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"There's No
Business Like Show Business" - Barra Ó Cinnéide
THE
BOOK: The Riverdance Phenomenon Barra O'Cinneide:
Author Preface:"RIVERDANCE" - THE IRISH DANCE
PHENOMENON Phenomenon, a remarkable occurrence, person, thing
or appearance, a prodigy (dictionary definition). Throughout several decades
working in academe, a wide range of people have either provided the motivation
or helped me directly to write about real life business enterprises. As a result,
it is interesting to look back, in particular over the 1980s and the first half
of the previous decade, to recall the "doom and gloom" that was prevalent.
This air of despondency was inevitably reflected in anything written about the
Irish business environment at that time. With the economic miracle, the so called
"Celtic Tiger", that ensued, it is now much more enervating to write
about the challenges facing today's management. This is particularly so when attempting
to record the unfolding of the success story that is "Riverdance". Therefore,
before saying a big "thank you" to those who were contributors or were
inspirational in the publication of this book, I would like to express my grateful
appreciation to those, too numerous to mention, who provided encouragement, in
a variety of ways, for personal involvement in the case research process. In particular,
I am thinking here, of people like Professor Hans Klein of WACRA, the World Association
for Case Research and Analysis, with his ever uplifting salutation, "Keep
the Faith" (in the case method!). Luckily I heeded his advice and, as a result,
found myself undertaking the largest case study I have ever attempted, this book! This
book explains the background to the recent surge in Irish culture (and its greatly
enhanced image abroad), concentrating on two aspects which have experienced unprecedented
booms in popularity in the past decade, traditional music and, more recently,
dance. Its publication has taken over seven years, much longer than ever envisaged.
This, to a large degree, can be explained by the fact that the first attempts
at recording the cause and effect of Ireland's recent cultural renaissance were
very much in the academic domain. At that particular time, I had no further ambitions
than to be part of the conventional "paper chase" that seems to justiy
the existence of University faculty. This involved completing a series of case
studies and publishing papers on "Riverdance" to highlight managerial
features of devising and developing an internationally successful stage show from
an Irish base. As it happened, the publication process began in the UK.
In late 1994, I was scheduled to present a paper at an "Enterprise in Action"
conference at the University of Nottingham, UK. The day I was due to travel, I
learned that a couple of fellow Irish academics, who were to present a joint paper
at the conference, had to "cry off" at short notice. So, I brought with
me recorded extracts from the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, which was issued to
raise £250,000 for Rwanda relief. The seven minute performance that comprised
the Eurovision interlude presentation is now popularly referred to as "Riverdance
- The Original", (to distinguish it from "Riverdance - The Show").
At the conference, I mentioned to the organisers that I could provide a video
show, i.e. an impromptu "Riverdance" session, and they kindly allowed
me to avail of the 'free slot' provided by the cancellation of the other Irish
paper. This 'off the cuff' contribution to the conference was presented in a very
informal manner, merely highlighting the origins of the TV; spectacular and posing
questions for the participants on elements of 'Enterprise' that could be implied
in the production of "Riverdance". In the event, it proved to be a very
informative session since it provoked an unexpected level of serious, constructive
discussion. Before the Nottingham event I had thought that "Riverdance"
would be considered too much an 'Irish' topic or too 'culture bound' for a mainly
British audience. What I had not foreseen was that many in the audience had had
the opportunity of seeing a repeat performance of the Eurovision piece on a television
broadcast of the Royal Command Performance, a couple of nights prior to the conference!
I was so surprised, and delighted, with the British audience's reaction to the
brief presentation that I quickly decided to undertake initial production of a
"Riverdance" case study. So I would like to express a special word of
thanks to the University of Nottingham conference organisers for providing the
fortuitous occasion that can be considered the inspiration for this book! This
was the "push factor" that encouraged me to explore the production of
a new case over Christmas when, the following week, I was asked to present a study
at the annual Marketing Institute of Ireland's Case Study Workshop to be held
in Cork at the end of January 1995. Subsequently, at a couple of days' notice,
the Cork event was cancelled, providing another spur to test the study at two
locations - with my own graduate classes in "Entrepreneurship" at Limerick,
and with a Hungarian teachers' group (through the EU's "TEMPUS" programme).
