El impactante espectáculo irlandés se presentará en el Gran Rex desde el miércoles 22 al miércoles 29 de agosto, con doble función los fines de semana.

Riverdance, una producción que fusiona danza y música con una fuerte influencia irlandesa, llega al país para presentarse con música original de Bill Whelan, producido por Moya Doherty y dirigido por John McColgan.

El impactante espectáculo irlandés se presentará en el Gran Rex desde el miércoles 22 al miércoles 29 de agosto, con doble función los fines de semana.

Su primera presentación en Dublín en el año 1995 marcó el inicio de una exitosa carrera a nivel nacional e internacional. Con más de 15 años de trayectoria y más de 10 mil presentaciones realizadas alrededor del mundo, llegan a Buenos Aires.

Actualmente, Riverdance cuenta con 3 producciones que giran simultáneamente por diferentes países. Cada una está compuesta por 50 miembros, entre bailarines y músicos, unidos todos por la magia de la música de Bill Whelan.

Riverdance representa la vida de un río. La primera canción, titulada “Canción de la Nube”, invita a la lluvia que cae, alimenta al río y llega hasta el mar. A partir de ese momento, comienza la coreografía que representa su movimiento, transmitiendo la energía del curso del agua y su ciclo renovador.

Mediante esta metáfora se cuenta la historia de Irlanda, cuya población se vio obligada a emigrar y a asentarse en otras tierras, para luego regresar en el siglo XX y enriquecer al país con el talento y aprendizaje adquirido durante aquel período.

Read this on the Riverdance website: Riverdance, show de música y danza irlandesa, en el Gran Rex

It’s the last dance. After all those years of foot-stomping, heel-tapping, stiff-backed, step-dance prancing, the Riverdance folk are hanging up their shoes.  Well, that’s what we’re told anyway.
Truth is, it’s only the North American market that will see a hiatus of the popular show.
“We’re going to India and China, lots of places,” says sprightly Caterina Coyne,  Riverdance star and champion Irish dancer. “And there will be a new Irish dance show in North America from the Riverdance folks before you can say leprechaun. You can count on that.”
Coyne was born in Surrey, England, but grew up dancing in Ireland. This summer, she’ll be dancing her feet off in Dublin at The Gaiety Theatre before having a holiday in Galway where she has a permanent home.

“You could say Riverdance started as a real phenomenon. I mean, it was a small part of a Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. It just took off from there. It was partly Bill Whelan’s music and partly the smart dance steps I suppose. It’s just been entertaining people ever since.”
“It’s a gruelling thing to dance eight Riverdance shows a week,” Coyne says. “Hard on the knees, legs and back. It makes you ache all over. Doing it on tour, as we are now, every night is opening night and you feel such responsibility to make the show good.”
Coyne says a physiotherapist travels with the troupe and is kept busy all the time.
“The thing is you forget how hard it is when you’re up there doing the performance. It’s just all about making the show work.”
Coyne says the life of a dancer is governed by injury and health, so you protect yourself the best way you can.
“You’ve got to look after yourself. People come and go in this show, but I’m in it for the long haul. And that’s because I love it.”
Coyne has been stomping those feet for eight years now and she has no intention of stopping.
“I love the choreography. It’s 100 per cent high-energy stuff. Is it traditional Irish step dance? Yes and no. The costumes, of course, are quite different. Irish folk dance outfits would be too heavy and cumbersome for what we do. I just know that before Riverdance there was nothing really for an Irish dancer. This show changed all that.”
Coyne admits there are recorded taps to augment the live performance on stage, but she says these sweeteners on the soundtrack are just that, a form of augmentation.
“We’re doing everything flat out, I can tell you that.”
Coyne laughs when you suggest the show is as much about guys in tight pants and girls in micro-minis as it is about dance.
“If you’re saying the show makes Irish dancing sexy, that’s true enough. And it’s definitely a show where you’re free to express yourself. What isn’t traditional about it is the way we use our hands. That’s not really part of Irish folk dance.”
Coyne dances the star part in this travelling production and she says that means being an example.
“The other dancers look up to you. And in some ways you are the face of the show. People expect plenty of you.”

