In June 2003 members of the Lagan Company found themselves dancing on a rooftop, surrounded by snow and holly. It wasn’t some seasonal time warp they’d slipped into but a TV set for the filming of one of Marshall Field’s holiday sale TV commercials.
There is always a lot of waiting around involved in these events. Some passed their time watching bands like The Corrs rehearsing for later that night. There was lots of catching up between old Riverdance friends and even a baby or two to introduce! Finally we could hear the noise from the crowds in the stands and the tunnels on either side of the stadium began to be filled with colourful delegations of athletes and coaches from around the world.
The last day of rehearsals for the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics took place on the 20th June at the Point Theatre Dublin and later on at Croke Park.
On their first day in Beijing Conor Hayes and Joanne Doyle visited an Institution of Dance for a workshop with the students.
Recent tourists to the Great Wall of China must have been amazed to see a long line of girls and boys dressed in glittering Broadway costumes performing extracts from Riverdance along this ancient wall.
The Riverdance Flying Squad’s latest appearance was in New York this July to perform in Radio City Music Hall, as part of the ‘One World Jam’ Concert, a new initiative by 7-Eleven. It was a particularly exciting event as Colin Dunne made his first appearance with Riverdance since leaving the show in 1998.
The Riverdance Flying Squad helped kick off the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the US with an appearance on Good Morning America on the 15th March.
The 5th of March 2002 marked the 5000th performance of Riverdance since it first began in February 1995.
FAST FEET – and RIVERDANCE – have become synonymous. When the call came in from Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner High Speed Internet Service searching for the “fastest feet” for their new series of US television commercials, we knew Michael Pat was the one!