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5 February 2004
Riverdance in Pasadena
I just got back from a scintillating performance of the Riverdance show at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Ever since I caught their show on Star World back in Madras, I have been a big fan of all forms of Celtic music and dance. It must be a daunting task to stage performances like the Riverdance show at many different stages around the world. First of all, the artists themselves need to get a measure of space. And then there are issues such as props, lighting, sound; one could go on.The show started off with a resonating prelude on the saxophone followed by a narration of the setting and theme of the show which is based on ancient Celtic folklore. Immediately afterwards, the troupe assembled briskly to the fiddle and lute. The Celtic form of dance pays more attention to leg movements than it does to hand movements. At most times, the dancer balances her hands perfectly on the hips and taps to the fast pace. A lot of zest and energy is automatically built as the crescendo of the stiletto taps increases and reverberates within the audience. There were different scenes; some with just two star performers while some engaged the whole ensemble. The star attraction of the first act was the flamenco sequence. Needless to add, the scene was a scarlet orange with the sun as a backdrop as Carmen Lopez Armengou glided in in her fury-red frills. At once the difference is obvious; the artist began with a slow, stuporous canter seductively punctuated by flurrying an end of her robe while her hands seem to move synchronously with the strumming of the guitar. Then, the tapping comes into play and although not as delicate and prodigious as in the earlier sequences, it is nonetheless breathtaking to watch. There was also a match-up with some Irish dancers duetting with the flamenco artist.
After the interval, we were treated to an eclectic mix of different dance forms: from the jazzy tap dancing of the Midwest to the acrobatic frollicking of Russia to an encore of flamenco, this time in black and with a lot more of gypsy verve thrown in. Although the tap dancing was not near as exact, the duels between the two African-American tap dancers and the three Irish dancers were frenzied and had the whole audience throbbing.
They rounded out the concert by doing a reverse-stack pulling up glimpses of all the previous dances and signed off in grand style. The Riverdance troupe comprises of at least forty dancers and instrumentalists. But the entire company comprises of many different troupes simultaneously performing around the globe. The troupe that we watched were the Boyne Company.