Gary Smith has written on theatre and dance for The Hamilton Spectator for more than 30 years

Read this on the Riverdance website: Dancing off into sunset, for now

Maeve exploring the city

Following a manic two weeks, Monday’s ‘loud’ bus was full of overly enthusiastic dancers as we pulled up to the amazing Hard Rock Hotel in sunny Chicago. The architecturally impressive building, purposely resembling a champagne bottle lived up to its ‘rock and roll’ reputation in many ways with Led Zepplin memorabilia on our floor, pictures of David Bowie hanging in our room and rock music blasting through the art-deco lobby. After dropping our luggage, we headed off down Michigan Avenue to check out the city. Later that evening, we got dressed up and visited “Japonais”, a Japanese restaurant and celeb haunt in Chicago (Angie and Brad are regulars!). We then finished our much anticipated day off taking in the Chicago blues scene at “Buddy Guy’s Legends.”

On Tuesday, the brunch at “Wildberry Cafe” was a delight and afterwards we took a walk around “Millennium Park”, visiting “The Bean” – a famous sculpture and huge tourist attraction, the Art Institute of Chicago and the lovely ‘Bucktown’ area. Opening night in Chicago beckoned and with the knowledge that our dance director, Breandan de Gallai would be in the audience watching all week, we went in a little earlier to prepare for the show.

Visiting 'The Bean' at Millennium Park

Spencer Finch Lunar exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago

The next day, we were expected for rehearsals at 1pm. Breandan went through the previous night’s performance with precise notes for each number. He acknowledged the fact that it was a difficult tour, but wanted to remind us of the importance of striving for perfection. It’s easy to slip into bad habits with long travel days and shows every day, sometimes two, but it’s such a privilege to be here and performing at our best is something Breandan encouraged. Rehearsals lasted a few short hours and as we finished the show that night, we were collectively excited for a surprise Hen Party we had planned for one of our female cast, Jessie Baffa, who is getting married in June. A fantastic night was had by all and as our week was coming to a close, I decided to dedicate my time to shopping and just taking in the city sights in the scorching sun. Most notably, I made my first major purchase – a “MacBook Pro” laptop computer. Even though I have been planning to buy this for a long time, it didn’t make the payment any easier but I am happy to report that it is unquestionably worth every penny!

Jessie Baffa's (2nd from left) hen party

Saturday was St Patrick’s Day and if any of you ever get the chance to visit Chicago for this, I highly recommend it! It is a huge deal in Chicago with prior preparations including green street lights, shamrock posters, and even some nice art exhibitions with Irish music ringing through the streets. Thousands of people turned out for the St Patrick’s Day parade, each one in green. Our executive producer, Julian, who was visiting for a short while, was even met with some shock and confusion at our hotel for not wearing the emerald colours. Perhaps the most striking of all however is the annual tradition of dying the “Chicago River” a perfect Irish green (Check out the full story – http://greenchicagoriver.com/story.html).

St Patrick's Day crowds

The impressive green Chicago River

As we were busy with daily notes on stage from Breandan, we didn’t get much time to celebrate, but the atmosphere was electric for the entire weekend. On Sunday, a few of us went to a music session at “Celtic Crossing” Irish pub to end a fantastic week in what I now consider as my favourite city in America.

Maeve

Read this on the Riverdance website: St Patrick’s Day with Riverdance in Chicago

By Sid Smith, Special to the Tribune
March 15, 2012

Perfectly timed for St. Patrick’s Day, “Riverdance,” the spectacular display of Irish folk dance, speckled with the arts of a few other ethnicities in its mix, returns for what’s billed as its farewell visit, on view through Sunday at the Oriental Theatre.

Surely it winds down as one of the more phenomenal and unlikely ventures in pop dance history, centered on what seemed in the beginning an eccentric craft, Irish step-dancing. But, in its tour, it then went on to make that craft familiar and even beloved while anchor of a unique variety show only now nearing its close after an impressive 15 years.

“Riverdance” rendered a highly competitive past time commercially compelling, while heightening awareness of the thrills, pluck and artistic subtleties of folk dance in general. Shrewdly throwing in flamenco and tap, it arrived as part of a broader, worldwide revival in percussive dance, a revival it helped inspire, and a reminder that people everywhere love to tap their feet and always will.

The show itself should be a bit creaky by now, but Tuesday’s opening proved anything but. The energy is still sky high, the seductiveness still irresistible, in part, it must be said, because the trappings of the show were always a tad dated and greeting-card corny to begin with. The wholesome, New Age circus gloss isn’t any more old-fashioned now than it was back in the ’90s. You tend to look past it to relish the extraordinary technical virtuosity.

