The Guangzhou Zhonghshan Memory Hall was a sight to behold, a fabulous exterior and huge inside! With a full cast of experienced dancers and musicians, rehearsals were short and sweet and it was soon warm-up time for our first show of the tour in Guangzhou. With an expected audience of 12,000 people over the weekend, it was no surprise to walk out to a packed theatre. The reception we got was phenomenal and what Julian Erskine (Executive producer) described as “the best I have ever seen in China!”. It certainly was a good way to kick off what promises to be a fascinating and memorable tour.

As this is my first Riverdance blog, a quick introduction seems necessary! At the end of this Chinese tour I will have been with the company for five years! During this time I have been fortunate to work steadily and travel extensively through North and South America, Europe and Asia. If any of you have encountered life on tour you may be familiar with the warped sense of time that is often experienced by those of us on the road. Memories blur together and suddenly five years have flown by. To combat this blurring of time I like to document my life on tour through photography. Whenever I revisit my collection of images from tour I am reminded of all the incredible experiences I have shared with my fellow company members.

By Fiona McCabe, Irish Dance Troupe
I am happy to report so far that our happy crew , dancers and 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!

Riverdance returns to the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin from 27 June to 1 September 2013 for an unprecedented 10th consecutive summer season.
To avail of our special Early Bird offer of a 15% saving on all 2013 tickets purchased on or before 31st December 2012, click on Ticketmaster.ie and use promotional code RDEB13

As one of the lead dancers in Riverdance, Caterina Coyne has travelled all over the world and performed to audiences of hundreds of thousands of people.
She always had a keen interest in Irish dancing. After many years of hard practice, she decided to follow her dream of becoming a professional dancer.
She has danced in prestigious venues such as Radio City Music Hall in New York and the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin.
Now she is China for a ten-week tour, where she will perform to an expected audience of 86,000 people across 24 major cities.
Caterina was interviewed by Worldirish.com

Riverdance embarks on a 10 week tour of China, performing to an expected audience of 86,000 people across 24 major cities. A Chinese language website riverdance.com.cn has been launched to support the tour.
The tour includes performances at the world renowned Beijing Exhibition Centre Theatre and the Shanghai Oriental Art Centre.
Riverdance will also perform in a large number of newly constructed; state of the art venues on this tour and in a number of instances Riverdance will have the honour to take part in the official opening of these new venues.

It’s made of navy silk velvet, delicate crochet and jet beads, and it was like no other Irish dance dress ever seen before. Jean Butler wore it during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest interval act she performed with Michael Flatley, and in seven minutes changed the image of Irish dancing forever. Her first dance—soft shoe, delicate—looked traditional, but her sexy, off-the-shoulder dress showed how Irish culture could be reimagined for a modern, global audience. After Michael Flatley’s solo, Butler came back on stage in hard shoes, and their kicks, clicks and taps created a percussive power that resonated further than anyone could have imaged. Bernice Harrison

Riverdance’s longest serving female principal dancer talks about her career with Riverdance.
” It makes me feel privileged. I know that when I joined the show, I never anticipated that I would have such a long run as lead. There are so many factors that go into the show from staying fit, to dancing at a level that you as a dancer are comfortable with, that I’m glad I still feel up to the task. It gives me great satisfaction that I’ve been able to entertain audiences at that level for so long, not only from a personal standpoint, but up to Riverdance’s high standards.”

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.