Some of the current cast members in Riverdance’s 25th anniversary show were not even born when the Irish dance phenomenon first toured Australia in 1997.
The cultural sensation fusing Irish and international dance and music has since visited our shores on four more occasions, with the 2011 tour marking the first time Sydney Irish dancer Will Bryant experienced the show live, igniting his ambition in the process.
“My earliest memory of Riverdance was watching Michael Flatley on the VHS player,” 29-year-old Bryant says.
“Seeing it performed at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, I just remember being drawn to the music and the choreography and I was like, ‘wow, that’s something I want to do’.”
Will, and his younger brother Kieran, had trained from an early age at Sydney’s Halloran School of Dance in classical ballet, contemporary, tap and Irish dance, the latter leading Will to join Riverdance in 2014 with Kieran following in his talented footsteps two years later.
They have since both become principal dancers and travelled the world together in the production that originated from a seven-minute version performed at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin.
Riverdance – The Show opened in Dublin the following February, amounting more than 15,000 performances and resulting in more than 30 million people worldwide having experienced it live.
“Riverdance is the be all and end all of Irish dance shows and being able to perform those iconic steps that I always watched as a kid, it’s just unreal,” Will says.
“It’s great having your best mate on the road with you. Being away from family can obviously get hard, especially when you’re away for months on end and the only way of contacting them is in FaceTime. Being able to share the memories with someone, especially someone in your family, is just awesome as well.”
The Australian national tour of Riverdance’s 25th anniversary show begins in Perth at RAC Arena on April 2 and 3, before shows in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Bryants’ home city.
The reimagined production features a remastered soundtrack by Grammy Award-winning composer Bill Whelan while producer Moya Doherty and director John McColgan have refreshed the lighting, video, stage and costume designs, all while retaining the essence of what makes Riverdance magic.
“Honestly, it’s timeless and it’s more than just an Irish dance show,” Will says.
“It tells a story of cultural diversity where we introduce styles of dance from all over the world. There’s a beautiful flamenco dancer, we have American tappers and we have folk dancers.
“It explores how we can all come together to create something really special. I think that really resonates with a lot of people and that’s why people keep coming back.”