Feb. 9, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lisa Woske,
Cal Poly Arts
(805) 756-7110

Championship Irish Dance, Drum Corps Coming to Cohan Center March 8

SAN LUIS OBISPO, In a dynamic sensory feast for those who
love Irish culture, the debut tour of “Different Dances Different Drums”
delivers an unforgettable evening of precision, passion, and percussion.

Cal Poly Arts presents the never-before-seen music/dance extravaganza --
which pairs championship step-dancing with the tribal beat of a
drum-driven Celtic band -- on Tuesday, March 8, 2005 at 8 p.m. in the
Christopher Cohan Center.

The 22-member Trinity Irish Dance Company provides the “thunder” and the
Different Drums of Ireland group brings the guitars, pipes, and
indigenous drums.

“While I’ve wanted to bring Ireland’s premier Trinity Irish Dance
Company here for awhile now, what really excited me was the addition of
Different Drums of Ireland to the event,” explains Cal Poly Arts
director Ralph Hoskins.

“To showcase an emerging band from Northern Ireland is a rare treat and
the combination of both Celtic companies promises to be outstanding.”

The Trinity Irish Dance Company was founded in 1990 as a means of
providing professional career opportunities to students who formerly had
no outlet for their dance training beyond the competitive circuit.

Inspired by ancient Celtic myths and stories, Trinity translates that
magic with an encompassing flair that has made many of these 22 company
members repeat World Champions of Irish dance. In fact, the present
company has 22 consecutive World Titles between them.

The innovative ensemble is constantly searching for original means of
expression while maintaining a high regard for old traditions. Trinity,
a uniquely Irish-American company, was the birthplace of progressive
Irish dance which opened new avenues of artistic expression, leading to
commercial productions such as “Riverdance.”

Over the past several years, Trinity has also collaborated with many
noted contemporary choreographers for an increased catalogue of movement
and the development of a unique form of story ballet which tells the
ancient and modern history of the Irish people through dance and
specially-commissioned live music.

The Trinity Irish Dance Company has performed to great critical and
popular acclaim on stages throughout the world. In addition, its list of
film and television credits include the film “Backdraft,” “The Tonight
Show” with Johnny Carson and with Jay Leno, “Late Night with Conan
O’Brien,” “CBS This Morning,” and ABC's “Good Morning, America.”

The company has toured internationally as invited guests for
dignitaries, including the Royal Family in Monaco, Ireland’s President
Mary Robinson, and Indian meditation master Gurumayi Chidvilasananda.

Trinity recently received an Emmy Award for their appearance on the PBS
television special, “World Stage,” and was featured in the ABC special,
“Dignity of Children” hosted by Oprah Winfrey.

Sharing the Cohan Center stage will be Different Drums of Ireland, which
brings the indigenous drums of Ireland -- the “Lambeg” and the “Bodhran”
-- together for the first time ever in performance.

Hailing from Northern Ireland, Different Drums started in 1991 as a
deliberate exercise in community relations. Performer Roy Arbuckle was
asked to do something in the community using arts as a vehicle. He came
up with the concept of “different drums,” which was borrowed from Henry
Thoreau. “It is the notion of people marching to the beat of different
drums.”

At the same time, he was reading a book by M. Scott Peck entitled,
“Different Drums,” which was about the essential human need to be in
community with other living things.

It was clear to him that that there was a good philosophical
underpinning for a project that addressed both the rights and respect of
the individual and the rights and respect one has as part of a community.

The music also features the “Uilleann” or elbow pipes, whistles, guitar,
four voices, and is driven by the engine of the African “djembe.”

Adding myriad percussion and other instruments to original and
traditional songs makes a unique and exciting combination of traditions
and sounds -- a unique celebration of cultural diversity and linkages.

Tickets for the performance range from $32 - $44, with student discounts
available, and may be purchased at the Performing Arts Ticket Office, 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. To order by
phone, call 805/756-2787; to order by fax: 805/756-6088. Order on-line
at www.pacslo.org.

Sponsored by the Inn at Morro Bay and by KCBX 90.1 FM.

For audio and video samples of Cal Poly Arts events, visit
www.calpolyarts.org.

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