Little has changed about Riverdance since the blouse-wearing Michael Flatley burst on to our screens at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. Although Flatley has long-since abandoned the production (developed out of the seven-minute Eurovision piece), the sets, costumes and choreography remain predominantly unaltered. Whilst this hasn’t affected ticket sales - the show has been seen by over 21 million people, it does mean that the production is beginning to look dated. It would seem then that this, their farewell UK tour, has come at an appropriate time.
Without an obvious star at its helm the production suffers. Alan Scariff is a natural dancer with an obvious joy, yet he lacks the charisma of his predecessors. Barbie lookalike Donna Marie Boyle attempts valiantly to compensate, yet she does so with pantomime facial expressions and pasted smiles. Stealing the show from both lead dancers, however, are the members of the onstage band who inject new life into Bill Whelan’s ebullient score.
Retaining their freshness are the non-Irish dances. Leaping at alarming angles, the Moscow Folk Ballet Company still astound with ‘Morning in Macedonia’, whilst the frivolous, easy charms of the American street tappers liberate the stage. Marina Claudio’s flamenco performance is a standalone triumph. She dances as though engaged in a sensual dialogue with her body; every rippling movement stemming from deep within.
The production has reached more audiences than the original producers could have ever imagined. Like ballet dancers who bow out before their pirouettes begin to falter, however, I think now is a sensible time for the Riverdance to step down.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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