To Dance on the Moon

by Ellen Eggink, Holland

Come on, and let's take a peek on stage before the curtain rises.
Can you see those dancers, wearing sneakers and baseball caps?
Can you hear the choreographer?
'Dadum, dadum, dadum, one, two, three, four.'
And the feet on stage follow the steps.

Soundman Jan Gillebeert checks his equipment backstage.

Nadja Schibilski must be that slim girl in the black, sleeveless T-shirt, over there. She just placed the masks on a bannister, easy to reach for the Sleeping Knights.

Touring must be tiring for why else would masseur Liam O'Reagan pinch and squeeze someone's back over there. Oh, it's Bryan Carr, the singer who is being treated.

And what's that sound? A female voice, going from the high register to low and then back up again. Deirdre Masterton is warming-up her vocal cords, while a female dancer puts some laundry into the washing machine in one of the dressing rooms.

Let's give them time,
Till the curtain rises.

Brand-new Irish stepdance show

To Dance on the Moon

'We want to bring Irish dancing back to its Celtic roots'

To Dance on the Moon is a brand new Irish stepdance show. The world premiere was on March 23rd in Iserlohn in Germany. Since then the show has taken off. A different stage every night, sold-out theatres through the end of the year and standing ovations from a cheering crowd. 'Five weeks ago we didn't even have a show', says choreographer James McCutcheon, still a bit overwhelmed by the success.

What is good, comes fast. Soon there will be a second troupe of To Dance on the Moon, touring the world. During the Worlds in Belfast, 92 dancers auditioned to join this new troupe, 20 got the job. 'We're already trying to come up with names for these different branches, like Riverdance uses the names of Irish rivers,' tenor singer Bryan Carr says. 'So far we've called ourselves the mooners. Don't think that name will last,' he says, laughing. Troupe 2 will kick off in Florida, USA.

To Dance on the Moon is an Irish/German co-production between Ceol Chiarraí Productions (Director Michael Carr) and EURO-STUDIO Landgraf (Director Joachim Landgraf). The show however is one hundred percent Irish. It means to bring the Irish stepdance-show back to its Celtic roots. The storyline comes from Celtic legends, the music is Irish Traditional music.

'With this show we have come full circle,' says composer and musical director of To Dance on the Moon, Eric Cunningham. Riverdance and Lord of The Dance, shows that drew a worldwide attention to stepdance, put non-Irish dance elements in their performances. Spanish flamenco, American tapdance and, which seems to be the case in Feet of Flames, Egyptian influences. 'Nothing wrong with being experimental, but it's time to hear Irish traditional music again,' is Eric's opinion. Choreographer James adds: 'We try to stay closer to Irish dancing. A very powerful form of dance, for which you do not need substitute movements from other forms. With this show we bring the Irish culture closer to people.'

Laura Haughey

This too is a logical choice, coming from a company as Ceol Chiarraí, explains tenor singer Bryan Carr. His brother Michael Carr founded this Kerry-based company in 1985. Bryan: 'We were a traditional group of about 15 performers, all amateurs. We toured the world, singing and dancing. We were all over America, Australia, New Zealand and the Celtic countries. To us these tours were more of a holiday than work. We got amateur pays.' One of these amateur dancers in Ceol Chiarraí was Bernadette Flynn, who is with Troupe 1 of Lord of the Dance and who created the lead role of Saoirse. Bryan: 'My brother even took her to the Lord of the Dance audition. And you know what, Bernadette hasn't changed a bit since. Still a very nice girl, no airs whatsoever.'

While touring in Australia Michael Carr was approached by Mary Millane, an artistic director from Landgraf Productions, a German production company with shows all over Germany. 'In Australia she asked him if he was interested to make it all bigger: create a theatrical show, using pure Irish traditional music and dance.'

