Chelsea Hoy
Where do you live? Chicago, IL.
Current company and position? Trinity Irish Dance Company - Associate Artistic Director, Choreographer, and Dancer.
First job and what it taught me? One of my first jobs was assistant teaching Irish dance classes at the Wick School of Irish Dance, where I trained as a child. In addition to lessons in how to engage and manage a group of young people, this job helped shape my technical understanding of the form!
How do you embrace your Irish heritage? I have celebrated the rich traditions of Irish culture since I was a young child through the art form of Irish dance –one of percussive prowess and aerial grace with limitless possibility. Now, building upon Trinity Irish Dance Company’s pioneering legacy, I am grateful to continue to carve a space where Irish history and traditions are kept alive through forward-looking, integrity-filled dance experiences – always with a reverence toward our ancestors and a bold vision to evolve.
Something people would be surprised to know about me... While I have dedicated my life to celebrating Irish dance through the performing arts, my family tree does not contain ties to Ireland. In fact, while my feet and my heart are Irish, my ancestral roots are strongly Norwegian.
Biography: Associate Artistic Director of the internationally acclaimed Trinity Irish Dance Company, thirty-year-old Chelsea Hoy has been shattering previous notions of what is possible for Irish dance; a dynamic choreographer and performer at the forefront of evolving this cultural form with integrity and innovation.
A leader in the international dance community, her work has been celebrated by audiences and critics worldwide from NYC to Tokyo, Hoy has played a pivotal role in bringing Trinity’s mission of female empowerment to the forefront, focused on saving Irish dance from the over commercialization that has become synonymous with the form.
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