black American art form through performance and education.
Founded in 2011 by artistic director and 2015 MacArthur Fellow Michelle Dorrance, the company has received countless accolades, rave reviews, and has performed at venues including Danspace Project, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater, New York City Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Vail Dance Festival, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Works and Process at the Guggenheim, Carolina Performing Arts at UNC Chapel Hill, Cal Performances at UC Berkeley, among many others, including international venues in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, England, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Russia. www.dorrancedance.com
M.A.D.D. Rhythms
M.A.D.D. Rhythms is a phenomenal TAP dance collective whose “SOLE” purpose is to spread the Love and Joy of TAP worldwide.
What started as Bril Barrett & Martin Dumas III’s formula for giving back, is now a full-fledged performing arts company, quickly gaining a reputation for representing the true essence of tap: RHYTHM! The company is composed of young, versatile tap dancers from all over Chicago. Their ages range from 18 to 47, and their backgrounds are equally diverse. The one thing they all have in common is a love for “the dance”. www.maddrhythms.com
About The Auditorium Theatre
The Auditorium Theatre, located at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive at Roosevelt University in Chicago, is an Illinois not-for-profit organization committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural, community, and educational programming to all of Chicago and beyond as The Theatre for the People. The organization also is committed to the continued restoration and preservation of this National Historic Landmark that originally opened in 1889.
This Auditorium Theatre’s 2022-23 performance season features a dynamic mix of acclaimed global dance companies (Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, American Ballet Theatre, and the much anticipated annual engagement by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) while closer to home, beloved Chicago dance companies also take the stage (Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, South Chicago Dance Theatre, and an evening with Trinity Irish Dance Company, M.A.D.D. Rhythms, and special guest, New York-based Dorrance Dance. In addition, the critically acclaimed National Geographic Live speaker series, offering first-hand accounts and expert voices on cultural and environmental issues, returns with three offerings and a new lower ticket price.
For more information on the Auditorium Theatre and a complete listing of events at the Auditorium Theatre, please visit AuditoriumTheatre.org.
