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It all started with a Chicagoan. Well, not entirely. But RIVERDANCE 25th ANNIVERSARY SHOW at the Cadillac Palace Theatre gives a respectful nod to Michael Flatley. Born on Chicago’s South Side to Irish parents, Flatley and dance partner Jean Butler did a 7-minute version of Irish step dancing for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest that transformed the folk art into a commercially viable entertainment.
RIVERDANCE 25th ANNIVERSARY SHOW, making a brief stop in Flatley’s hometown, celebrates the reinvention of a dance genre that evolved over hundreds of years in Ireland. In that seminal 1994 performance, composer Bill Whelan blended traditional Irish music with rock and Flatley’s choreography loosened step dancing’s rigid straight-body form, adding variety and sex appeal. Long after Flatley parted ways with his co-creators, Riverdance keeps the waters flowing.
Sun, moon and stars in RIVERDANCE 25th ANNIVERSARY SHOW
The show opens with a quick video salute to Riverdance’s quarter-century history, followed by “Reel Around the Sun.” In this signature 1995 Flatley-Whalen number, dancers perform steps and music that harken back to Ireland’s ancient, nature-based religiosity. Sophisticated projections enhance a number that acknowledges human smallness against the heaven’s vastness through choreographic line and circle formations. Amid dancers’ rapid-fire footwork and the beat of Celtic music, images of a moving river and rising sun pull the audience right into the action onstage.
RIVERDANCE 25th ANNIVERSARY SHOW synthesizes elements with a deftness that, for this reviewer, makes it all seem as if it emerged from the skies, or maybe a riverbed, courtesy of Celtic mythological gods. Of course, common sense tells us otherwise. Those piercing stars against the black night, the imposing rocks and cliffs, the rustling leaves and lightning bolt come from gifted designers and technicians. The sheer precision of the dancers -- their kick lines like co-ed Irish Rockettes – speak to program bios that describe training that began at toddler age. The same dedication is true of the choral singers and onstage musicians who fill the theater with their soulful sounds.
Broadway in Chicago brings Riverdance’s virtuoso diversity
As it makes its deep dive into Irish folk culture, Riverdance also highlights its universality by including other traditions that involve flying feet. Soloist Rocio Montoya brings curvy sensuality to a pair of Spanish flamenco numbers. African American tappers Lamon Brown and Tyler Knowlin challenge their immigrant Irish counterparts tap for tap on a New York City street. And the Russian folk dancers’ choreographic feats simply defy gravity. These numbers prove that virtuosity knows no national borders.
As Act I’s nature-oriented aesthetic morphs to Act II’s human-made aesthetic – ranging from an Irish village of stone cottages to a street in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge – RIVERDANCE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW celebrates the primal rhythm in all of us. It also celebrates the transportability of this Irish art form. The performers hail from wherever step dancing can be found: Ireland, England, Australia, Canada and the United States. A city that dyes its river green on St. Patrick’s Day, Chicago is just the right place for Riverdance to visit on its silver anniversary.
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Creative team:
Producer Moya Doherty,
Director John McColgan ,
Lead designer Peter Canning,
Featuring Set by Alan Farquharson,
Lighting by Andrew Voller and
Video by Cosmo AV along with Costumes by Joan Bergin and
Sound by Michael O’Gorman.
When:
Through Feb. 9, 2020
Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 2PM & 7:30PM
Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7:30PM
Friday, Feb. 7 at 7:30PM
Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2PM & 8PM
Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2PM
Where:
Broadway In Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre
151 W. Randolph
Chicago
Tickets:
$32+
For full price tickets and information, go to Broadway In Chicago website or (800) 775-2000
Photos by Rob Mc Dougal and Jack Hartin, as indicated and also in slider images
About the Author
Susan Lieberman is a Jeff-winning playwright, journalist, teacher and script consultant who commits most of her waking hours to Chicago theatre. Her radio drama In the Shadows aired on BBC Radio 4 last season.
Editor's Note: Click here to find more Picture This Post reviews by Susan Lieberman
