On the road; one suitcase, one carry on. So what do we pack and how do we manage to squeeze it all in? Well, here in Riverdance we are forced to condense all our favorites and essentials into one small bag. So when we do it, we do it good. I have once again picked several cast and crew members to pour their hearts out and divulge their most personal item which they feel they cannot live without.

The Irish Times App:

Moving rapidly with the times our very own Production Manager, Brendan McLoughlin swears by the Irish Times App on his iPad Mini. This way Brendan can stay informed with local news from home and abroad. He checks scores on gaelic football and hurling as he is a strong GAA fan. Being in China for several months means one can go weeks without finding or reading an english text newspaper. He can pass the time on travel days waiting at airports or on bus journeys with his favorite app.

Brendan McLoughlin reads the Irish Times between his busy hectic schedule.

Dear Diary:

Our wonderful cultural liaison, Lindsey Newhall who has been a part of the Riverdance company since 2009 is never to be found without her hardback diary. Be it sitting in traffic in the middle of Beijing, between load in and curtain call or simply on downtime in her hotel, Lindsey keeps track of daily life here on the road in China. These are but a few of the things she notes in her diary:
Places visited
To do lists
Memories
Rumors
Jokes
As Lynsey will be continuing on to Thailand from Beijing, I’m sure she will encounter many more memories along the way, however none as beautiful as those with Riverdance. We wish her all the best. No doubt her diary will continue with her along her travels.

Lindsey noting the day’s excitement on her hammock!

Maggie! Maggie!

Miss Darlington would sleep in her leg warmers if she could get away with it! I’m surprised she doesn’t have a pet name for them. Not to be seen for a minute back stage without them on, she swears by them. ” It’s important to keep your body warm between dances backstage.” We have been relatively fortunate on this Moy tour to have performed in newly built theaters with suffice heating. However between harsh winter temperatures and unpredictable heating arrangements it can be become difficult to stay limber while offstage in Chinese theaters.

Maggie Darlington stretches

A Samsung obsession:

Our very own Medical Officer, Garrett Dockery has been so kind to pose for me and my blog to let all the readers know what his secret tour obsession is and what he simply cannot live without. “My Samsung:…. If I lost my wallet, it wouldn’t bother me half as much as it would if I lost this,” he claims! His ‘man toy’ is a kindle, a music player, a mobile phone and he can watch TV shows or movies on long bus rides between cities on tour. “It is my link to the outside world, and my wife of course!”

Read this on the Riverdance website: What I cannot live without: Life on tour in China

I have always been fascinated by cultures and a countries traditions, but in particular cuisine and food. So, upon agreeing to this tour I polished off my palate and decided to really absorb all the tastes of food that China had to offer.

Whether its walking down the street at night, waiting at the train station or simply standing outside a bank there is always someone eating something. Now as I mentioned in a previous blog, I am adventurous but I am no Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern. I wouldn’t last too long on the Travel Channel’s ‘Bizarre Foods’ however, I have put together a list of strange and bizarre foods that I have seen, touch, smelled and even heard, but taste, eh, not necessarily! I usually have my camera on standby but since I consider myself more of a blogger than a photographer, please excuse the amateur pictures. (I leave them professional photographs to my roommate, Nicole McKeever!)

A regular occurrence:

Seeing chunks of pork, chicken and fish (including fish head) hanging from crooks outside apartments, small food stores and or simply strung across a clothes line down lanes and alleyways. This may seems unusual to us westerners however this is a very ancient practice here in China (rooted in the south over 2,000 years ago). This is known as ‘Lawei’. Firstly the meat is marinated in salt and spices for several days before being hung outdoors to dry in the sun. Lawei can vary from region to region, depending on climate and temperature and annoying mosquitoes. Some regions preserve pork by slicing it and wrapping it in pig intestine to savour the flavour!

Curing meat on the street

Wall Mart:

Let’s just say the one in downtown Yantai is not like your regular branch in Orlando, Florida. The grocery section is usually split up into dried foods and processed foods in the first floor and fruit, vegetables, meat and ‘live’ foodstuffs on the ground. Feast your eyes, I dare you! Always bearing my Riverdance blog in mind, I’ve reached for my camera and snapped at the poor live frogs, turtles and the not-so-fortunate severed poultry and their body parts. Wall Mart here is not your typical oh-so-friendly Saturday morning shop but rather an explicit display of all God’s creatures. Leave the kids at home.

