The Journey
1995
Original Irish Dance Troupe, Point Theatre.
1996
October
The first Riverdance tour of North America commences.
November
The new video Riverdance – Live from Radio City New York is released and later reaches No.2 in the US Charts.
1997
February
Bill Whelan wins a Grammy Award for the Riverdance Album in the “Best Musical Show Album” category.
March
The first Riverdance sell-out tour of Australia opens at the Entertainment Centre, Sydney.
June
Tickets go on sale for a tour of six Canadian cities with CAN$11 million sales on the first day, a Canadian record.
July
Riverdance opens in Oberhausen, Germany for 12 sell-out performances – the show’s first performances to a non-English speaking audience.
1998
1999
2000
March
Riverdance – On Broadway opens as a new production at the Gershwin Theatre, New York – the beginning of a hugely successful 18 month run.
July
Riverdance – The Homecoming opens at the Point Theatre Dublin. The success of the run reaffirms the Irish audience’s love for the show.
2001
2002
2003
June
Riverdance participates in the opening ceremony of the 2003 Special Olympics World Games in Dublin with a performance featuring the longest ever Riverdance line with over 100 Riverdancers on the stage.
October
Riverdance becomes the first show from the West to perform at The Great Hall of the People, Beijing. Over 100,000 people attend the first Riverdance tour of China.
2004
2005
2007
2008
2010
2011
January
Riverdance performs on African soil for the first time with sell-out shows in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
May
Riverdance performs for President Mary McAleese, Queen Elizabeth II and guests as part of a celebration of Irish music, theatre and dance during the historic state visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland.
2012
2013
June
First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama and her daughters attend a special performance of Riverdance at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, staged in honour of their visit to Ireland.
July
As part of The Gathering Ireland, 1,693 dancers from 44 countries set the World Record for the Longest Riverdance line on the banks of the River Liffey in Dublin.
2014
January
The 20th anniversary world tour commences with seven sold out performances in Limerick, City of Culture and home city of Composer Bill Whelan.
March
Riverdance welcomes the 25th million audience member to the show in Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
December
Riverdance is invited to perform in the Forbidden City, Beijing for President Michael D. Higgins on his state visit to China.
2015
July
The Riverdance Academy opens at Trinity College Dublin with 321 dancers from 32 countries worldwide learning the iconic choreography.
August
Anna Livia, a new a capella hard-shoe number featuring the female lead dancer and female troupe is added to the show to mark 20 years of Riverdance on tour.
2016
2017
2018
January
With 64 marriages between company members and 105 children born since the show began, the first of these Riverdance Babies takes to the stage.
August
The Riverdance troupe of 63 dancers join with 500 Irish dancers to perform for the historic visit of Pope Francis to Ireland
2019
March
The new 25th Anniversary Show is announced in London with a troupe of young Riverdance dancers who were not born when the show premiered in February 1995.
October
The original and the current Riverdance cast launch the 25th Anniversary Gala Shows at the 3Arena, Dublin.
October
Radio City Music Hall, New York: The 25th Anniversary Shows go on sale.
December
Decca Gold announces the release of Bill Whelan’s album Riverdance 25th Anniversary: Music From the Show
2020
9th February
Riverdance marks its 25th Anniversary, back where it all began at 3Arena, (formerly The Point) Dublin with a Gala performance. Members of the original cast including Jean Butler joined the current cast on stage for the finale celebrations.
10th March
Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show opens to sold out audiences in Radio City Music Hall, New York.
March
The global COVID-19 pandemic forces the abrupt and indefinite closure of firstly the North America tour and then the UK national tour.
2021
November
Riverdance is in residency at Expo 2020 Dubai with a special multi-culture production featuring eighty dancers and musicians from all around the world including middle-eastern artists.
2022
March
Following a two-year hiatus, Riverdance – 25th Anniversary Show resumes touring in North America performing in forty cities.
17 March
A special Riverdance performance takes place at the St Patrick’s Day Friends of Ireland Luncheon on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. where President of the United States Joe Biden is a guest.
