Riverdance

On Saturday, 26 February, I attended the Riverdance show at the Grand Arena in Grand West. I’ve always been a big fan of tap-dancing, so I was really looking forward to it.

The Grand Arena is, well, grand. It can hold about 5000 people, and we had seats in the middle level, to the right of the stage. While a reasonable distance from the stage, you still have a good view, and they have screens on either side of the stage so you don’t miss out on much.

The Grand West staff was very efficient, which was pleasant, and we were seated in no time. Unfortunately the show wasn’t as great as I was expecting it to be. It turned out to be song and dance, with bits of tap in-between. I thought it would mostly be tap.

The music was excellent, and the drummer was absolutely amazing! He had at least two drum-kits as well as chimes and a huge array of cymbals and shakers, and who knows what else. He alternated between the instruments with ease and grace.

The sound was also great; crisp and clear. At first I thought that it had all been pre-recorded.

When they did tap-dance, it was phenomenal. The speed at which the people moved and the different sounds that they could make by using different parts of their feet was quite amazing. My favourite parts were when the entire group would come together and dance. The klikkity-klak of a few pairs of feet would turn into a thunderous wave of sound that sent shivers down my spine.

Another great part of the show was the ‘duel’ between the ‘street’ tap-dancers, and the Irish tap-dancers. It had both humorous and technical elements, and the guy that did the splits was amazing.

The show told a story, and there was a lot of “ballet”-styled dancing, which made it boring for me. Towards the end, I found myself more interested in the massive spotlights that were situated right at the back of the Arena.

Would I go to another Riverdance show? No, I don’t think so. I was hoping it would be explosive and full of action, like Tap Dogs had been, but it wasn’t.

But it was still impressive seeing the way those people moved in unison, each tap of the foot perfectly synchronized.