Beverages:

“Not for all the tea in China”:  Being Irish, I do love my tea and having said goodbye to Barry’s tea bags I have not shed a tea-r since! Bubble tea, green tea, yellow tea and oolong are to name but a few of the hundreds of different types of blends. Tsing Tsao piju (beer) and Great Wall red for wine lovers is all on offer but next on my agenda is to taste a cup of the ginseng blended drink on offer in many family style restaurants here. To be drank in cycles and not for more than three months at a time, I am ever curious about this ancient root which so many Chinese people believe brings longevity and good health to those who indulge. Here’s hoping I can take some home with me.

Liquid Ginseng.

Enough is enough:

In the city of Qingdao four girls decided to take a break from the frantic Chinese cuisine and tucked into a fine helping of hamburgers and french fries in the quaint cafe ‘Deja Vu’ across from our hotel and venue. Many thanks to the proprietors for serving us endless amounts of chicken nuggets, salads and mouth-watering tacos for the duration of our stay.

Lauren Smyth, Nicole McKeever, Fiona McCabe and Nicola Dempsey take a break from street meat, hometown salty angles and burning treasures!!!

Menu Options:

Read this on the Riverdance website: Food, Glorious Food.

Browsing Panjiayuan Outdoor Antique market down in the South Chaoyang district and I was not prepared for the cold. Forced to duck in and out of jade and amber dealers’ booths to warm up, I braved the biting arctic winds.  Although the weather was unwelcoming, the local dealers were not.

Wandering from stall to stall everything from old war binoculars and antique swords to buttons and paintbrushes, it was worth every minute of the treacherous winds. Never have I felt so alienated in a shopping environment as I have in Panjiayuan. After having read mixed Lonely Planet reviews of this place I was terribly glad I took the plunge. Haggling and speaking loud blunt English to even louder Chinese  I happily left with a painting;  A beautiful canvas of a Tibetan tribal woman herding sheep- an early birthday gift for myself!  I felt I was beginning to bargain with frostbite so I decided to make my way to the taxi rank, back to the warmth and comfort of my Sheraton hotel room.

Next stop was the Silk Street Market in the Chaoyang district. A short 30 minute ride in a taxicab. Five floors of color, food, art, shoes and jewelery to boot. Here lies something for everyone. Legend has it, the traders haggle best in the morning so an early buffet breakfastoff I set  to explore the famous marketplace. The early bird catches the worm! Not that my suitcase is in any need of extra baggage I still play oblivious to all the domestic flights we take with Riverdance and stock up on unecessary shoes, hats, gloves and black pearls. Another generous gift wrapped up and gift tagged to muggins.

Nanluogu Xiang Street is a prerequisite for those who love to spend afternoons of aimless wandering and a must for tourists who love to soak up chinese culture. Stop by the stalls of hot chestnuts and smelly tofu and make time for plenty of eye-catching locals as they hurry by in their pedal bikes and carts.

One friendly guy even stopped and posed for us with his precious puppy!

Have your camera on standby as you saunter from one small, winding street to another. Did I mention come with an apetite? Skewers of any kind of meat is readily available, noodles, uncanny-looking jelly on a stick and frozen yoghurt are to name but a few of the delicacies on offer. Since I wasn’t feeling so adventurous prior to our due performance, I ducked in to a quirky tea house and settled for a hot coffee. Enough adventure for one day!

Read this on the Riverdance website: The city: Beijing. The place: Panjiayuan, South Chaoyang

Distracted by Inner Mongolian sub zero temperatures, flights galore and simply trying to stay warm in our hotels, I have been somewhat slacking on my blogging and forgive me, but I am slipping back a fortnight and going to tell some tales of our adventure in Beijing.

Leaving Maanshan was not as easy as we had hoped. The tiny Taibai Street (scattered with hundreds of locals on motorbikes and foot) made it seem virtually impossible to get on the highway to the train station. Let’s just say Chinese bus drivers are particularly prone to honking their horns. Don’t bank on catching forty winks on a Chinese bus! Enough said.

After having arrived at the train station we were eventually informed our train was under a 3 hour delay due to extreme weather. Time to get comfortable at the train station. Spirits began to drip. Tapping into our childhood days of having a McDonalds as a mere ‘treat’ still didn’t take the edge off it. Hours later, we all piled into the train and to our surprise we landed ourselves in first class- thank you very much! The happy meter began to climb.