The cast is excellent, the enthusiasm infectious and the technical skills better than ever. That starts with Tuesday’s outstanding principles, Padraic Moyles and Alana Mallon. She’s graceful, thin-limbed but exquisitely muscled, keen in her stepping and yet able to stylishly master the ballet-like stretches that depart here and there from all the step-dancing clickety-clacks. Moyles, sporting a slight resemblance to actor Gabriel Byrne in his younger years, is an irrepressible showoff and peacock, as delighted by his own performance as anybody. But Riverdance always served as a cheerleader for its art, and Moyles is as persuasive a cheerleader as they come, looser and more freewheeling in his overall approach, but electrifying in his intricate footwork and breathtaking speed.

Indeed, the Act II tap and Irish square off, a metaphor for American immigrant conflict and reconciliation, is as exciting as ever, if not more so, Moyles deliciously showing off his uncanny athletics while well matched by two dynamite, post-Savion Glover contemporary tappers, DeWitt Fleming Jr. and Michael E. Wood.

The show always boasted fine flamenco specialists, but Marita Martinez-Rey is especially beautiful, combining rapid-fire feet with flowing, undulating and sensual body work. She also has some of Moyles’ contagious enthusiasm, warmly inviting the audience into her art.

The musicians have always been a key component of the variety, and here the Uilleann pipes are mastered by Matt Bashford, Rose Duffy is a lickety-split fiddler and percussionist Mark Alfred is a one-man spectacle all by himself. Tap-dancer Wood doubling as baritone delivers his solo with mournfulness and compassion, and the clean, high-pitched voices of the choir are sonorous and pure.

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.

Tickets: $30-$85.

Box Office: 800-775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com

Read this on the Riverdance website: After 15 years, ‘Riverdance’ continues to kick up a storm

It’s an International phenomenon that has delighted audiences in America for 15 years. But 2012 will bring the final curtain call for “Riverdance”, here in the United States. The popular Irish dance show is ending it’s tour and making one last stop in the Mid-South. James Greenan and Chloey Turner are principal dancers for “Riverdance”.

Read this on the Riverdance website: Interview with Riverdance principal dancers James Greenan & Chloey Turner

Chinadaily.com.cn
Mon, Feb 20, 2012

Julian Erskine, the Irish senior executive producer of the musical sensation Riverdance, knows he’s done a good job if people dance out of the theater after a performance.

That was how he felt when he came to China with Riverdance.

“We love the reaction of the Chinese people. It was such an interesting and special experience to be performing in the Great Hall of the People, the National Center for Performing Arts and many other great venues,” the producer said in an e-mail interview with China Daily.

“We had an amazing moment on the tour when we were out for a walk in Shenzhen and came across a group of Chinese people trying to do Riverdance steps in a park. That made us feel really famous.”

The team performed in Ireland for the state visit of former premier Zhu Rongji. They were subsequently invited to perform in Beijing and Shanghai in 2003.

When the sequined dancers of the musical Riverdance performed in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2003, they didn’t merely usher in the biggest international production ever to hit China.

“I think it’s because Riverdance is the original Irish dance show. We were the first and every other show is a copy of us. I think that really shows on stage, and the audience can spot the difference,” said Erskine.

According to Jurek Zhang, general manager of Beijing Joyway Culture & Media Co Ltd, which manages the Riverdance tour in China, the popular musical Riverdance has been presented in China five times.

In 2009, the show was even part of China Central Television’s Spring Festival Gala, watched by an audience of millions across the country.

“The show has been staged more than 150 times, and more than 300,000 Chinese people have watched it,” said Zhang. At the end of 2012, Riverdance will have an eight-week tour in China.

Zhang noted that the arrival of the production illustrated China’s growing maturity as a cultural market, aided by the increasingly open rules of recent years that have allowed moreinter national artists and troupes to perform.

“We are glad to see that the Chinese audiences are excited to watch Riverdance. We’ve found that Riverdance has become a phenomenon among both ordinary audiences and professional dance troupes in China,” said Zhang.

“Now that the show has been to China many times, Chinese audiences feel connected to the show.”

The connection is also shared by the Riverdance team.

“Especially since we recorded our last DVD in Beijing and included three Chinese musicians in the show, we now feel very much at home in China,” said Erskine. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could one day assemble a full Chinese cast for the show? It’s not that impossible.”

A spectacular theater show of traditional Irish music and dancing, Riverdance serves up two and one-half hours of thrills, movement and rhythm.

According to the musical’s producer, who started working on Riverdance in August 1994, it all began in 1994 with the Eurovision Song Contest, a popular annual competition in which singers from different European nations perform.

Television viewers pick the winner. The full show opened in February 1995 and has been seen by more than 22 million people since.

“We knew it was a big hit in Ireland at the start, but I suppose the first time we really knew it was special was when we went to London and the audiences and critics alike raved about the show,” said Erskine.