The Budapest trial needed English/Hungarian translation (a four page summary was
distributed, in advance, to the 70 academic participants, and sequential translation
of my presentation and discussion took place at the case session). Again, as at
the University of Nottingham event, I was astounded by the interest and reaction
to "Riverdance". I believe the fact that the study was supported by
AV materials (audiocassettes, CDs, videos, etc.) helped to bridge the language
and cultural barriers. The Hungarian experience showed that the study of "Riverdance"
could "travel" and be very acceptable
Over the following five
years, I had the good fortune to attend a number of conferences at which I was
able to present updated developments on "Riverdance", including the
controversial departure from the cast of Michael Flatley and his remarkably rapid
response in creating "Lord of the Dance". The discussions at these meetings
provided valuable insights into the extent to which aspects of management applied,
particularly, to the performing arts. For all their constructive criticisms and
observations, I would like to express my gratitude to those participants who were
involved in helpful debates on "The 'Riverdance' Phenomenon" at conferences
such as those of WACRA, the World Association for Case Research & Application,
originally at Leysin, Switzerland, then in Warsaw and, finally, in Edinburgh;
AIMAC, International Conference on Arts Management at the City University, London;
AMTF, Arts Management & Training Forum, Birmingham, UK; the Entrepreneurship
Research Conference, Babson College, Mass., USA; IntEnt, International Entrepreneurship
Conference, Monterey, Ca., USA, and the Management Research Conference, Dublin
City University. It was enlightening to see parallels emerge between the
combative strategies of "Riverdance" and "Lord of the Dance"
vis-à-vis "Coke" and "Pepsi", which the author then
attempted to chronicle in either case studies or conference papers. It was stimulating
to have opportunities at the above conferences to hold discussions, in a realtime
mode, as it were, on the pros and cons of the management styles involved with
the rival shows, and to debate the competitive reactions. The methods used
in researching this book include searches in traditional sources (journals, newspapers,
magazines, etc.) and non-traditional media (audiovisual and internet material),
supplemented by interviews with experts in the performing arts. The story of "Riverdance's"
success has been based on qualitative analyses of relevant theatrical performances
(as gauged from published critiques) and quantitative indicators of public appeal
(as judged by TAM television ratings, hit parade rankings, and audio/video sales,
box office data, etc.). The approach and style adopted has relied heavily on the
case study method, as the author has been attempting, since 1979, to record in
case form the successes and vicissitudes of a wide range of Irish "enterprises". "Riverdance"
in addition to serving as a fascinating case example of entrepreneurship, has
provided a particularly attractive story-line in being responsible for the worldwide
interest in Irish dance. Ironically, a "pop song" competition was responsible
for what the author believes was a cultural watershed - with the presentation
of "Riverdance". Once the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest TV programme
was broadcast from The Point Theatre, Dublin, there was spontaneous reaction in
Ireland to the intermission piece. As it happened, this interlude item overshadowed
the result of the song contest - the winning of the award by an Irish entry for
an unprecedented third time in succession. As a result of its public acclaim,
it has been difficult in any week since
Eurovision 1994 not to encounter media
commentaries relating to "Riverdance", (or the spin-off enterprises
like "Lord of the Dance"), and its main characters. The follow-through
enterprise, "Riverdance - The Show", broke all British and Irish box-office
records for a musical stage show of its kind, and the video and audio spin-off
recordings from the theatrical production have had the best ever distribution
in the UK, and have attained, globally, levels of sales achieved only by celebrities
such as "The Three Tenors". It sparked a national debate on its likely
long term impact on the future development of Irish culture, particularly in regard
to dance. A number of key business points are embodied in the book on issues
such as International Business, Entrepreneurship and a wide range of Management
scenarios. In particular, it provides an occasion for studying the competitive
international environment that exists within showbusiness and the entertainment
industry, in general. It provides information that can enable readers to understand
that undertakings in the theatre and the entertainment sector, generally, encounter
a range of management and business difficulties, in common with those experienced
by other forms of enterprise. This is in addition to coping with the special features
of creativity and individualistic performance that characterise the entertainment
field. The cultural renaissance embracing Irish traditional music and dance
has not just been the result of a sudden explosion of interest following the Eurovision
Song Contest performance in 1994. Rather, the show came at a time when there was
an upsurge in the indigenous performing arts and entertainment. This created the
infrastructure of performers, producers and audiences both in Ireland and within
the "Irish Diaspora", which made possible the electrifying TV presentation,
with its ability to go on further to major international successes. Just
as Guinness has been highly successful in marketing "Irishness" as part
of its brand strategy by emphasising the unique characteristics of the Irish pub,
traditional music, etc., the current cultural renaissance has the capacity to
showcase Ireland to an ever increasing global audience. Additionally, the new
cultural dynamics are capable of uplifting both self-, and national, confidence
with beneficial consequences for entrepreneurship and economic development generally
in Ireland, thereby helping to ensure that the "Celtic Tiger" is not
a five year miracle as some economists have predicted. The book highlights how
synergy and interactivity can be associated with, on the one hand, the unprecedented
economic growth in Ireland over the past half decade and, on the other hand, the
emergence of culture based products and enterprises from Ireland on the world
stage. While there are potential dangers in tampering with and over-commercialising
aspects of a nation's culture, there are optimistic signs. In any event, Irish
culture in the form of Gaeilge, music and dance, has survived many adversities
in the past. These include powerful influences from our next-door neighbour (including
the English language), famines, mass emigration, the advent of films, video and
television, etc. So I believe
there is every reason to assume that culture
and its business development counterpart can co-exist, amicably into the future.