What should have taken a swift three hours slowly became four, five, six and wait for it…seven. Happy meter plummets. We all decided we were going nowhere anytime soon and decided to giver in to mother nature, cosy up and get comfortable. Padraic Moyles and I had plenty time to catch up on season two Homeland. Maeve Fearon sitting in front of me watched back to back episodes of comedy and James Keating spent time editing many of his own short movies. Others read, listened to music, turned one cabin into a Santa’s grotto with fairy lights and others kept a lower key and simply slept.

The lobby at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, Beijing

Three o’ clock in the morning we pull up to the long awaited hotel. A Four Points Sheraton; our home for the next few days. Two big king size bed- yes please. Plenty of gadgets, switches and fun stuff to poke through but my roommate, Nicole McKeever and I are are simply too exhausted to uncover. I dive into my bed and allow myself to be consumed by the layers of crispy clean sheets. Tomorrow is another day.

The following morning brought uncertainty as to whether the show would load in on time due to the sever weather and out trucks not being able to make it through on time. We sat tight but didn’t let it spoil our first day’s adventure in Beijing. Jason O’ Neill, Lauren Smyth, and Nicole McKeever braved the Beijing traffic and biting wind and headed to The Forbidden City for some culture shock. Having already been to The Forbidden City on my last Riverdance tour, I made my way to The Drum and Bell Tower in Gulou Dongdajie. Fascinating sights and a must do for travelers or back packers heading to Beijing. The Drum Tower was a marker for the old Mongol Capital. During the Ming reign, the drums were used to keep time of day. Although the Bell Tower was destroyed by a fire, it now stands a proud 33 meters tall. As recent as 1924 the bronze bell could be heard to as far a radius as 20 kilometers.

Riverdance cast entertain VIP guests with at the Irish Culture night, Beijing Exhibition Centre

Even though Riverdance’s opening night didn’t go to plan in the BEC (Beijing Entertainment Centre), day one finished with a rendition of Riverdance at and Irish Night’s Reception hosted by the Irish Minister for the Arts to name but a few. Ties between the Irish and Chinese were hopefully strengthened to fisherman’s knot standards after an epic night of entertainment with such sparse resources. Despite no dance shoes or costumes the Riverdance band played a heart warming rendition of The American Wake, Riverdance and Macedonia Morning. Who ever said we need dance shoes to kick our legs up high? And that’s just what we did!

Riverdance Band rehearsing with the Tai Whua Andrew band, whose members are blind.

Read this on the Riverdance website: More from Beijing

Lying south on the bank of the fabulous Yellow River, Zhenzhou proudly took on the capital of the Henan Province in the late 14th Century BC. It is one of the Eight Great Ancient Capital Cities of China. It is as vibrant a city as any Beijing or Shanghai. Despite the cold sub zero temperatures I layered on the thermals and did my usual touristy ramble. A bright cold morning of January 4th, I wrapped up and I mean wrapped up. I believe I had on eight items of clothing, (that’s not taking into account sheepskin mittens, a wooly hat, an overcoat that resembles a sleeping bag and a wooly scarf!)

Erqi Memorial Tower (courtesy of Henan Province Tourism )

Making my way down Jinglui Lu and Renmin Road, a busy slice of urban life unfolded before my very eyes. I was standing on a pedestrian bridge overlooking Erqi Square and the ever famous Erqi Memorial Tower. We were lucky enough to get chatting to a local student who explained in his very best english the significance of the city and the history of Erqi Square. The square, which stands as the focal point of the city houses the Erqi Memorial Tower, also known as ‘The February 7th Memorial Tower’. It is a huge 14 story tower built in traditional Chinese style that has six clocks on its belfry. The tower commemorates a large rail workers strike launched by Beijing-Wuhan workers in 1923.

After a hot coffee and a cold ice cream fudge from the nearby McCafe, we trudged onward to the People’s Park west of Renmin and Er ‘ Qi Road. Strolling under an enormous sheltered gated-entrance we left behind a noisy heavily populated afternoon in Zhengzhou in exchange for a sample of an hours tranquility in the park.

Feeding peacocks at Zhenzhou Zoo!

