RIVERDANCE returns to Dublin to mark its 20th anniversary.

June 27, 2014

Interview with The Herald

The director of the worldwide smash hit, John McColgan, said the capital always gives the show a special welcome. “We get the same wonderful reaction everywhere in the world, but we always love coming back to Dublin,” said John Mc-
Colgan. “I think the reason for its success is the lack of a language barrier and the high standard of the dancing.”

Since Riverdance appeared as the internal performance of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest at the Point Theatre, Dublin, the show has been seen LIVE by 25 million people, with over 11,000 performances in 46 countries across 6 continents. In the autumn one of the Riverdance companies will perform in the UK while another heads to China for a 60-city tour. Legend Padraic Moyles, a principal dancer and associate director, believes the appeal of the show is down to its universality. “Ireland has a huge history, and the first half of Riverdance is based on myth and legend. I think that also appeals to the Chinese,” he said.

This will be the show’s 11th summer season  (until August 31), and Riverdance at the Gaiety has become one of Dublin’s major tourist attractions.
To launch the season the Riverdance troupe  posed with a selection of vintage cars from the Irish Classic and Vintage Motor Show at Terenure College on July 6. Proceeds of the Vintage Motor show  are for The National Maternity Hospital and the Migraine Association of Ireland.