I hope, therefore, on reading this book, you will be reinforced in your belief
in the old entertainment industry adage, "There's no Business like Showbusiness"!
Barra
Ó Cinnéide
September, 2001
• •
• FOREWORD As a frequent visitor to Ireland over more
than two decades, I have seen first-hand the many changes that have occurred in
the physical development, the economic situation, and social/psychological environment.
I am delighted, therefore, to have this opportunity of providing some personal
comments on the appropriateness of this recording of the story of "Riverdance"
- the historical cultural base from which it was created and the importance of
analyzing its remarkable success as a business venture. Ireland has an extremely
open economy with combined imports and exports representing up to 160 % of the
country's Gross Domestic Product. Events like world recessions have tested the
ingenuity and organizational skills of Irish management in both the public and
private sectors. In spite of many vicissitudes, the economy has not only survived
but has developed dramatically, experiencing an unprecedented economic boom. This
has been ascribed to, for instance: (i) the success of the state's main
industrial development agency, IDA, in attracting Foreign Direct Investment, FDI,
corporations, principally to export to EU markets, and (ii) substantial
levels of support from Brussels for infrastructural enhancement under the EU's
Regional Development Fund program. However, too little credit has been given
to what has happened in terms of developments in the indigenous sector, not just
the vibrant enterprises but, also, the emergence of a national feeling of pride,
witnessed most dramatically in the upswing within culture and the arts in general,
but particularly in traditional music and dance. This is perhaps no more apparent
than in the creation and development of "Riverdance" whose success worldwide
has come to characterize the well-being of the Irish economy that the term "The
Celtic Tiger" depicts. It is interesting to note that "Riverdance"
is an example of both Intrapreneurship (within company, Corporate Entrepreneurship)
and of Entrepreneurship. While "Riverdance"- The Original" (the
Eurovision interlude) was created and produced by RTÉ, the national broadcasting
authority, when Moya Doherty was producer of the 1994 Song Competition, "Riverdance
- The Show", with all its spin-off developments, such as audios, videos and
an array of merchandise items, was managed through a private business venture,
under Abhann Productions, (again, with Moya Doherty to the fore!). With respect
to the entrepreneurial aspects of "Riverdance", it is appropriate to
point out that the first rigorous definition and analysis of entrepreneurial activity
has been ascribed to the economist Richard Cantillon (circa 1690-1734) whose writings
were included in his "Essai sur le Nature de Commerce General", published
posthumously in 1755. Suffice it to say that he was an Irishman! Barra
Ó Cinnéide, through his case study work, has been documenting the
major transformation that has taken place within the indigenous Irish business
sector. Over
the past seven years he has conducted extensive research on the
process by which "Riverdance" was developed as an enterprise from a
simple basic concept and its formulation as "The Show" which has achieved
such global acclaim. Barra has identified correctly the Eurovision event in Dublin,
April 1994 and the subsequent commercialization of the seven minute intermission
act as a striking exemplar of Irish enterprise. Through publishing a series of
studies on "Riverdance" and "Lord of the Dance" he has been
able to demonstrate that the evolution of "new age" Irish dance, with
its unprecedented success abroad, can provide an important role model for both
the arts/culture sector and the Irish business community in general. I have
felt these studies to be so important and well done that they have been included
as two of the case studies that provided material in two of my own books: "Riverdance"
in Hisrich, McDougall and Oviatt, "Cases in International Entrepreneurship",
Irwin 1997, and "Michael Flatley: Lord of the Dance?" in Hisrich and
Peters, "Entrepreneurship", Irwin/McGraw Hill, 5th Edition, 2002. I
very much welcome this book's publication because it records so many facets of
Ireland's past and present, within a wide ranging analytical framework that spans
culture, the arts, the entertainment industry and business in general. I hope
it will encourage readers to reflect on the inestimable value of a nation's heritage
and the need to think creatively for the future. In particular, I hope it will
provide inspiration for Ireland's greatest resource, its upcoming, younger generation,
"to think enterprise".
Professor Robert D Hisrich
Mixon
Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies
The Weatherhead School of Management
Case
Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
October, 2001.