Evidently it was early January as we trotted over small bridges the pedal boats seemed stagnant and, well, utterly stuck in the frozen surrounding canals! In the distance I spied what appeared to be an avery. To my surprise a whole small animal park appeared on the horizon. After paying a mere 10RMB entry fee, I was handed a cone-shaped packet of bird seed and corn feed wrapped in layers of newspaper. There to greet me as I walked on past the clerk was a beautiful peacock, spanning its teal and turquoise feathers in a territorial manner. I even managed to find myself amidst a turkey run! Crocodiles, camels, puck goats and ostriches were all within this enclosed, wonderful world. I was so happy to have the opportunity to view these rare and exotic creatures but saddened by their captivity.
What topped off the day was the lucky break I got on exiting the public park; bright colorful go-karts!  I was transported back to my childhood once again- even if the engine was that from an old lawnmower. Two laps around a makeshift race track and I was in my element: Easily pleased!

Squeezing into my go-kart!

The afternoon was complete with a mosey down the maze of small alleyways to the famous eatery spot known as Guangcai Market; a block northeast of Erqi Ta. Don’t get too distracted walking past the unending numbers of stalls of locals selling everything from long johns to pirated CD’s. Continue along the spindly walk ways which eventually leads to an abundance of snack stalls full of skewers, spicy soup, steamed corn-on-the-cob and octopus fish balls. You will not be disappointed.

Locals enjoying skewers at food market

Fruit stalls in Zhengzhou

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    Fiona wears:

- Black thermals (Marks & Spencer)
- Black tights (Capezio)
- Grey cashmere sweater dress (Troika Luxury Clothing, Nice, France)
- Brown seude & lambswool slipper (Uggs)
Fiona McCabe, MISCP
Chartered Physiotherapist

Read this on the Riverdance website: Latest Blog: Zhengzhou in Henan Province.

Merry Christmas from Wuhan and Happy New Year from Beijing!

— Fiona McCabe (@McCabeFiona) December 30, 2012

We’ve had the turkey, we’ve ate the ham. Secret Santa gifts shared and most importantly we got the snow. Yes ladies and gentlemen Riverdance have just done another white Christmas in China. The Dorsett Regency in Wuhan was our nest for the Christmas week. Stockings were hung by our suitcases with care. Despite no chimney, Santa did not disappoint. I managed to deck out my hotel room with a Chinese, Wall-Mart brand Christmas tree. Tinsel, red bows, bells and lights made me forget the madness of the streets outside and absorb my festive tradition indoors.

Performing on Christmas Day, we kept the spirits alive. Last minute trickery was being carried out by each of our secret santas. Public squid-eating, Britney Spears impersonations and pyjama wearing was amongst a few of the practical jokes we imposed on one another. The excitement grew when our wardrobe department appeared with mandatory tinsel and Santa hats for the finale performance. Our principal performers Callum Spencer and Siobhan Manson reminded me of a very special Mr. and Mrs. Claus sporting their red and white hats!

Ignited joss sticks.

Entrance to Po Lun Temple, Chonqing

Meanwhile, several days earlier Chongqing proudly showed it’s rich heritage when some of us took a spin to the ancient town of Ciqikou. We suddenly found ourselves climbing the Clock Tower next to the Bao Lun Temple. Upon payment of a mere 5 RMB we each received three incense or joss sticks to light at the top of the temple. We were met with many local people and tourists alike at the summit, each lighting joss papers of varying size. These are burned to give praise to gods, spirits and ancestors alike. After a small bit of research I found out the significance of such traditions.

Beautiful, painted wall murals surrounding Buddha.

Built over 1,500 years ago the Kwun Yam Temple houses the statue of an enormous Buddha. Believing so strongly in its power, it is here where the people of China seek the truth of the universe. It was also thought that the Ming Dynasty emperor, Jian Wen took refuge here in the old monastery. It has therefore been given the name: dragon concealed temple. Unfortunately few words can share the feeling one experiences at the top of this ancient temple. The panorama of the Bai Ya Mountain and the Jia Ling River is simply breathtaking from this sacred, delightful place.

Fiddle player Niamh Ni Charra takes ‘touristy’ to another level!

Fiddle player, Niamh Ni Charra, Tapper Kelly Issac and his fiancee (and spanish flamenco) Rocio Montoya enjoyed an afternoon of strolling down the narrow, meandering streets amongst other tourists and locals. Ducking in and out of miniature shop fronts we got a kick out of haggling shop merchants for the best of best of crafts and souvenirs!

Stalls of everything and anything in Ciqikou

Members of the band and wardrobe department on a day out in Ciqikou.

