‘You can’t deny that Riverdance has done wonders for the Irish dancing world. There are not many places we go in the world now where you don’t find a local Irish dance school.’
MARIA BUFFINI
Interview with MARGARET AGNEW, Your Weekend. Christchurch New Zealand
An inevitable part of touring life and the job of any performer is Press and PR related work. Dancers regularly meet the media, chat with journalists and give live Radio interviews and TV performances in many of the cities we visit. Wednesday May 23rd, 2012 marked a well-planned and very eventful day of Press for the entire Riverdance team
Riverdance will end its 82-city North American tour on June 17 at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA near Washington, Wolf Trap has announced. Riverdance’s final performances in North America will be Friday, June 15 through Sunday, June 17 at Wolf Trap, with ticket prices beginning at $20.
The audience were on their feet a lot during this production and most deservedly so. The choreography is incredible. Men and women flying across the stage, women linking hands to do a stiff armed chorus line where nothing moves except their legs and feet and those appendages are a blur of precision. The singers are equally polished and wonderful, ethereal harmonies abound.
” I honestly can’t believe what I achieved and all within one month. It feels very surreal!! Winning the worlds was one thing, but to be on stage with the world’s biggest Irish dance show three weeks later was another. It all happened so quickly, but it’s the most amazing feeling in the world”. John
The band is comprised of only 5 musicians, but their talent is relentless as each of them resonates powerful and rich music through multiple instruments. Much credit should be given to Declan Masterson, as musical director for the show…. Last but not least, Mark Alfred is at the helm of the percussion section and takes over the stage as he plays every drum, symbol and chime. His drum kit seems endless as sound after sound emanates from his side of the stage. He also has an incredible solo session with the Bodhrán, a round Irish frame drum, where you wouldn’t believe the magnitude and range of sound that comes out of it.
When Riverdance last visited Hobart in 1998 it sold more than 16,600 tickets in two hours, an Australian record for the show.
The production rolled back into Hobart on Tuesday, with the touring party including 24 Irish dancers, two tap dancers from the US, a Spanish flamenco dancer, a four-piece band, 15 backstage crew and three shipping containers of equipment.
Paula Xiberras spoke to the lovely Peta last week fresh from a successful performance at Newcastle as Riverdance begins its farewell tour of Australia. Peta is sad that this is being billed as the farewell tour as she would like nothing more than to be touring with this show ‘forever’.
Riverdance is a young Irish boy’s dream come true.
For Belfast native Jason O’Neill, being an audience member at one of the iconic show’s performances was a moment he’ll never forget.
I saw Riverdance when I was 10, and it just changed my life, said O’Neill, who now works as a lead dancer with Riverdance.
Riverdance: The Music of Bill Whelan – NCH Dublin – 17 May
featuring the WORLD PREMIERE of the RIVERDANCE SYMPHONIC SUITE
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
David Brophy conductor
Thursday 17 May, 8pm
National Concert Hall