Riverdance - The Show

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Riverdance - The Show is an Irish stage performance consisting mainly of traditional Irish tap dancing and Celtic music. Irish tap dancing is primarily characterized by quick leg movements, while the body and arms are usually held rigid. The special thing about Riverdance is the fact that sometimes more than 20 dancers step in sync. Riverdance is considered to be the origin of Irish tap dance performances, such as B. Lord of the Dance .

history

Riverdance was first performed as a 6¼-minute break performance during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland . It was produced by the dancer Michael Flatley ; the music was by Bill Whelan . The soundtrack, which was first released in Ireland, stayed number one on the Irish singles chart for 18 weeks. This soundtrack includes the Irish group Anúna , the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Davy Spillane and other well-known traditional Irish musicians.

In November 1994, ticket sales began in Dublin for the first full-length Riverdance show at the Point Theater on February 9, 1995. In addition to Michael Flatley, the American dancer of Irish descent Jean Butler took on the female part of the performance. The performance ran for five weeks and was sold out. Other performances at the Point Theater (1995 for six weeks) and the Hammersmith Apollo in London (four and eight weeks) were sold out. In addition to the traditional Irish pieces, Riverdance - The Show also includes musical dance performances from other nations, such as B. Spanish flamenco , American tap dance and Eastern European dances; therefore musicians from other cultures such as Rafael Riqueni , Juan Reina Gonzalez or Nikola Parov also took part in the show.

In October 1995, Michael Flatley, who had been with the show since the premiere, left the group because of "creative differences" about further development. He then began producing Lord of the Dance . The Irish Colin Dunne stepped alongside Jean Butler . In March 1996, Riverdance was performed for the first time in the USA - at Radio City Music Hall in New York . Here too the show was sold out. Between March 2000 and August 2001 the performance took place at the Gershwin Theater on Broadway . On March 5, 2002, the 5000th performance was celebrated in both Edinburgh and San Francisco . Due to its great success, several Riverdance groups performed shows all over the world at the same time in 2005. Each group was named after an Irish river; one in America after the Boyne and in Europe two groups after the Avoca and the Foyle .

The show

1st act

  • Scene 1: Reel Around the Sun : Dance sequence that has the sun as the center of all life as its content.
  • Scene 2: The Heart's Cry : Mystical song
  • Scene 3: The Countess Cathleen : Dance piece about the power of women
  • Scene 4: Caoineadh Chu Chulainn : piece of music about Cú Chulainn, the hero of Celtic mythology
  • Scene 5: Thunderstorm : dance piece about the untamed nature
  • Scene 6: Shivna : dance and song piece about the saga of crazy Sweeney (Mad Sweeney).
  • Scene 7: Firedance : Classy Spanish flamenco.
  • Scene 8: Slip into Spring - The Harvest : Instrumental piece about the cycle of life and the seasons.
  • Scene 9: Riverdance : eponymous song and dance piece. Beginning of the story of the Irish emigrants.

2nd act

  • Scene 10: American Wake : dance piece about saying goodbye to Ireland.
  • Scene 11: Lift the Wings : song that deals with the worries and homesickness of emigrants.
  • Scene 12: The Harbor of the New World : dances and music from foreign cultures in a four-part scene:
    • A) Heal Their Hearts - Freedom : song about hope
    • B) Trading Taps : American tap dance
    • C) Morning in Macedonia : Eastern European dance style
    • D) Oscail an Doras (Open the Door) : Celtic a cappella singing
  • Scene 13: Home and the Heartland : song and dance piece about the bond between the “next generation of emigrants” and their homeland.
  • Scene 14: Riverdance Finale : Dance piece and conclusion of the show about the sense of community

Awards

Web links