To our horror however, we realise our haggling skills are not so perfect when we are slammed with a twenty euro bill for four coffees! Nevertheless it was money well spent getting to sit with four friends and colleagues and exchange the excitement and giddiness of the day.

A well-earned (and expensive) coffee

So the  Riverdance trail to Beijing continues tomorrow. I wish each and every one of you a healthy and prosperous new year. Until next week!

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Fiona wears..
- Beige feather down long-length coat (Only.com) with detachable fur collar
- Pink wool hat ( A gift!)
- Strawberry Shortcake bag and muff ( A gift!)
- Black patent slip ons with velvet bow (Schuh)

Read this on the Riverdance website: Merry Christmas from Wuhan and Happy New Year from Beijing!

Reporting two weeks in a somewhat settled China-orientated Moy company. We have swiftly ploughed through five cities to date and are heading for a sixth in Chongqing in the province of Chongoing.

Writing this from the my cosy room in the Xi Lai Le Hotel, I have just returned from a 25RMB feast of stir fried chili pork, a plate of tofu marinated in something delicious, a bowl of egg fried rice and something that’s looks related to Spanish chorizo. Licking my lips? Yes! Freezing cold? Without a doubt! I have been forced to walk back to my hotel briskly and intermittently jogging! I am sadly beginning to think we did not appreciate the warm, humid climate of Guangdong.

Tapper Keppy Issac and Flamenco, Rocio Montoya in their winter woollies

Dongguan presented an array of choice for the very famous Chinese hotpot. I recently discovered the Chinese translation means ‘fire pot’. It originates back to Mongolia over one thousand years ago and spread to south China during the Tang Dynasty. Featured here is Dan Dorrance impatiently waiting for his pork, beef and chicken to cook in the boiling chili oil! To our ignorance the waiters spoke no English. We were forced to make hideous farm animal impressions to specify our liking.  Upon clucking like chicken and using arms as wings the picked up on our meaning. Literally. Chicken Licken on a plate. Head, feet, the works!

Dan Dorrance waiting for hotpot web

We embraced our first flight from Shenzen into Changsa on China Southern. Surprisingly, my new Steven King novel put me to sleep mid flight. I am putting this down to the sheer frenzy and exhaustion of an establishment known as Luohu Commercial City; a wonderful five story asylum for the insane folk in the world of fashion.

Luohu Markets and surrounding Shangri-La Hotel

Ladies if you ever visit here, make sure you do the following: Eat, sleep and bring your cash because words simply cannot explain the assortment of goods to be haggled for here. Clothing, bags, electronics, wigs, fabrics, you name it. It is a mecca for the fashion conscious, to put it mildly. Many of our troupe including Nicole McKeever, Nicola Dempsey and our very own James Keating hit the jackpot with gifts and Christmas treats.

Dancers Nicola Dempsey and Nicole McKeever outside the market complex.

So far so good, Riverdance has melted nicely into the Chinese culture; Dongguan for heart-warming local food, Huizhou for its beautiful, newly built Convention Centre. Shenzen for its splendor of vegetarian food and markets and Yichun for the friendliest hotel staff.

Dancers Fiona McCabe, Steven Brennan and Nicola Dempsey splurging on vegetarian food in Shenzen opposite the Maple Leaf Hotel.

STYLE FILE: Fiona McCabe backstage in lulu lemon black ‘Groove’ pants (Lululemon.com) and pink fleece robe ( courtesy of the Riverdance wardrobe team.)

Read this on the Riverdance website: Life on Tour – Chinese style

 Click on photos to start photo slideshow

Guangzhou :

“Ouch!” I say aloud to the nurse as she retracts the syringe from my poor arm. “All done”. That was jab number there’s-too-many-to-remember! Injections;check. China lonely planet;check. A dozen (not enough) mince pies;check.

So we decided yet again to dust off the dance shoes once more and hop aboard operation Moy in China to give you a slice of life on the Chinese road. Not only is this my third tour out here but my second Christmas and I intend to make it good.

