Opening night provided much cause for celebration. It was the first time Riverdance had ever performed in Wellington …….
……A busy four show weekend brought our time in Wellington to a close. With only one week and city to go, the tour has flown by!!!

On Friday, we set off to St.Louis and this was a huge weekend for me as I was preparing to become the first female ever to perform ‘Trading Taps’ – a number in the show which sees the male American tap dancers trade off with the male Irish troupe. I went straight to the venue for my first sound check and this was certainly nerve-wrecking especially with the whole company watching. Thankfully it went well and I was more than ready for my debut on Sunday evening.

Aisling McVeigh, chats to Conor McCarthy backstage during the show in Wellington, about his role as Physio on the road with Riverdance. Like most athletes, professional dancers put their bodies through immense physical training and exercise to continually improve their performance and to be the best that they can be. One of the most common questions asked is, whether we pick-up many injuries and how we maintain our bodies over the course of a long tour, performing 8 shows a week. With Physio Conor McCarthy on standby backstage at all times, the troupe are well looked after.

Since my last blog got such a good response , I figured I’d go ahead and do another feature this week. So, off I set backstage in Baltimore, MD with my pen and paper and set about seeking my next few victims! Let me next introduce to you the lovely Tokiko Masuda, who had a hard time narrowing her selection of favorite ‘things’ to one, so we agreed to feature her top two favorites..

Well what a surprise was in store for us when we got backstage. There sitting proudly in the back corner stage right was what many past Riverdancers know as ‘The Shrine’. This began with the American ‘Lagan’ Company in 1998 by crew fly man ‘Bones’. Bones is now a local crew guy at the St. Louis Fox. This shrine was a small. old suitcase which over time gathered many bots of memorabilia by the cast and crew of Riverdance.

Following three great weeks in Australia, our final farewell performance in Adelaide marked the half-way point of the tour, and a scheduled move onto New Zealand.
It was a busy week for everyone on the Press front, but most still managed to fit in some sightseeing as planned. Waiheke Island, just a short, picturesque ferry ride from downtown Auckland, proved a favourite amongst cast and crew.

Take the Floor 2012, directed and produced by former Riverdance members Shane McAvinchey and Paula Goulding, is a 10-day event in which a new full scale Irish Dance production will be created, rehearsed and staged by a cast of over 50 Irish dancers from around the world. The show will be taking place on August 15th at the Helix in Dublin, with rehearsals taking place from August 6th at Dublin City University Campus in the 10 days leading up to the show. Currently applications are being accepted online from dancers aged 15yrs+

nzherald.co.nz Riverdance has been touring the world since 1995, introducing millions of people to Irish dance and music traditions adapted for spectacular stage show presentation. Over the years, the cast has been as large as 80, with dancers and singers in different squads, and all music played live. In these recessionary times we have a … Continued

‘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