He noted that step dancing, performed in the Riverdance show, has been part of Irish village celebrations, such as weddings and festivals, for centuries. It enjoyed a revival in the 1930s,when enthusiasts laid down some rules about how the dance should be done. Dancers wear hard shoes to beat out the rhythm on the ground. The upper body and arms don’t move. All the movement of the dance comes from the legs and feet.

Riverdance was the first show to line up 30 or more dancers in a row and have them step dancing in perfect rhythm.

“It was not generally popular until the success of Riverdance, but after that, everyone wanted to learn!” he said.

Read this on the Riverdance website: Riverdancers in step with audiences across entire nation

TheaterJones Performing Arts News in North Texas

by Katie Dravenstott

The lead dancer of Riverdance discusses the show’s longevity and its impact on American dance.

Dallas — Since its first performance in the United States in 1996, Riverdance has been wowing viewers with its fast footwork, original sound and Irish charm. What started as a seven-minute dance segment on the 1994 Eurovision Song contest has become an international phenomenon and Ireland’s poster child.

Produced by Moya Doherty, directed by John McColgan and with music by Bill Whelan, Riverdance takes viewers inside some of Ireland’s timeless traditions through song and dance.

Now, as its 15-year U.S. run comes to end, TheaterJones asked lead dancer Padraic Moyles to tell us what it’s like being a part of this sensational cast, the lore behind the Irish technique and what he thinks the show has done for Irish dancing, especially here in the U.S. The show makes its final North Texas appearance Feb. 7 and 8 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

TheaterJones: What makes Irish dancing different from other styles of dance such as tap?

Padraic Moyles: Irish dancing is actually quite similar to tap dancing. The similarity between the two is the rhythms. Tap dancers do the exact same rhythms as us, so they could copy our set of rhythms perfectly and we could copy their rhythms perfectly. It’s just how we do it is completely different. We’re a lot more strict and disciplined in our artform and American tap dancing is a lot looser. We do have tap dancers in the show and when they’re teaching us moves and we’re teaching them moves it feels really foreign. We’re still dancing and making rhythm with our feet, it’s just a different technique.

What is the significance of holding your arms at your side when you’re dancing?

There are numerous stories as to why that happened. One is that the Catholic Church is very strict in Ireland and it was a sign of needing space for the Holy Spirit. You stay straight and upright and you didn’t touch your partner because it was a sign of respect. The next two stories are the ones I like the most. For a long time Britain had a stronghold on Ireland and during this time social parties were in a sense banned. Well the Irish people are well known for their social parties so they would gather in someone’s house and dance from the waist down so when British soldiers walked by and looked in the window they would only see their still upper bodies. The other one is that the houses were so small that they would take the doors down and dance on the doors to create the rhythm. Well, there wasn’t enough space on the door for everybody so they had to keep their hands by their sides and their backs straight to fit more people on the door.

Riverdance contains both soft-shoe and hard-shoe dancing. Could you explain the difference between the two?

Everybody starts in soft shoe and progresses to hard shoe. The soft shoe you’re talking about is probably in terms of the girls’ soft shoe and it’s a much more balletic style of Irish dancing. And the girls that are doing it today are extremely athletic in what they do. The main difference is in the soft-shoe dancing is the girls are very much on their tippy toes and are very, very light on their feet. They try to portray a very regal stance in terms of what they are doing with their feet and the movement they are creating on the stage. And then with the hard-shoe dancing, it kind of speaks for itself in the sense that it’s all about the rhythm and technique. But technique is very important in both soft-shoe and hard-shoe dancing.

What impact has Riverdance had on the dance culture in America?

The Americans have come a long way when it comes to Irish dancing. They are really becoming a powerhouse. So, it is amazing how Riverdance has probably had a massive influence on promoting the culture here in America. I grew up in Dublin and moved to New York where I have spent most of my life and I was competing in Irish dance in New York 15-20 years ago and most of the time the Americans didn’t do that well. And now, there’s an American world champion!

I think when Riverdance came out it made Irish dancing popular and sexy and athletic and all those terrific things so that a lot of those parents with Irish ancestry decided they wanted their children to learn it. I think Riverdance made a massive push for Irish dancing in the U.S. because if you talk to any Irish dancing instructors that have been around before Riverdance and are still here now they would say their numbers jumped massively since Riverdance came out.

What was the auditioning process like for Riverdance?

