In the company’s first Colorado performance in 10+ years, Denver native and new co-artistic director returns to the stage where she first saw Trinity as a nine-year-old
If you go…
What: Trinity Irish Dance Company
When: Friday, August 28, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Vilar Performing Arts Center, Beaver Creek, Colorado
Tickets: vilarpac.org
When Chelsea Hoy was nine years old, her aunt pulled her out of school early and drove her and her sister up the mountain from Denver to see a dance company perform at the Vilar Performing Arts Center. More than twenty years later, she is returning to that same stage—this time as the leader of the company she once came to see.
On August 28, 2026, Trinity Irish Dance Company performs at the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek, its first Colorado performance in more than a decade and the first one at the Vilar since Hoy saw the group there as a child. Leading it is Hoy: a Denver native who was named the company’s co-artistic director earlier this year. At 30, she is one of the youngest artistic directors in the performing arts and one of very few women to lead a major dance company.
A full-circle homecoming
Hoy left the Vilar that night in 2005, an inspired young Irish dancer with a Trinity T-shirt and dreams for her future in hand. She moved to Chicago and joined Trinity in 2014, rose to associate artistic director in 2018, and was named co-artistic director this past February. Now, she is coming back to the theater where it all started.
“I still remember where I sat in the Vilar when I was nine, inspired by the fierce women of Trinity Irish Dance Company with eyes wide open to the possibilities for this cultural form,” Hoy said. “Nearly 13 years into my career with Trinity, this is the first time I’m returning home. It’s a full circle story filled with dreams come true.”
Nearly every piece on the Vilar program will be a Colorado premiere.
More than a show
Trinity Irish Dance Company is a Chicago-based non-profit repertoire company, founded by Mark Howard in 1990, that performs Irish dance as a concert art form. It predates Riverdance and the commercialized global Celtic craze that followed, and it’s the only touring repertoire performing arts Irish dance company in the world, appearing at institutions like Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and the Joyce Theater rather than on the commercial circuit.
As Irish dance has grown into a commercial phenomenon of glitzy costumes and big spectacle, Trinity has stayed rooted in its original vision: to present Irish Dance as serious concert dance, treating the art form as something to develop, not package.
Vail Dance Festival premiere
Hoy’s Colorado summer starts before her performance at the Vilar. Because the Vilar and the Vail Dance Festival (July 31-August 10, 2026) are both projects of the nonprofit Vail Valley Foundation, Coloradans can catch Hoy’s work twice this summer: first in Vail and then in Beaver Creek.
At the Vail Dance Festival, Hoy will co-choreograph a new work with Michelle Dorrance, one of the most celebrated tap artists working today. The piece will debut at NOW: Premieres on August 10, bringing five of Trinity’s Irish dancers into the same room as the world’s top tap and ballet dancers, including New York City Ballet’s Tiler Peck, Roman Mejia, and India Bradley. Trinity will also appear in select Festival performances.
A theater for making memories
The Vilar Performing Arts Center is a 530-seat nonprofit theater in the heart of Beaver Creek Village, built underground and modeled on 19th-century European opera houses. It presents year-round programming across Broadway, concerts, dance, comedy, family entertainment, classical music, and more.
“This performance is a remarkable full-circle moment in Chelsea’s dance journey,” said Cameron Morgan, Executive Director of the Vilar Performing Arts Center. “She sat in this theater as a child and fell in love with Trinity Irish Dance Company, and now she’s returning to the Vilar leading the very company that inspired her. It’s a wonderful story, and I think it will make this performance especially meaningful.”
As part of the run, Trinity will also perform a free matinee for Eagle County students through the Vilar’s STARS program (Support the Arts Reaching Students), which provides more than 10,000 free tickets each year for local students to attend specially programmed daytime performances. The matinee will give Eagle County students the same early exposure to the arts that shaped Hoy’s own career.
For longtime fans and first-time audiences alike, it’s a chance to see a milestone in Trinity’s 35th anniversary season unfold live, in the theater where its leader experienced the spark that would shape her career and life’s purpose.
Tickets for Trinity Irish Dance Company on August 28, 2026 are on sale now at vilarpac.org or by phone at 970-845-8497.
Frequently asked questions
When is Trinity Irish Dance Company performing in Colorado?
August 28, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Is Trinity Irish Dance Company performing anywhere else in Colorado this summer?
Yes. Trinity also appears at the Vail Dance Festival (July 31–August 10, 2026), where Chelsea Hoy is co-choreographing a new work with tap artist Michelle Dorrance, premiering August 10.
Who is Chelsea Hoy?
Chelsea Hoy is the co-artistic director of Trinity Irish Dance Company and a Denver native. She joined the Chicago company in 2014 and was named co-artistic director in February 2026, at age 30, making her one of the youngest artistic directors in the performing arts and one of few women to lead a major dance company.
Is Trinity Irish Dance Company the same as Riverdance?
No. Trinity was founded in 1990 and predates Riverdance, and it performs Irish dance as a concert art form, existing as a non-profit repertoire company rather than as a commercial touring show.
How far is the Vilar from Denver?
About two hours via I-70, and 30 minutes from Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE).
How do I get tickets?
Tickets are on sale now at vilarpac.org or by phone at 970-845-8497.