Friday, December 5, 2014

Riverdance Revisited by Bob Racine



                                    1hr & 40 min, color, 1995

Mysterious!  Bracing!  Illuminating!  Transfixing!  Reverent!  Celebrative!  Exhilarating!  Soul-stirring!  Uniquely Inspired and Inspiring!

I was not far into my first viewing of “Riverdance” in 1995, when I found myself experiencing all of the preceding.  I knew at once that I was in the presence of a piece of musical theater that was special in that it was more than an entertainment, though it surely is that.  It was and is a spiritual offering that calls forth the most sublime elements waiting to emerge from our human hearts.  When the show had its American premiere that year in New York, it caused a sensation; news of it spread like a wildfire and launched a Celtic revival here and worldwide (hence Celtic Woman, Celtic Thunder and many other musical groups that have since emerged).  Yes, we are approaching the twentieth anniversary of this stage marvel, after it has been staged in at least forty countries, perhaps more.

Some of the most ingenious choreography ever designed in the western world is the dazzling center piece.  No less than forty dancers participate, from various disciplines.  The highlight of it is a form of hard shoe that is not all that familiar in North America but is easy to get used to, and many including myself have come to love it.  It involves very little bending of the hips and a limited use of the forearms, with much of the performer’s control in the flexibility of the knees and legs.  The music in form is traditional Irish for the most part, but it draws from other cultures as well, even though the instrumentation is always that of a small ensemble, much on the order of the famous internationally esteemed Chieftains.  It is composed in large part of uilleann bagpipes, sometimes referred to as “union” pipes, with percussion, accordion, strings, guitar, mandolin, reeds, whistles and chimes accompanying.  The orchestra numbers only about a dozen players in this performance, but what a blast of sound they make!  Great lighting effects serve an awesome visual backdrop.  I daresay this is one stage production that would be next to impossible to perform non-professionally.  No high school or college or local community troupe is ever likely to attempt it, not the least because of the humungous personnel required both on stage and behind the scenes.  Beyond that, and more to the point, is the level of virtuosity demanded of just about all participants.   And there is not a sluggish moment anywhere to be found. 

“Riverdance” works best, if it is viewed altogether on one occasion, not in selected parts on scattered days, which may be the temptation when viewing it on DVD.  Doing it piecemeal is certainly not a waste of time; any segment of the whole would be entertaining and stimulating to the senses, but taken together, with an evening or afternoon set aside as one would allow for a movie or a play, a quality of experience over and above diversion is almost assured.  It is not a loosely jointed revue, with the acts piled up in random sequence.  There is a form and method in it.  Seen through one continuous viewing it provides a grander, loftier and more thrilling effect, an experience of serene beauty and wonderment.  

The original version I viewed in 1995 only lasted a little over an hour; it was an editing for TV from a longer treatment, whereas the DVD album I am plugging here, a televised performance for Radio City Music Hall that took place in 1996, runs a total of 100 minutes.  One conspicuous difference between what I saw back then and what we find in this expanded version is the use of narrated poetry, which is easy to follow because of subtitles.  This poetic material is largely the reason for the show’s unity.  It provides something of an arc that binds the entire work together.  And yet, the words are not in any way an encumbrance to the ballet.  These narrated passages are short in duration and link well with the dances and with the lyrics of the songs that have become mainstays. 

In my next blog entry I will be sharing excerpts from the songs and the poetry.  Look for it sometime during the coming week.
 
The first sound we hear is the band simulating, against a broad bass chord, the flow of many waters, and the first solemn words we hear in voice-over play like the beginning of an epic narrative:  “Out of the dark we came, out of the sea, where the long wave broke on the shore.  As the day rolled back, there we stood, on the land we would call home.  Out of the dark we came, out of the night, the first of many mornings in this place.  What burns through the rain and mist?  What banishes dark? . . .The sun is our lord and father. . .lord of the morning, lord of the day.  Lifting our hearts, we sing his praise and dance in the healing rays.”   These wondrous words introduce us to the reel into which the approaching dancers break.  From this breathtaking beginning we know that the history of humankind, from its most primal inception, out of the sea, is being mythologized, and we are off to make the journey in music, words and lively feet.  And, as I say, that is only the beginning!

The epic gathers up the interminable human struggle with its pain and its prosperity, its discoveries and its losses, its crises and the rewards of its perseverance.  There are hellos and goodbyes.  There is sunshine and storm, war and peace, settlement and migration, the grievous cry and the aspirations of the heart.  The music is never bizarre, unearthly, outlandish or revolutionary.  Each episode’s song and/or dance is grounded in a particular culture – Irish, Gaelic, Russian, Mideast, modern American.  There is even a sensational flamenco dancer, Maria Pages, who commands the stage during no less than three intervals.  What a force she is! 

It all climaxes with a celebration of home – “Home and the Heartland” (my favorite of the slow melodies, though they are all gorgeous).  There is a huge choral number that cries out for divine justice and for healing and nourishment of the soul, led by a super powerful baritone soloist.  The funniest treat has Afro-American street boys and Irish youth running a personal competition on an urban turf to see which can out tap the other and finally learning to embrace each other’s craft.  Of course the highlight is Riverdance, a forceful number in which the entire dance troupe participates, led by the stars of the show, Jean Butler and Colin Dunne – two incredibly accomplished talents, both of whom played a big part in the original creation of the show.

“Riverdance” is derived from one seven-minute presentation composed by a Limerick native named Bill Whelan that competed in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest.  Its favorable reception there incited a husband and wife production team, John McColgan and Moya Doherty, to expand it into a stage show, with Whelan doing the musical composing and McColgan directing; it opened in Dublin on 9 February 1995, the cast and crew extremely nervous and fearful of failure. 

They did not fail, and the rest is history.

I have seen “Riverdance” many times since its premiere, including once live, and it always leaves me feeling filled up and running over.  As one who seeks evidence of the divine-in-the-midst in community with others who seek it, I feel I have joined hands with all such devotees from the earliest tribal adherents to those present and practicing.  Many of you, I am sure, have seen the show already.  See it again and turn yourself over to its persuasive power.  Make it new for yourself once more.  You can rent it from Netflix or purchase your own copy from Warner Home Video Inc., 4000 Warner Blvd, Burbank, California 91522 .


To read other entries in my blog, please consult its website:  enspiritus.blogspot.com.  To learn about me consult on the website the blog entry for August 9, 2013.

No comments:

Post a Comment