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Trinity is a committed team of families, teachers and staff that: • teaches children to support and encourage their peers. |
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"We believe in Trinity. We believe in its power to elevate each child not only into the best dancer he or she is capable of being, but also in its ability to provide a vehicle for every child to become his or her very best self."
-Mark and Natalie Howard
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MARK HOWARD (Founder, Artistic Director) |
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NATALIE HOWARD (Academy Director, Solo Manager) |
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By using Irish dance as both an instrument and metaphor, Mark Howard has been crossing dance and cultural boundaries in important ways. This Emmy Award-winning choreographer has synthesized forms and transcended craft into art, creating something that is forward-looking and new. His work maintains integrity, while it simultaneously goes beyond the framework of ethnicity to carve new traditions. Born in Yorkshire, England, and raised in Chicago, Howard began his dancing career at age nine. Becoming a North American Champion Irish dancer himself, he launched the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance at age 17. Experiencing great success, the school has won an unprecedented 32 World Championship titles for the United States - the first when Howard was only 25. In nearly thirty years since its inception, the Trinity Academy has grown from a dozen students practicing in a church basement, to the largest Irish dance program in the world. Intent on preserving the legacy of Irish dance and providing a creative outlet and professional livelihood for dancers, Howard formed the Trinity Irish Dance Company at age 29. Before that time, there were no Irish step dancers performing collectively outside the competitive realm. In the late 1990s, he began a second company called Trinity II, a division of the Trinity Performance Troupe. Howard's work has been showcased on National programs such as The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Live with Regis, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America and The Martha Stewart Show. |
As the Academy Director/Solo Manager of Trinity Academy of Irish Dance - the largest Irish dance school in the world - Natalie supervises the curriculum for over a thousand Trinity students and about thirty instructors. Also a teacher at Trinity, Natalie often leads several workshops throughout the year in addition to her regular classes. An accomplished Irish dancer herself, Natalie trained at Trinity's Milwaukee location. Her solo career took her as high as ninth in the world, making her the first Trinity female to reach that level. Under her guidance, her students have achieved even greater success on the international competitive stage. A world medal winner in team dancing, in 1998 she became part of the first U.S. team to ever win the gold in Senior Choreography.
Today Natalie, along with the staff of Trinity instructors, have trained countless Regional and National champions. Her creativity and expertise in Irish dance have contributed to much of Trinity's innovative programming. |
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As a young adult, Natalie became the principal female dancer in the renowned Trinity Irish Dance Company. During her time with the company she performed in fifty states, as well as in Europe and Asia. Several National television shows are also on Natalie's resume, including the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. You may have seen a famous photo of Natalie leaping through the air; this image was taken by the world's most celebrated dance photographer, Lois Greenfield. It is the most recognized and pirated image in the industry. In September of 2006 she married Trinity Founder and Artistic Director, Mark Howard.