Riverdance returns

Riverdance returns to Mayo roots

Anna-Marie Flynn

WHERE were you when Riverdance was launched on the Eurovision?  The date April 30, 1994 may not immediately ring a bell in the mind, but few fail to recall their exact surroundings when the original seven-minute version was first performed as the interval act at the Eurovision Song Contest.
But, while Riverdance was unveiled to 300 million viewers in 1994, the seeds of its success were sown a year earlier during Mayo 5000. The memorial’s showcase event, ‘The Spirit of Mayo’ concert, held in the National Concert Hall in Dublin and featuring an orchestral work composed by Bill Whelan, was set to go down in history as the inspiration for a world phenomenon.
Fifteen years later, Riverdance is returning to is roots with a ten-night run in Castlebar’s revamped Royal Theatre in September. Attending the Mayo show’s press launch at Áras an Chontae on Tuesday last, composer Bill Whelan described the return to the west as reminiscent of the original theme of his world-famous work.
“There is no actual narrative story to Riverdance but the theme begins at the beginning like a river and then flows out into the sea before continuing back into the clouds and then finally falling again as rain. This is extremely appropriate in coming back to Mayo. In a way, we have made that journey.”
And the Mayo links don’t end there. Dancing the lead role in Castlebar will be Padraic Moyles, whose father Padraic Snr hails from Crossmolina and mother Christine from Ballaghaderreen. Despite the fact that his parents now reside in New York, Padraic retains strong links with the county. With his sister living in Foxford and wedding plans to fiancee, Claremorris native Niamh O’Connor (Riverdance Dance Captain), pencilled in for Mount Falcon in mid-August, Mayo is still very much regarded as ‘home’ to the dancer. “We lived in Crossmolina for a year when I was young and then I got involved in dancing through my sister when we settled in Dublin. I always loved it, so being part of Riverdance is a dream come true for me.”
After moving to America, Padraic was fortunate to share the same teacher as another well-connected Mayo-woman and leading lady in the original Riverdance, Jean Butler.
“I have danced all over the world with Riverdance since November 17, 1997 but the run in Castlebar will be one of the most special yet. All the family will be returning to the county and my family still settled here will also have an opportunity to see it so I cannot wait to come back,” he said.
The return of the show to Mayo will serve as one of the inaugural events to be held in the newly-refurbished 2,200-seat Royal Theatre, in an expansion move that is being dubbed ‘bringing the West End to the west’.
The Mayo leg of the show will be presented in association with Mayo County Council, which originally funded £50,000 for the Mayo 5000 celebrations. Speaking at the launch, County Manager, Des Mahon, and Cathaoirleach, Cllr Seamus Weir, paid tribute to the genius of Bill Whelan and the dancers involved in the show during its 8,000 performances to date worldwide.
Riverdance will be staged in the Royal Theatre, Castlebar from September 3 next and tickets, priced between €28 and €50, excluding booking fee, are available from Thursday, April 17.