A flight from Dublin to Paris AND a twelve hour flight to Guangzhou AND a 45 minute bus trip to our final destination- The Ocean Hotel, proved more jet lag than I was able to handle. Two sleepless nights and zombified mornings was not the ideal set up to kickstart this tour. I however battled on and after having fueled myself with a western breakfast at the top floor restaurant was ready to take on a day of rehearsals. It was worth the 8 am bus call for the crew, it was worth the 9 am call for the band and it most certainly was worth the seven hour prep for the cast! Although our search for food prior to show time wasn’t so successful, we did manage to put together our breakfast leftovers, candy and other such snacks people had on them. We saw no body go hungry. Here team spirit runs on tap.Opening night’s show at The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Auditorium for the people of Guangzhou went down a treat.

Day two I enjoyed a stroll around Tianhe Park which features beautiful, award-winning landscaped gardens known as Yuehui and Yuexiu. I enter the huge iron gates and enter a world of green. Nothing is left to the imagination. Elderly men enjoy games of chess, grandmothers sit around old tree stumps and chat heartily over a game of playing cards. What struck me the most was the serenity and tranquility of the park. Noise level was so reduced that one would almost forget they were right in the heart of the second biggest city in the world.

I had some time to spare after a lunch of stir- fried beef and noodles so I was easily lured under the large red iron gates into the Mausoleum of the 72 Martyrs at the south foot of the Baiyun Mountain. The Mausoleum was erected in honor of the martyrs who risked and gave their lives for the Revolution of the Guangzhou Uprising, United League in 1911. It was listed by the State Council as an important relic in the state in 1961.

You’re probably wondering what the food has been like so far here. Well, spoiled for choice is putting it lightly. As it happened, the Ocean Hotel was situated in front of an Irish bar; The Paddy Feld. So nothing unusual was ate by the majority of the cast. However some of us decided to hit the local food kiosks. Steamed frogs in lotus leaves, Jew’s-ear (an edible mushroom-like fungus) and black sesame paste (desert pudding) is as adventurous as it gets this week but we are slowly easing ourselves into it. Fried fish lips “the ancient way” and fish head clay pot style sounded a little too exotic and somewhat challenging for week one

So, I am happy to report so far that our happy crew of 15, 27 dancers and 4 musicians have slipped very nicely into life in south China. We are not quite eating like the locals yet but we shall bide our time. After all ten weeks is a long time. On next week’s agenda: We will be getting into the festive spirit and begin our secret santa craze. It’s room decorating, mistletoe scented candles and jingle bells ,em, Chinese- style!

Read this on the Riverdance website: The Tour begins – Guangzhou, China

Principle dancers Alana Mallon, Fiona McCabe and Chloey Turner

Have you ever tried to apply yourself and be productive when creativity is at it lowest and emotions are at their highest? Well, that’s the space I have been existing since our last and final North American tour finally came to a close. I suppose it’s something that happens our literacy at some point and it goes along the lines of what they call ‘writer’s block’!

I have let myself marinate in European audiences since- specifically those of Ireland and Belgium. I wanted to flow into another Riverdance company without getting too nostalgic and sentimental over leaving the Shannon in the United States. And, as always, it was a delight to return for another summer in the Gaiety Theatre and perform to another Riverdance-hungry Irish audience! We have just finished our ninth consecutive year in the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin and what a pleasure it has been.

Riverdance Gaiety Cast 2012

This summer season for us full-time dancers saw a mix of work and play. Weddings, festivals and mandatory beach holidays all draw us away from our duties as dancers at some point during the height of the summer period. This brought back many past Riverdancer’s to grace the stage. Forgive my probable loss of memory but hopefully no one is left off the list. The following deputes include: Nina Burke, Claire Doyle, Anthony Fallon, Mark Gorman, Katie Hands, John Lonergan, Aoife McDarby, Niamh McDarby and Yvonne McNeilis. Well done and thank you for stepping in when duty calls. Even though these talented dancers have traded in performing full time to the ‘nine to five’ life, they have not abandoned their roots.

Over the duration of the summer we had plenty of ‘celebrities’ and royalty alike visit the Gaiety to see what Riverdance was all about! David O Leary (former Leeds and Arsenal manager and former Irish International player). TV star Mischa Barton (actor on the popular TV series ‘The OC’ ) along with Irish boxing coach Billie Walsh and in the final week, HRH the Prince of Morocco!

Some of us were luck enough to get whisked off to the lovely sea-side town of Oostende where we performed in Kursaal for two whole weeks (July 23- August 6). Days were spent lounging at the beach and in our fabulously, fully kitted-out, plush apartments. Nights were spent tasting the delicate foods and sampling the local produce. Of course not to mention we danced somewhere in between all this!