My mom won’t be happy with me telling you this but I cut school and went up to Boston to audition for the show. A couple weeks later I got a letter in the mail from Riverdance which my mom promptly opened and we found out I had made the show. I had to tell her what I did but she loves Irish dancing so much anyway and it was her dream as much as I mine to be in this show so it kind of made up for cutting school. They did sit me down and tell me I wasn’t leaving till after I finished high school. I finished out my year and went and joined the troupe. I was 18 years old.

What is it like working with such a large cast of dancers?

Mainly we all get along because we understand where each other comes from. There is no room for egos. And Riverdance does a great job of helping everyone understand that because the only way a show like this works is if the team works strongly together. We all have the same common goal, which is putting out the best product every night.

We also have this environment where we are able to help each other and correct each other in a way that’s constructive. So I am able to go up to people when we come off stage and say “hey guys what was up with our line out there we were a little off. Someone wasn’t moving fast enough.” And right away you will hear someone say “I think that was me. Sorry. I won’t let it happen again.” So it’s an encouraging environment as well. But there’s also that healthy competitive attitude within the show as people try to achieve their own personal goals in terms of trying to get ahead. This is terrific as long as those personal goals never interfere with the team goal.

How do you keep your performance fresh night after night?

Back in 2008 I was getting to a point where I was kind of in a routine and I didn’t want to be in the same routine anymore. So I started to search for somebody who could really help me and I found him in Ireland. His name is Edmund McNulty and he works for a company called Motivate. We have been working together for the last two years and he continues to help me challenge myself. The exercises I was doing no other Irish dancer was doing at the time and now I see loads of people in the troupe doing them. It’s just about continuing to push the game forward and continue to get better and not become lackadaisical in what you are doing.

Now, just because you are doing something all the time it doesn’t mean you are not doing it right. For me, I was going through a routine and I was getting bored with my routine. And then I started to doubt my routine and questioned whether I was doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Edmund really helped me overcome this.

To what would you attribute the show’s longevity?

Simple sophistication. It is classy and it has never lost its integrity. And I really think Riverdance does stand by this. We’re all taught coming in whether it’s by somebody who has been there a long time or by a member of the production team to never look at Riverdance as just another Irish dance show. It is a full-scale Broadway production. And I think this message is passed down to every new person that comes in whether it’s their first Broadway show or their first time in Riverdance. It’s important that every single person that performs on that stage understands what they’re a part of because in terms of Ireland Riverdance is not just a show. It’s a cultural ambassador and with that comes a responsibility. And it’s important that we perform Riverdance every single night like it’s our last night or our first night.

Get your tickets here!

Read this on the Riverdance website: Q&A with Padraic Moyles in Dallas

Purchase your tickets today!

Kursaal Oostende

24th July to 5th August 2012

Shows:  Tuesday to Friday 20:00,

Saturday 15:00 and 20:00,

Sunday at 14:00 and 18:00.

Tickets cost between €49 and €75.

Tickets now on sale!

Read this on the Riverdance website: Riverdance returns to Oostende, Belgium

Here are some photos from the event!

Pictured are concert hosts Aidan Power and Michele McGrath with members of the Riverdance troupe

Pictured are concert hosts Aidan Power and Michele McGrath with members of the Riverdance troupe

Pictured is Zoe Browne from Bui Blog Productions and members of the Riverdance troupe

Pictured is Bressie with members of the Riverdance troupe

Riverdance performing on the stage

Riverdance was first performed during the 7-minute interval of the Eurovision Song Contest on 30 April 1994.

It received a standing ovation. Later that year, the BBC commissioned a repeat performance of the act for the 1994 Royal Variety Show, when it was introduced on stage by Sir Terry Wogan. At Congratulations : 50 Years of Eurovision,  it was named as one of the most popular interval acts in the history of the contest.

Almost two decades later and Riverdance has grown from strength to strength. Now one of Ireland’s most internationally renowned acts , Riverdance has promoted our green isle with their traditional style of dance adapted to a new modern audience.  Bill Whelan’s Riverdance has become a global success, reaching homes and stadia from New York to Beijing and Paris to Australia.

Read this on the Riverdance website: Photos NYE Dublin

Meave Crooke , Riverdance Dance Captain and Darren Maguire held an Irish step dance workshop with the children of the Ballet Hawaii dance group between shows during Riverdance’s recent tour in Honolulu.   Maeve worked in soft shoes with the class.

On a break from their workshop Meave shows the students her Irish dance shoe. Darren Maguire looks on.

Meave with members of the Ballet Hawaii at the irish step dance workshop

Photos by Merle Frimark

Read this on the Riverdance website: Children’s dance workshop