The Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital Research Foundation is delighted that a group of Riverdancers honoured and celebrated the memory of Dr Eithne Walls by running the 2010 Dublin City Mini Marathon on Monday June 7th 2009. All funds raised by the group were donated to Eithne’s research fund.

Doing 8 shows a week is hard on our legs, and even harder was this week with 11 shows in a row before a day off. With this many performances it is imperative that we take care of our legs, so our Physiotherapist keeps buckets of ice side stage for us to soak in. This helps take the pressure off of our feet and shins. A soak a day keeps the doc away!

I know I speak on behalf of the entire Riverdance family when I say we are all deeply shocked and saddened at the tragic loss of our friend and colleague, Eithne Walls.

Rockford was a quieter town and most of the time was spent lounging around the hotel and taking advantage of the hotel pool and gym.

Born in Dublin, Julian has worked in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. He started in his career in stage management and after several years as a Lighting Designer and Production Manager in 1980 he set up Ireland’s first professional scenery construction company supplying the theatre, TV, advertising, and film industries in Ireland. In 1989 he returned full-time to theatre as a producer and, in 1994, he joined the fledgling Riverdance team on a consultancy basis. A year later he was appointed Executive Producer and since then he has looked after all the Riverdance companies around the world.

In 1994, Breandan de Gallai joined Michael Flatley and Jean Butler in the Dublin production of Riverdance. He was appointed Dance Captain when Riverdance began its first run of performances in Dublin that same year.

This week is the first of five split weeks we have in a row, meaning two cities a week. A rather hectic schedule like this doesn’t leave much time for sightseeing, but we were fortunate to have the afternoons free to roam the campus of the University, visit the bookstore to buy t-shirts and other memorabilia, and check out the local town.

Welcome to Toronto! It has been a great tour so far and what a way to end this year by having a 5-week stay in Toronto.

“My favorite part to play is Slip Into Spring and my favourite all over number is Trading Taps. I think there’s great energy to it.”