Riverdance the show promises to weave the music and dance of a range of different cultures.
Rehearsals are currently underway for Riverdance the stage show which will open at the Point Depot Theatre Dublin on 9 February 1995.
Producer Moya Doherty explains how the show, which began life as the interval act for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, has become a two hour stage show. She describes it as a musical and dance cultural exchange, based on the experiences of the Irish Diaspora around the world.
It’s going to be fantastic...there’s a lot of different dance forms.
Dancer Leon Hazelwood says he worked jazz tap into the show by,
Listening to the Irish rhythms, what they’re doing with the steps, and our rhythms coincide with what they’re doing.
Elena Shcherbakova is translator and assistant choreographer with the The Moiseyev Folk Ballet Company from Russia. So impressed was founder of the company Igor Moiseyev with Riverdance that he choreographed a special piece for the show in collaboration with composer Bill Whelan.
Taking all of this into account, the score for Riverdance the show is, according to Moya Doherty,
Bill’s best work to date.
This episode of 'Gerry Ryan Tonight’ was broadcast on 1 February 1995. The presenter is Gerry Ryan.
