Flowing along

Riverdance reels into town

by Johnette Rodriguez

It started as a seven-minute filler for the televised Eurovision song contest taking place in Dublin in April, 1994 -- but no one remembers which of the 25 countries competing won that year (it was actually Ireland). What they remember is the filler act -- Riverdance. Producer Moya Doherty and composer Bill Whelan had joined forces to create a segment that put a contemporary spin on traditional Irish music and dance, with the emphasis on dance. The overwhelming public response to those seven minutes convinced Whelan and Doherty to sit down with director John McColgan (Doherty's husband) and put together a full-blown stage show, which opened in Dublin in February, 1995, and comes to the Providence Performing Arts Center September 30 through October 11.

"We started with a concept of what we wanted," explained McColgan, in a phone interview from his office in Dublin, "and we built the outline, the skeleton to hang the show on."

Riverdance -- The Show, as it is now called, was designed with an international audience in mind, including a segment with Russian dancers and Spanish flamenco dancers (American tappers were added for the second Dublin run). They are part of the second act of Riverdance, when Irish immigrants encounter other cultures in the New World. The first act focuses on the history of Ireland that forced such a huge emigration, especially the potato famines in the 19th Century, and the second act opens with "American Wake," the name for parties held on the evening before an emigrant ship left Ireland, so-called because they all felt they'd never see their loved ones again.

"The first half of the show is a celebration of Irish culture," McColgan stressed. "It's very elemental, featuring thunder, fire, winter, the birth of time, the birth of dance -- it's very impressionistic."

Indeed the first scene is titled "Reel Around the Sun" and the second "The Heart's Cry." In addition to the dancers, there are chorale and instrumental numbers, the most moving of which is the "Lament for a Dead Warrior." Composer Whelan, who has worked with U2, Kate Bush, Van Morrison and Planxty, has woven together strains of many genres, including jazz, classical, rock and Irish. The drone of the uilleann pipes is punctuated by a hard-driving drum beat and embellished with electrified violin or guitar solos. (The soundtrack won a Grammy and spent 36 weeks on Billboard's World Music charts.)

But the major percussion in the piece is those tapping, stomping feet. Most of the dancers in Riverdance -- there are now three touring companies -- are former step-dance competitors. The two lead dancers in the Providence company, Michael Patrick Gallagher and Niamh Roddy, have many all-Ireland and even World Titles between them. Both were still in high school when they first saw Riverdance on television and became determined to join the cast. In fact, the show has been cast primarily with non-professional dancers.

"What makes this show different from other musicals," reflected McColgan, "is that with a show like Carousel or Les Miz, you cast people who become other people. In Riverdance, all the dancers and singers play themselves, and that comes across as an expression of pride in their culture."

"They are ambassadors for their country," he continued. "They believe what they are putting forth, and people in the audience subliminally feel that and respond to it. There's a collective and individual pride of place and heritage. That marriage of honesty and skills is what has been so appealing to people."

Step dancing originated when "dancing masters" in the 18th and 19th centuries began to modify traditional figure dances, such as the Round and Long Dances. The fancified steps of these traveling teachers became showpieces for individual dancers, and with the revival of interest in the 1920s for the jig, reel, hornpipe and Irish Highland Fling, competitive dancing increased.

With the success of Riverdance, hundreds of step-dance classes and dozens of schools have sprung up. McColgan noted that step dancers used to compete from age six to 20 and then retire. Now, most of them want to be in Riverdance. Since step dancing is much harder on the ankles and feet than other forms of dance -- the Riverdance company were unpleasantly surprised by the floor at Radio City Music Hall -- they now travel with their own special floor.

Riverdance companies are currently booked until the end of 2000, according to McColgan, with only tentative plans for another kind of dance show. After principal choreographer Michael Flatley left the company in its first year, they have relied on up to 12 choreographers to make subtle changes as cast member have changed.

What has surprised McColgan the most about the success of the show is that the majority of the people who now come to see the show have no Irish connection.

"But most come from an immigrant background and they took their culture with them," he remarked. "They take pride in their music, dance and poetry, and they can all relate to it. The audiences range from rock concert kids to formally-dressed dance fans -- it appeals to all classes and all ages. I'm still moved when I watch audiences. Whether it's Munich, New York or Columbus, everyone goes out on a high. I never get over that!"