Irish dance phenomenon

Irish dance - what a peculiar thing it is. Perhaps you have seen it, and if you have, then the images you are entertaining may be ethereal ones: Dancers in soft shoes effortlessly flow across a stage, executing intricate steps with incredible precision. Or perhaps the hard-shoe offerings are more your speed: A troupe in clogs hammers out a brilliant staccato of taps and clicks with breathtaking speed and dexterity.

Once relegated to performances in dimly lit Ancient Order of Hibernian halls and an occasional parade, the ancient jig is most decidedly up, and it's more than just a vogue. Irish dance is a global phenomenon.

Nor are "Riverdance" and "Lord of the Dance" the only productions that offer spectacular Celtic footwork. In fact, the genesis of "progressive Irish dance" is not to be credited to either of those commercial juggernauts. That recognition goes to Chicago's Mark Howard and his Trinity Irish Dance Company. Long before Michael Flatley bolted onto the stage at Euro-Vision in 1994, the Trinity company was incorporating expressive arm movement in some pieces.

"We coined the phrase 'progressive Irish dance,'" declared the 35-year-old Howard. A former step dance champion, Howard bears a resemblance to actor George Clooney and is an effusively engaging conversationalist. "This company exists to push the boundaries ... and to provide what is new and fresh in Irish dance," he continued.

As the conversation turned to the inevitable comparisons with the productions of Flatley and Whelan, Howard immediately warmed to the subject. "Our piece 'Celtic Thunder' debuted on the 'Tonight Show' in 1989. It was the first time that anyone had performed a piece like that, and it was the forerunner of 'Riverdance,'" he informed this interviewer. Recalling the ambivalence he felt when he first saw the Euro-Vision piece that launched "Riverdance," Howard said, "On one hand, I was happy that Irish dance would get the recognition - but on the other hand I thought, 'Hey, we've been doing this for years.' I mean ... if this company was at Euro-Vision, I'm not saying for sure that the whole thing would have taken off like it has...." Here he paused. "But I think we would have done well."

As the pecking order goes in the realm of competitive Irish dance, the Trinity school has acquired the status of the revered. The Chicago school is viewed as the flagship of team dancing, according to Howard. Its having amassed 13 world titles ensures that even among the members of other renowned schools, the mention of a Trinity dancer is sure to cause a degree of trepidation. "We are feared, that's for sure."

Howard was quick to point to what he believes is an integral ingredient in the fuel that propelled Irish dance into the mainstream - a distinct stamp of Irish Americana. Allowing that roots of the dance are indigenous to the Gaelic culture, he added, "It really is an Irish-American thing. Growing up, I had MTV, things like that, which influenced me. Traditional dance, as practiced, is not what these productions have become. The 'Riverdance' explosion was the genesis of that seed, of Irish-American influence."

He was equally quick to draw the theatrical line that separates Trinity from others, that defines the company and has earned rave reviews and the respect of professional dance companies. Howard's vision of Irish dance involves the essence of progressive expression, a concept that he believes is in constant evolution. "We have been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant. We strive to push the limits, and we do pieces which are as expressive as they are entertaining. We want to not only entertain but to educate communities on Irish dance. That is what professional dance companies do."

Regarding efforts to that end, Howard spoke of an instructional class that is offered prior to Trinity performances in many cities. Trinity Dance captains Rebecca Cissne and Sheila Ryan instruct future heel clickers on the intricacies of their steps, and that forum has been responsible for some heated squabbling in the home of this writer. My children, after they attended one such session, ceased pretending to be Jean Butler and Bernadette Flynn in favor of emulating Becky and Sheila.

Cissne, 24, and Ryan, 22, are rhythmic dervishes on stage, but their wealth of talent has not tempted them to leave Trinity. Many of the company's dancers have been offered auditions with "Riverdance," yet to date none has accepted. Inclusion of members in the artistic direction of the show may be the source of such devotion, according to Ryan. "As we grow, as we have become women, we are allowed a degree of participation in the evolution of the show. That is very important to us. We will continue to explore different avenues of dance and immerse them with Irish dance."

Cissne agrees, also lauding Howard's practice of allowing individual contributions. "As a company, we are one, but we are a pool of artists who get to contribute ideas." She pauses. "Some of the other shows ... well, let's just say that we are not sex turned Irish dance."

Asked who the trend setters in Celtic footwork are, they reply in unison, "We are."

At one point during the Trinity performance on this night, a dazzling display by principal dancer Darrin Smith prompted an outburst from an elderly woman in the crowd: "Dear God! I think that young man is going to kill himself! Either that or break the floor!"

A bespectacled man sitting at her left exclaimed, "There is some serious toe jammin' goin' on up on that stage."

Serious toe jammin' it was indeed. Smith is the current world champion of Irish dance, and Howard referred to him as "the man." In fact, at the championship in Galway, he received a perfect score of 700 from the adjudicators [judges], the only competitor ever to do so.

Like his colleagues, Smith is refreshingly polite, outrageously talented, and staying put. After his win at the world championships, Smith was offered a "Riverdance" audition. "I seriously considered it - and I haven't regretted my decision to stay with Trinity." This summer, Trinity will embark on a world tour, taking its show abroad for the first time.

If you're wondering how much training and discipline it takes to produce a world dance champion, the 21-year-old Smith, who has been dancing since age 4, sheds some light of dedication on the subject: "I practiced every day - every day. Prior to the Worlds, I practiced at least two hours a day. And attended three classes a week."

The aforementioned evolution of Irish dance is epitomized in Howard's exploration of dance works that provide social commentary, an example of which is their composition "The Mollies." Dark and brooding, the piece is intended to portray the plight of the Irish immigrants who toiled in the coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania. According to Howard, the Molly Maguire presentation is about the juxtaposition of lives. "You know, in a way, I had Orwell's '1984' in my head when I was choreographing this. It is about ... it is an anti-utopian theme. These miners thought they had left that kind of thing behind, but they were wrong."

"The Mollies" is performed against a backdrop of projected screen images collected on a personal foray by Howard into the heart of the coal region, where the director of the Trinity company found himself in an unlikely location in the wee hours one morning. "I went to Jim Thorpe and Ashland to get some stills and footage, and I ended up staying for four days in Jim Thorpe. I'm an ardent reader of Molly Maguire history, and I thought, 'This is great stuff. Here I am in the middle of it!' And this one night, I went to a bar and I spoke to some locals who had ancestors who were Mollies. We ended up in the graveyard at like two in the morning, looking at their tombstones with flashlights."

As showtime drew near, the Chicago native reflected on the accolades accorded the Trinity Irish Dance Company and school. "You know, I really feel that we'll be here in ten or twenty years, because we will continue to explore. But do you know what I am most proud of?" He gestured to the stage, where dancers were stretching and rehearsing steps. "The fact that they go into a room where there is nothing, and they come out with something. That's accomplishment."