•
• • "Riverdance" - The Phenomenon (14/10/01) ABOUT
THIS BOOK This contains a detailed account of the origins of Irish dance
and in particular the creation of "Riverdance". Although research was
undertaken within the accepted rigours of academe, Barra Ó Cinnéide
has ensured that all the material will be of interest to the general reader. This
book describes the background to the emergence of a remarkable renaissance in
a traditional Irish art form, dance. It reveals the "behind the scenes study"
of "Riverdance's" origins and subsequent development, emerging as one
of the most remarkable entertainment phenomena of the last decade. The book is
based on extensive research undertaken by the author over seven years, including
extensive original analyses and a review of the comprehensive media coverage that
the success of "Riverdance" emergence on the world stage has generated. It
explores Ireland's great attachment to dancing over centuries and the parallel
resurgence of its companion, Irish music from its inception as the seven minute
interlude piece at the "Eurovision Song Contest", held in Dublin, April
1994. The author reveals how, by a creative process, "Riverdance" was
conceptualised in a format to marry both traditional dance and music in a modern
idiom, while incorporating features of other European cultures to suit the continental
reach of the song competition's TV audience. The subsequent runaway success
of "Riverdance - The Show" is analysed, together with the emergence
of competitive dancing ventures, principally "Lord of the Dance" developed
by Michael Flatley who along with Jean Butler was principal performer in "Riverdance".
It is ironic that "Eurovision", a major showpiece of pop music, provided
the launching pad for one of the most acclaimed representations of traditional
culture of this generation. From a business viewpoint, "Riverdance"
provides a focus for discussing many management features, particularly Marketing
and Entrepreneurship, in an area not often considered, i.e. Arts Management; meanwhile,
the book poses questions such as whether "The Show" is such a cultural
watershed and so highly regarded, generally, that it can provide business opportunities
in terms of national imagery. But will its impact prove transitory? The
author highlights the ability of an indigenous art form to survive many adversities,
including extensive disruption of the social fabric of rural Ireland, the fountainhead
of Irish dance. This has been achieved in spite of events such as the ravages
of The Great Famine, mass emigration over centuries and recent technological and
economic advances. "Riverdance" has shown by adapting enterprising
strategies that involved commendable use of mass media high powered advertising
and the trend to multinational branding, that an indigenous venture can develop
an innovative "product" with Irish culture as its base and can successfully
compete with all comers on the world stage. The book addresses the potential
for using "Riverdance" as a motivating force for promoting Ireland,
culturally, touristically, economically, etc. It proposes that "Rivedance"
can be seen as a role model for Irish business venturing and an inspiration for
indigenous Entrepreneurship. "The Show" has shown the world that a "can
do" philosophy undoubtedly prevails in Ireland which has contributed to the
so-called, economic miracle "The Celtic Tiger". The on-going duel
between "Riverdance" and "Lord of the Dance" is considered
in the light of the combative strategies of "Coke" against "Pepsi",
and "Hertz" vs. "Avis". This begs the question whether "Riverdance"
is not just the original, but the best of all the 'new age' Irish dance shows. The
importance of the worldwide diaspora of over 70 million people with ethnic connections
to Ireland is given special consideration since in many countries, like America,
Britain and Australia, Irish culture is so strongly ingrained, providing the support
base for development of traditional music in previous decades, and, especially
now, for the renaissance of Irish dance following the success of "Riverdance
- The Phenomenon".
• • • ABOUT
THE AUTHOR BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE : Professor Barra Ó Cinnéide,
BSc, BComm, MBA, PhD.
Professor Barra Ó Cinnéide received
his doctorate from the National University of Ireland in 1959. He is Visiting
Fellow on the "Fiontar" programme at Dublin City University and Visiting
Professor in the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, University College,
Dublin. Professor Ó Cinnéide served as Research Fellow at the University
of Limerick, 1997-2000, following his appointment in 1995 to the first chair of
Entrepreneurship to be established in Ireland. He had previously served as Professor
of Marketing from 1981 and as Dean of the business school at Limerick, 1984-1989.
He had joined the campus in 1975, soon after it was founded and was especially
concerned with analysing Irish sectoral development, including the effects on
agriculture and tourism since Ireland joined the European Community. His particular
interest in Entrepreneurship, especially in emergent indigenous enterprises, has
arisen from his extensive case research work - he has published over 100 case
studies since 1979.
Prior to entering the educational sector, he was employed
in a research and development role with a number of Irish government agencies
concerned with tourism, agribusiness, and industrial development. In 1958 he began
his career as agricultural technologist at Johnstown Castle, Wexford, transferring
the following year to An Foras Taluntais (The Agricultural Institute), now Teagasc.
In 1962 he was appointed marketing executive with IBM Ireland and his subsequent
business experience included responsibility for R&D and Small Business Development
at Gaeltarra Éireann, now Údarás na Gaeltachta, the state
authority responsible for development of all the Irish speaking regions. He worked
for eight years with Bord Fáilte (Irish Tourist Board) on market research
studies and established the information technology system within the Research
and Planning Department, before joining the Limerick campus. He is author or co-author
of eight books and of over 140 other publications, 60 of which are refereed papers.
Feature:
Bernadette Price
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