(10 Mar 2020) 'RIVERDANCE 25' CELEBRATES A QUARTER CENTURY OF THE FAMOUS IRISH DANCING PERFORMANCE
Most of the dancers of the "Riverdance" 25th anniversary show were either too young or not born yet when the famous Irish dancing performance swept the U.S. in the 90s.
"For many of these dancers that weren't born when this show started, it really is up to all of us to instill in them the history of the show so that they can go out there and perform that with pride every single night," said Padraic Moyles, who danced with the company and now serves as its associate director. "So there is pressure and it's pressure that we all enjoy. It's pressure that we all kind of get energy from."
The show will perform at Radio City Music Hall March 10-15 and then will continue on in the U.S., all while also playing in cities across the UK.
"Twenty-five years later, to be at Radio City for us is like the dream. So we're kind of just pinching ourselves and trying to savor every moment," said lead dancer Maggie Darlington.
"I watched Riverdance as a boy," chimed in fellow lead Jason O'Neill, "and now to be in Radio City and doing lead, it's like a dream come true."
"Riverdance 25" is a reinvention of the classic performance with a newer, fresher take.
"This 25th anniversary, we decided about two years ago that we would have to do something different, something that would visually reimagine the show, visually re-excite the show. So we've a new set, a whole new environment of high tech LED screens with animated art on like animated paintings. We have the score rerecorded—Bill Whelan's score rerecorded. We have new costumes. So it really feels fresh. It feels new, so I'm looking forward to the next 25 years," said director John McColgan.
The dance steps are also updated.
"It's evolved a bit with the dance style itself. If you look at older videos, it's a little bit more grounded and now there's a lot more lift and energy and that's just the way Irish dancing has gone. It's very athletic now, and I think we've brought some of that into the show as well," said Darlington.
"It's kept all the magic of the original, but we have the new set and the new lights, some costumes, some new numbers," said O'Neill. So it feels really fresh, but it's still timeless. So we're so excited."
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