Answer:
You might be surprised. The video of DANCING ON DANGEROUS
GROUND is, as of this writing, about to be released, after having
been previewed in France on the cable and satellite channel Paris Première,
and I think it's time to reassess this show, and try to see if its failure
was deserved or not. But let's start at the beginning.
I
still remember that night of December when I saw Colin Dunne and Jean
Butler dance the story of Diarmuid and Grainne on the stage of the Theatre
Royal, Drury Lane in London. And despite the various incidents which
made this evening one of the most interesting I ever spent in a theatre
(the infamous bad seats, the discovery that my seat had been double
booked, the stuck curtain at the end of the show), I loved DANCING
ON DANGEROUS GROUND. I was ready to make allowances for the
fact that it was a preview, and so, I didn't let the incidents get in
the way of my enjoying the show. Then, I read the first critics, which,
as you well remember, were not really flattering. Was I wrong? Or did
the critics pull the same kind of stunt they did when LES MISÉRABLES
opened in London (they said it wouldn't transfer to the West End,
and wouldn't last long anyway. Some prophets!)? Well, I saw the video,
and was relieved to see that I was right. And I'm not the only one who
thought so. Two people I showed it to loved it as well. One of them,
being an accordionist, praised Seamus Egan's music and Solas' performance.
And a third person, who's a tap dance teacher and saw the video independently,
loved it as well. Makes me wonder what show these London critics saw,
and what they were smoking when they saw it. But enough rant about that.
While trying to figure out why they didn't like it, and why I, and more
than a few others loved it, I found out something interesting: you can
make comparisons between Irish dance shows... and James Bond movies.
And in that regard, DANCING ON DANGEROUS GROUND holds
a very special place that will make it a cult favourite in the years
to follow, and maybe, hopefully, help bring about a resurrection of
the show.
But
let me explain why I'm making that outrageous comparison between the
exploits of Michael Flatley, Jean Butler, Colin Dunne, et al., and the
exploits of Her Majesty's famous spy. It's because the various shows
we've seen since that fateful evening of 1994 have followed more or
less the same pattern as James Bond movies. In that respect, RIVERDANCE
can be considered the GOLDFINGER of Irish dance show:
it's the classic, the one everyone has heard about, the one which established
the rules to follow. Michael Flatley then followed the same path with
his own shows as THUNDERBALL and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
-- he put on the stage more of what was successful the first time: more
dancers, more elaborate sets, more special effects. And there's nothing
wrong with that, as can be seen by the success of both these movies
and LORD OF THE DANCE and FEET OF FLAMES.
On the other hand, Colin Dunne and Jean Butler tried to break the mold
with DANCING ON DANGEROUS GROUND, just like the Bond producers
tried a departure from their formula with ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET
SERVICE. And both the movie and the show suffered a poor reception
at the time of their respective releases. But since then, ON
HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE has been reassessed as one of the
finest movies in the series, and many Bond fans (including myself) view
it as their personal favourite.
There
are many points of comparisons between OHMSS and DoDG. First, the bad
press both received even before they were shown to the world. For OHMSS,
they were talks of feuds between the two leads, George Lazenby and Diana
Rigg (including something about garlic eaten before a love scene). For
DODG, the advance publicity, with the famous "nude shot," and the various
problems which caused a delay for the premiere of the show really didn't
help. Second, critics focused on what the movie didn't have: no big
set by Ken Addams, no gadgets, and most of all, no Sean Connery, replaced
by an unknown Australian actor, George Lazenby, the one-time Bond. They
expected "more of the same" but got a movie that was different from
all the rest. Worst of all, in that movie, Bond did the unthinkable
-- he got married! And the death of his bride ended the movie on a sour
note that was at the opposite of every Bond movie before and since.
For DoDG, people thought they would get a show in the RD/LOTD mold,
and were surprised, and maybe disappointed to get a tragic love story,
with no happy ending. But what both the critics and the public failed
to see in both cases was what OHMSS and DoDG had that made them outstanding.
For OHMSS: a faithfulness to Ian Fleming's original story, up to the
ending of the movie, which gives it a distinct look, and not the same
old tired formula. Fantastic action sequences, including a ski chase
scene that since then has been imitated by everyone, including Bond
directors themselves. John Barry's score was top notch, and "We Have
All The Time In The World," sung by Luis Armstrong, is the best song
of the whole series. And last, but not least, in my opinion at least,
the absolute best Bond girl of all the series: Diana Rigg
as Tracy Di Vincenzo, the woman who wins Bond's heart. Since her, only
Sophie Marceau has come close to her performance. All elements which
made this picture a quality movie that has a very special place in the
whole series.
And
for DoDG? Well, first, we have a tragic love story here, and not Michael
Flatley's basic Good Guy Vs. Bad Guy plot (not that there's anything
wrong with that, as Jerry Seinfeld once said). Then, whether with the
costumes, which run from hakamas (the large pants worn by aikido practitioners
and the dancers at the beginning) to dress uniforms for the wedding
scene, or big overcoats for pursuit in the forest, or with the choreography,
Butler and Dunne tried to do some original things, and they succeeded.
The dance is closer to the "sean nos" style, where the arms are let
loose, rather than the strictly "classic" Irish dance posture, with
arms held tightly at the side (and there's a nice visual joke about
that with the men of the court waking up with their arms bound at the
side). On one moment, when the ladies of the court prepare themselves
for the pursuit of the two lovers, we expect to see a hardshoe number,
but we are treated to an energetic soft shoe number which manages to
convey the strength, power and determination of these warrior women.
And there are also moments which should be included in every dance anthology.
The middle of the show is simply great: Colin Dunne's duet with Winifred
Horan, the little celebration in the bar (which is very different on
the video from the time I saw it on stage -- no more dancers above the
stage, here everything is on ground level), the duet between Colin and
Jean, easily the best and sexiest duet ever devised for an Irish dance
show, the finale of Act One, and the wedding ball are all moments to
remember. And last, but not least, the show features a great score.
Seamus Egan has outdone himself, mixing the traditional jigs and reels
of Ireland with some other genres, like the tango which serves as the
background for Colin and Jean's duet. Add to that the great dancing
and acting of Colin and Jean themselves, and you get a classic in the
making. Of course, it's not perfect: on both the original version and
the video, Tommy Kemp didn't have much to do, although what he did,
he did brilliantly, giving his stage presence and royal bearing to the
character of Finn McCool. I've heard that since then, he had been given
something more to do, which is good. And my eyes haven't recovered yet
from the searchlights used during the pursuit (and on the audience).
But, among the shows I saw last year, I put it on third place, behind
RIVERDANCE and OKLAHOMA (great show with
a great cast, including, believe it or not, Hugh Jackman himself), but
way before WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND (which, despite some
good moments, suffered from a crummy premise and some wretched songs).
So,
despite the poor reception it got when it opened, I'm willing to bet
that, thanks to the release of the video, DANCING ON DANGEROUS
GROUND will know the same fate as ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET
SERVICE. That movie wasn't very successful when it opened, but
since then, it has become a cult favourite among Bond fans. DANCING
ON DANGEROUS GROUND will, in my estimation, become a
cult favourite among Irish dance fans. And deservedly so. Maybe down
the line we'll see a resurrection of DoDG. Hey, we can only hope. Besides,
I would like to see the changes that have been done since the filming
of the video.
