Back on the Road again…

September 12, 2014

This week the Liffey company took to the road again for the second leg of the 20th Anniversary tour. The Cliffs Pavilions in Southend-on-sea was the first theatre on our 16 week tour of the UK and Switzerland. The opening show of the tour was lead by our very own Southend native, the beautiful Chloey Turner. Principal dancer Chloey has performed to audiences all over the world however this was her very first time to perform in her hometown for her family and friends. The pre-show nerves were soon calmed when Chloey’s partner and Riverdance lead dancer James Greenan burst onto the stage . James flew from Ireland to surprise Chloey for this very special show. The rest of the company were in on the surprise and we spent the day trying to hide James around the venue while Chloey warmed up and got ready for her performance.

We made the most of our downtime this week as there was lots to do and see. Southend is famous for having the longest pier in the world. Aoife, Katie and I walked the 1.3 miles to the end and thankfully there was a train for the way back (we had to preserve our energy for the show, but also Chloey had recommended a famous ice cream shop that we had to visit)

The 8 performances of ‘Riverdance’ at the Cliffs Pavillions were sold out to approx. 12,500 fans over the week. The cast were delighted to receive a huge hamper full of goodies from some of our lovely fans and it wasn’t long until they were devoured.

It was great to get back into the swing of tour life again this week its always an adjustment getting used to living in hotels (don’t worry we brought Irish tea bags with us, and Shaun Kelly even brought a teapot). Over the next few weeks I will be introducing some of the members of the Liffey company. To keep updated with our day to day activites check out the Official Riverdance Facebook & Twitter !

 

Peter