I saw the Trinity Company in February at the Peery's Egyptian Theatre in Ogden, Utah. It was an amazing show. Natalie was not there because she has her TCRG and I'm not sure if she's touring anymore :( but I did get to meet Darren Smith and Deirdre Mahoney and Christopher Layer (who I already knew from Camp Rince Ceol). It was an absolutely incredible show and I would recommend it to anyone to go see, especially if they are modern dancers who are critical of Irish Dancers, or vice versa... this show changes everything!!!!
a Young Natalie Demonstrating Irish Dance Moves
I think Natalie was 18 or so when these pics were taken, she looks a great deal younger though.
Natalie Started Dancing at the age of 10 at the Trinity Academy, and has danced for 13 years.*
Here are a couple that were obviously newspaper cutouts...therefore I apologize for their newspapery-ness....
Natalie Now!
Natalie is now 23 years old and one of the lead dancers of the Trinity Troupe, she has won the following in her career...
Highest World's placing: 9th
HIghest Nationals placing:4th
Performances on Regis and Kathie Lee and the
Jay Leno show
She is on the cover of Sony's CD, "Celtic Dance"
She now has her TCRG
and she also performs with the Company, all over the world.
**Thanks to Natalie for helping me out with the details!***
NATALIE SLIWINSKI , Dancer
Natalie, who grew up on Milwaukee’s south side, started Irish dancing when she was nine, and has many exciting memories as a Trinity Academy dancer and a founding member of the company. In addition to touring all over the world, she has danced in film and on television’s The Tonight Show, Live! With Regis Kathy, and other programs. Natalie was a gold medallist at the 1998 World Championships on the Senior Choreography Team and placed an impressive ninth out of 80 dancers in the solo competition. Today she is the popular principal instructor in the Milwaukee and Madison branches of the Trinity Academy and finds she is always performing or teaching. Natalie’s image can be seen on the full-color promotional materials used to promote Trinity concerts and on the Sony CD, Celtic Dance. She also has been photographed by world-famous dance photographer Lois Greenfield.
ON THE COMPANY
There’s a very high level of trust between all of us. We’ve grown up together, so we know each other. We can almost finish each other’s sentences. And when we’re on stage, when we’re dancing together, it’s almost instinctual. We know where we’re going to be. We know we’re going to hit our marks. And we just know who’s standing next to us without even looking.
ON MARK HOWARD
Mark has taught us a lot about creativity. About being confident. About self-esteem. And it really not only shows through on the stage, but it also comes through in our normal every day lives. When we’re on job interviews, when we’re doing something just out there besides Irish dancing, we have the confidence to do it. I think we’re very, very strong together. We all have very strong bonds. And I think that Mark has helped us discover that within ourselves.
ON IRISH DANCING
I think Irish dancing involves a lot of stamina. It’s almost like sprinting. We’re doing a lot of fast paced dancing in a really short amount of time and then we come to a dead stop. We all have very muscular legs and arms. We work out as a company. We all have memberships to health clubs. So we’re always keeping in shape. We’re always checking out our body. Making sure everything is in line.
one of my fave pics of the troupe (above)
Pictures from the show!
And even More Trinity Pics... courtesy of Trinity Company Page
And now, my all-time fave trinity picture...
Ahhh, so perfect....
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okay, so where is it?
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All professional pictures © Lois Greenfield and Erika DuFour, 1999. Show pictures and Natalie Interview courtesy Network Chicago
