Riverdance - the show
Synopsis
PART ONE: Introduction
At the root of all native cultures is the primal quest to come to terms with
spiritual and elemental forces.
Just as they harnessed fire, water, wood and stone, our ancestors also learned
to harness their creativity.
They quickly learned how to express and celebrate their own lives and spirits,
their human relationships and their bond with the place they call home.
The first half of this performance deals with the native imagination as it
embraces the great forces and challenges of life.
- Reel around the Sun
- Corona (Slow Air)
- The Chronos Reel
- Reel Around the Sun
The power and presence of the sun have from the earliest times fascinated mankind.
Conscious of our dependence on it, we have readily ascribed to it a supernatural
or religious significance.
This dance piece begins with a slow air played by Davy Spillane. It develops into
a full-blown dance with Michael Flatley leading the Irish Company in an energetic
reel in praise of the sun's great power.
- Women of Ireland
- The Heart's Cry
- The Countess Cathleen
- The Women of the Sidhe
A recurrent strand in Celtic mythology has been the attempt to create images of
womanhood which can explain the complexities of the feminine psyche. The poet
Yeats repeatedly used the image of woman in his evocations of mythic events.
Jean Butler dances the slip jig The Countess Cathleen, recalling Yeats' nationalistic methaphor of
nurturing Irish womanhood. The dance transforms into an earthy jig, The Women
of the Sidhe: here Jean and her troupe of eight challenge some unexpecting males
and celebrate the sexual dimension of womanhood. Anuna opens this tableau with
the ethereal The Heart's Cry.
- Caoineadh Cu Chulainn (Lament)
Davy Spillane with a lament on the uilleann pipes for Cuchulain, the great Irish hero and
leader who fought the sea prior to his death.
- Distant Thunder
Thunder is one of the most potent elemental forces. In this unaccompanied dance
Michael Flatley and six male Irish dancers, in a hard-shoe routine, evoke the
power and dramatic energy of thunder.
- A Chumaraigh Aoibhinn
The tradition of unaccompanied singing is long and well established here in Ireland.
One of its leading exponents is Aine Ui Cheallaigh. Consistent with the theme of
highlighting the songs and dances in praise of place, this beautiful song from
the Waterford region is sung in Irish, and in praise of the Comeragh Mountains, Co.
Waterford.
- Firedance
Like the sun, fire is a source of heat and comfort, yet also something to be feared.
Maria Pages appears as the embodiment of fire, displaying its allure in her graceful
hand movements and its power and danger in her dance. Michael Flatley, symbolising
the early Celtic settlers, approaches tentatively at first, but ultimately embraces
and fully engages with the flame.
- Slip into Spring
A slip jig, led by Maire Breathnach, picturing the gentle and gradual outburst of
life which occurs after the hard winter.
- Riverdance
- Cloudsong
Anuna begin the piece by evoking the spirit of the riverwoman and ushering
her onto the land.
- Dance of the Riverwoman
Jean Butler dances in the soft-shoe style, to reflect the fluid nature
of the Riverwoman's being and to parallel the river's movement, as it
spreads throughout the land.
- Earthrise
The Riverwoman has woken the earth from its barren sleep. Michael Flatley,
symbolising the land through energetic and vital movement, displays his
mastery of hard-shoe tap dancing.
- Riverdance
Now the forces of earth and water come together, tentatively at first.
With the return of the drums, it becomes a rousing jig, and with the
orchestra in full flight. Michael Flatley and Jean Butler lead a group
of twenty four Irish Traditional dancers to a spectacular climax.
PART TWO: Introduction
War, famine, slavery - whether through these or other great disturbances, many
native peoples through history have been forced to leave the home place. Such a
dislocation forms the basis for Part Two of Riverdance-The Show
The music and dance that helped form a sense of identity are now brought to a new
and strange place. Yet when exposed to differing and unfamiliar cultures, they
serve not only to connect the emigrant to his or her roots but to identify the
essential humanity that is common to us all. Ultimately the blending and fusion
of music and dance confirm that the totality of human experience and expression
is greater even than the sum of its many and diverse parts.
