Review: RIVERDANCE at Wolf Trap

I grew up in synchronization with the rise of Irish stepdance, so now both I and its most famous show, Riverdance, are in our 30th anniversary year. Perhaps that’s why the fast-moving feet, free flowing curls, and soulful music strike me so deeply. But, evidently, the juxtaposition in this art form also has broad appeal.

The characteristic feature of Irish stepdance is an immovable upper body. The dancers’ feet fly in quick intricate patterns, but from the waist up they are frozen. Their arms, torsos, and faces do not move a muscle. Yet in Riverdance you feel the power, the longing, and the life contained in this rigid form. It’s refreshingly real compared to the overly-literal dramatization of most contemporary dance. 

After 30 years, Riverdance is a well-thought-out, well-oiled machine. (Regrettably, I have not attained the same). The show is set to a poetic narrative about the Irish land, people, and their new and old traditions. Along with the dancers, a live band, choir, and dynamic digital backdrop bring the stories to life. For further variety, Riverdance incorporates flamenco, american tap, and traditional folk dancing. In total, there are nine numbers in act one and nine in act two. The show is long, but moves rapidly from one piece to the next, often cutting into enthusiastic applause. In return, the audience cuts back in with shouts, cheers, and unsuppressable affirmation. 

Highlights include an all-male number set against a backdrop of thunder and lightning with hardly any music, just the perfectly synchronized stomping of feet, a friendly duel set in the diaspora between two american tappers who could give Gregory Hines a run for his money and three stepdancers along with their allies, saxophone and fiddle respectively, and an ethereal choir led by an acapella soprano with a voice that cuts to the bone and almost transports one to the gusty ocean cliffs portrayed behind her on the screen. 

Though the principal dancers are most-celebrated, and certainly talented, it’s these larger, multi-modal company pieces that are most exciting. When the full stepdance company takes the stage, more than twenty dancers move in intricate patterns and shapes from one long rockette line to pinwheels to criss-crossing pairs. Fast twirls and loud stomps are interspersed with syncopation and drawn out moments of slowness that help emphasize the climax of everyone coming together. It’s a high-energy show pulling out all the stops. 

The narration and the backdrop that connect these different pieces all celebrate Irish heritage. They show the importance of relationships, love, and nature - particularly the sun and the moon - to their mythology. It makes one want to go running across rolling green hills stomping, singing, fiddling, and perhaps drinking a Guinness. All in all, a lovely way to spend an evening.

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