Several dancers took advantage of our day off after week one and boarded the train to Amsterdam via Antwerp. I was adamant to visit the Anne Frank museum. Just an hour queuing on Prinsengracht proved very much worth the while as I worked my way through the many floors of the building and into the back annex. How moving it was to walk the same rooms and corridors of the Frank family which have been so well preserved after all these years.

Canals in Amsterdam

Bikes were hired on numerous occasions on day trips to the beautiful and historic town of Brugge. I endured long mornings in the Picasso museum followed by a giant sized pot of fresh moules-frites- Another tough day at the office!

View from the 83m high Bell Tower in Brugge which originally dates back to 1241

So here’s where I leave off (again!). Thank you for the wonderful memories. Never before have we travelled eleven hours in one day to bring the joy of Riverdance to your town. Never before have we traversed so many American towns and cities, but, alas! We have done it all. I have done it all. And in the words of a great fellow artist, Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way”. We made it an adventure. I made it an adventure and made it a good one. Against all odds, friendships were strengthened, comradeship was gained, new lands visited and our mark was made. We hope that through our Riverdance footprint that we have left the imprint of the Irish in you and your hearts.

Fiona's Style file with Natalie B Coleman

Read this on the Riverdance website: On tour blog – Gaiety Dublin and Kursaal Oostende

Principal dancers Jason O Neill and Fiona McCabe

Fiona McCabe, Irish Dance Troupe, Shannon Company

Saturday night in downtown Raleigh brought celebrations for the Shannon Co. and in particular, our saxophonist, Dave McGauran. Members of the band organised a night for the stag himself before he ties the knot in Ireland over the summer. Pizzas, streamers and a ‘lap’ dance from two of our own (Patrick Barnett and Shane Cummins) proved a successful night. Custom-made t-shirts by all the guys guaranteed endless laughs and sparked off many the joke!

It was bittersweet for our company however as we bid farewell to one of our crew guys, lighting engineer, Nick Partin. We wish him all the best with his new show ‘Memphis’ and we since welcome Adam Lansing to our Riverdance team.

Ryan, Dave and I outside 'Ireland' in Busch Gardens

Newport News brought a fabulous day off in sunny Virginia. Being so close to Williamsburg, I snapped up the opportunity to visit a dear friend and former troupe dancer in the show, Ryan McCarthy. We spent some quality time together in old Colonial Williamsburg, followed by lunch in Aroma’s coffee shop. We decided to have an early night as we planned the next afternoon at Busch Gardens: This required an early start! We were accompanied by tapper Jason E. Bernard and musician Dave McGauran. What a splendid afternoon we had riding heart-pounding, jaw-dropping roller coasters such as ‘Griffen’ and ‘Alpengeist’. We even managed to get soaked on one of the water rides! We made sure to save time for delicious waffle cones and ice-cream to cool off in the hot Virginia sun!

Since there is an Irish dance spectacle on offer in Busch Gardens, several dancers who once performed with Riverdance have joined one of the theme park’s show; one in particular being ‘Celtic Fyre’. Former Riverdance troupe dancers Scott Doherty, Meghan Lucey , Christina Dolzall, Rachel Harris and Ryan McCarthy all came to sit and watch our performance at the Ferguson Centre for the Arts in Newport News. Meghan even graced us with her presence onstage and performed with us no less for two shows in both Newport News and Charlottesville, VA. Megan was filling the shoes (literally) of Maggie Darlington who was on rest after a minor ankle injury.

Jason Bernard in Busch Gardens

We kicked off the month of June in the exciting city of Baltimore, the largest city in the state of Baltimore. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side as warnings of a small tornado was brought to our attention. However wet and stormy outside, not even the weatherman could break the welcoming atmosphere inside the Lyric Opera House. The Baltimore audience was definitely no reflection on the weather! We were all happy to retire to the fabulous Kimpton Hotel Group- Hotel Monaco. Spoilt by spacious rooms and luxurious bedding I was never happier to see the inside of my ‘leaba’! (bed).

I snapped up a little free time between shows on Saturday and basked in the sunshine by the harbor at Fells Point. Saying I feasted on some local seafood would be an understatement!  Dining al fresco on mahi mahi, clam chowder and mussels; well let’s just say I had myself convinced I was already on holiday! Fells Point is a must for those of you have yet to visit…….

Read this on the Riverdance website: Busch Gardens and beyond