Dance spectacular is not ‘Riverdance 2’, claim producers

Hurley-wielding dancers feature in the latest music and dance spectacular by the producers of Riverdance called Heartbeat of Home.

The show, produced by Moya Doherty and conceived and directed by John McColgan, is being staged at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin for a limited run.

The fusion of traditional Irish, Latin, and Afro-Cuban music and dance is presented in two parts with music by Brian Byrne and lyrics and narrative by novelist, Joseph O’Connor.

Ms Doherty said there was quite an armful of energy to embrace in the music alone with the sound of uilleann pipes and a fiddle soaring over a big brass sound.

“This is not another Riverdance. This is Heartbeat of Home. This is a show using Irish dance but it is has moved 20 years on from Riverdance. I think people have to see it to experience it,” she said.

Ms Doherty said Heartbeat of Home was a new piece of work for the 21st century.

“I am two decades older; the dance has become very rich and wonderful.”

Riverdance wowed audiences at the 1994 Eurovision in the then Point Depot, now the O2, when it started out as aninterval act.

Ms Doherty said they had taken an entirely different approach in building the latest show.

“This is not Riverdance 2; it is a new show. Of course, it has hints, or a homage to, Riverdance but it is a new work and I think we must only be confined by the limitations of our imagination. People will have to come and experience it and then they will know.”

The first part of the show is built around a sea voyage with people leaving an unnamed number of countries and going to an unnamed big country.

In the second half, the people have intermarried, they flirt and trade, and their music and dance bounces off each other.

Heartbeat of Home features a cast of 39, including a 10-piece band, with choreography by David Bolger.

There are special price previews until Oct 1. The show opens on Oct 2, with a final performance on Oct 12 before going on tour.