Every Irish dancer remembers the first time they watched Riverdance. For many, that bolt from the blue struck 30 years ago when the Eurovision song contest interval act was broadcast across the world on the evening of 30 April 1994. This sensational, seven-minute showcase of the host country’s traditional dance form would upstage the main event and inspire a new generation of jigging hopefuls, begging their parents to be enrolled in Irish dance classes the very next week.
I was one of the more unusual cases, having taken up Irish dancing lessons in my local church hall before even seeing Riverdance. My Irish dad, realising this was fast becoming a deep devotion and not a fleeting hobby, soon introduced me to the show that had changed Irish dancing for ever. “You will love Riverdance,” he enthused to his then nine-year-old daughter, born one year after the show’s debut.
Love might have been a mild way of putting it. Every jump, treble and cut executed on that history-making night at Dublin’s Point theatre – which I watched on VHS a decade later – ignited a fire in me like nothing else to this day. From Jean Butler’s spectral emergence between the emerald green cloaks and her feather-light leaps, the rapid fire taps of the sprawling troupe line, to Bill Whelan’s haunting score, this show fast became the beating heart of my life’s biggest passion.
At the centre of this extraordinary show was the man who put Irish dancing on the world stage as it had never been seen before. Bolting out from the wings, with his silken-robed arms soaring through the air, Michael Flatley appeared looking more like a rockstar than a quaint Irish tapper. This unknown showman commanded every inch of the floor in his braggadocious, swaggering solo which tore up the conservative rulebook that gave Irish dancing its identity.
Pummelling the stage at more beats per second than was believed possible, this cacophony of metallic, red-hot rhythms not only complimented the Celtic music, but became part of it. It was a cultural awakening on a visceral level – Irish dancing as no one had seen it before. Finally, the jig had cool factor.
After my initial introduction to the show, I wasn’t aware that 20 years of competitive Irish dance would follow, but I knew this athletic artform was always going to be a core part of my life. I’ve watched Riverdance live more than 10 times now, and attended the annual summer school in Dublin twice. Every time I revisit this show, the music and choreography finds its way deeper into my bones, the rhythm of my walk, even the underside of my bedsheets when the restlessness goes to my feet.
For me, and so many Irish dancers, some of whom now perform in the show that debuted when they were not even born, Riverdance is a reminder of the unadulterated passion that precedes the pursuit of excellence. It’s a benchmark of greatness to strive for and fuel for a spark that often dims under the stresses of life.