To Dance on the Moon is directed, choreographed and produced fully in Ireland. The German partner in the co-production provides the knowledge of the theatrical world, including bookings, stage design, costumes etc. All eighteen dancers are trained in Irish stepdance and have been competing in either the Worlds or the All-Ireland championships. The female lead, Lisa Anderson, is from Scotland, the male lead is an American called Joe Taylor. The musicians are all Irish. Two of them, Alan Kelly and Jarlath McTiernan toured with Riverdance and Lord of the Dance before they teamed up with To Dance on the Moon.

The Orchestra: Shane McAleer (fiddle), Eric Cunningham (percussion), Alan Kelly (accordeon), Jarlath McTiernan (Uilleann Pipes), Eoghan Horgan (keyboard), Gavin Ralston (guitar)

Bringing the baby back home to Ireland means the show will face its real test. For neither the German nor the Dutch spectators that had the pleasure of seeing To Dance on the Moon, are experts in Irish stepdance. They are simply swept away by the amazing speed of feet and the Irish sound of music. For them, choreographer James realises, the mythological Celtic storyline might also be a bit hard to follow. This still worries him a little.

However, the question is if this must be seen as an obstacle for the non-Celtic European audience. They might lose a bit on the story, not being familiar with Anu, Epona and the salmon of knowledge but they have every opportunity to enjoy the show. The costumes are beautiful and hold secrets of their own. The stage is set simple, though surprisingly effective to tell the tale. And dancers all over the world will be able to value the choreography of Scotsman James McCutcheon. The way he stages a moving train, a galloping horse and dancing stones is both artistic and amusing, a combination often greatly missed in dance performances.

Marylou Schade, dance teacher of male lead Joe Taylor, flew over to Amsterdam, Holland after the Worlds in Belfast to see her pupil dance. 'He was brilliant tonight. I never knew he could move that fast.' She added she liked the show very much: with compliments to the choreographer.

The taste of success might lead to bigger things. Bigger theatres, yes, a stadium definitely not, both Bryan and James emphasise. James: 'This show is meant to be performed in a theatre. We choose intimacy, the audience is able to see that there are human beings on stage. They are not miles away, only to be seen on a videoscreen.' Bryan: 'This is all 'in your face kind of stuff.'

After five weeks of touring, To Dance on the Moon is still a working show, Bryan says. 'We are always trying to improve things.' Sometimes its the venue that forces changes: trying to fit the show onto stagefloors that are a bit too small. 'So far we've managed without leaving any of the dancers out,' James says. And the musicians have so far been able to find a reasonable spot on stage too. Although in Holland one of them struggled through the performance having the side-curtain flapping in his face. Not that anybody in the troupe feels the need to complain about such trivialities. Happy as they are to leap the rainbow every night and dance on the moon.

To Dance on the Moon tells the story of Daigh, a boy standing on the threshold of becoming a man. Daigh wants to be a dancer but his father rather sees him take on a proper job. Daigh moves away from home and becomes an automechanic. He keeps dreaming of becoming a dancer. Daigh meets Niamh, a young girl he falls in love with.

One night Daigh and his new friends break into the Moonhouse. The burglary is meant for Daigh to prove to his friends that he is a cool guy. Daigh dances on a mysterious box, that happens to be the secret entrance to a mysterious world. In this world Celtic gods challenge Daigh's abilities to make up his own mind and defend himself. Niamh is taken into the underworld too, but the gods prevent the two lovers from meeting each other.

While dancing against and with Celtic mythological creatures and using his senses Daigh finds his way out of the underworld. When Daigh (no longer a boy but a young, self-confident man) wakes up from under a car in his garage, he knows what to do with his life. He is going to be a dancer so he can leap the rainbow and DANCE ON THE MOON.

Kevin Duffy, Deirdre Masterton, Lorraine Scallon

All photos taken by Marnix Heijnemans for the Celtic Cafe with kind permission from Mary Millane, Konzertdirektion Landgraf.

For more photos from the show please visit Marnix site.

The Celtic Cafe also wishes to thank Ellen Eggink, a journalist from the Netherlands. You can mail her your comments by clicking here.