- Lift the Wings
This song performed by Aine Ui Cheallaigh, evokes the emotions that contend in
the hearts of most emigrants: the anticipation of the promised new beginning
and the yearning for the familiarity of the homeland.
The song carries out two principal dancers, Michael and Jean, into an imaginary
place where they will witness a variety of new cultures. That place is The Harbour
of the New World.
- The Harbour of the New World
- Hope to the Suffering
One of the unique responses of the Afro American was to develop a form of
musical expression of the dominance of the human spirit. Rev. James Bignon
is one of the most noted gospel singers and choir leaders in America and we
find him in our imaginary harbour with his choir singing this new song
- Hope to the Suffering.
- Harlem to Hollywood
The historical source of Black tap dancing appears in the jigs and reels of
Ireland and Scotland and in the rhythmic foot stamping of African dances.
Marcel Peneux, Jelly Germaine and Leon Hazelwood pay tribute to the
American Tap tradition in Harlem to Hollywood.
- Flamenco Flame
The combination of poetic movement with a challenging sexuality has made
Spanish dance one of the most attractive and engaging of dance forms.
Hand in glove with flamence dance is the passionate guitar music that
accompanies it.
In our harbour, Michael and Jean witness two superb performers, Maria Pages
and Rafael Riqueni. They perform two pieces. The first is in the traditional
style, by Rafael. In the second, a new piece by Bill Whelan, the rhythms
of flamenco are married to Latin-American percussion.
- Harbour East
In the crucible of the New World the emigrants contunue to be exposed to a
rainbow of cultures, expressed in music and dance. The African-American
influence is followed by the sound af Asia and Eastern Europe in the
brilliant movement of Moiseyev Dance Company and the intricate, highly
evocative, instrumental work of Nokola Parov.
- Macedonia Morning
Nokola plays this lonely air on the Kaval, an eastern instrument with
echoes of the Irish low whistle. The theme is developed by Kenneth Edge
on soprano saxophone and then is returned to Nikola for its final
statement.
- Marta's Dance - The Russian Dervish
Drawing inspiration from the folk traditions stretching from Siberia to
Eastern Europe, the Moiseyev Company now springs into action with a
dynamic acrobatic routine which gathers pace as it hurtles to a blistering
finale. Nikola Parov leads his Irish musical colleagues on the gadulka.
- Heartland
The movement of the performance now begins to arc towards its climax as the physical
and cultural journey of the emigrants approaches a resolution. The New World has
infact yielded a new beginning, leaving the emigrant identity enriched by its
openning up to the wider world.
In this climactic section, the performers of the original Riverdance - Anuna, Michael,
Jean and the full Irish Dance Company - re-work and spectacularly re-imagine the
elements of the piece which fired the imagination of millions.
- Freedom
The James Bignon Deliverence Ensemble now returns as a prelude to the final
movement of the performance. The voices of peoples - men and women, African,
American and Irish - join in the call for justice which is also a plea from
the dislocated, the dspossessed, to be united once again with their homeland and
with their roots. The full ensemble and cast are joined by Anuna.
- Riverdance International
The entire company joins in a climactic reprise of the original Riverdance, into
which are woven echoes of the new performances of Riverdance - The Show.
Thus the opening song, Hear My Cry, is performed by the Deliverence Ensemble
and Anuna. The slip jig by six Irish girls is followed by Maria Pages, the Harlam
tap dancers and the Moiseyev Company.
Jean and Michael too make their entrances in turn and build to their duet as before.
But now the entrances of the Irish troupe bring with them the entire cast of the show.
Thus - finaly - Michael and Jean are joined by the full rank of soloists, celebrating
and uniting the many strands of the music and dance in a front line swing
sequence that is yet fuller and more emphatic than anything seen before.
Story by Moya Doherty and Bill Whelan