When Irish feet are flying Years of training pay off in energetic Trinity dance

They might make it look easy, but the high-energy performances of the Trinity Irish Dance Company are the result of years of dedicated training, a steadfast work ethic and an unwillingness to give in to injury.

Irish dancers typically begin training when they are 5 years old. They practice four hours a day for five days a week and often suffer sprained ankles, shin splints or broken toes. Dancers go home after practice drenched with sweat, tired but exuberant.

“I’ve been doing it all my life. It’s a beautiful art form,” said Deirdre Mahoney, associate artistic director and a founding member of the Chicago-based Trinity Irish Dance Company, which will perform April 10 at Camden Hills High School in Rockport.

“The energy you see on the stage is real.” she said recently by phone from her hotel room in Idaho, where the troupe was performing. “It is a very creative outlet. I love it.”

Mahoney has been performing for 22 years. She began when she was 5. Long practice sessions and intense training are required to build up stamina for shows that feature the precise footwork, athletic jumps and graceful movements characteristic of Irish dancing.

Trinity Irish Dance Company is celebrated as the birthplace of progressive Irish dance, which maintains the traditional aspects of the form but adds elements of other, more modern dance styles. It is tightly choreographed and the footwork stays close to the ground. The dancing is more dramatic, with higher jumps and more arm movements.

“Progressive would be pushing the boundaries,” Mahoney said. “It’s about bringing it to a different place, letting it breathe.”

Mark Howard founded Trinity Irish Dance in 1990 to provide more opportunities for Irish dancers beyond the competitive dancing circuit. It is associated with the Trinity Irish Dance Academy, which Howard also created in 1979. The academy has 1,300 students in Chicago and Milwaukee.

The dancers range in age from 20 to 27. During shows, they wear heavy, constricting costumes, each one handmade in Ireland. Dancers wear one of two types of shoes. Soft shoes called ghillies, which have thin leather soles and laces, are mainly for traditional reels. Hard shoes, called jig shoes, have a fiberglass tip and heel that make a tapping sounds on the stage.

The dancers have traveled the world, performing for royalty, on television and in movies. Mahoney said a month-long tour in Japan last November was particularly memorable because of an overwhelming response from the audience.

“We were like Disney characters,” she said. “People had their cell phones out, taking pictures of us. It was wonderful.”

Mahoney said audiences respond to progressive Irish dancing because it is different and unexpected.

“People can expect some variety,” she said of the show in Rockport. “It will be high energy. It will be a really great show.”

Wendy M. Fontaine can be reached at 664-0524 and bdnnews2@bangordailynews.net.

Trinity Irish Dance

When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 10

Where: Strom Auditorium, Camden Hills High School

How much: adults $24-34, children (under 15) $8, students $16-$22

Contact: 236-2823, (888) 707-2770 or visit www.baychamberconcerts.org