The international phenomenon Riverdance came to Sacramento May 5-17. Photo by Joan Marcus
Riverdance mesmerizes Sacramento
Niamh Roddy (left) and Michael Patrick Gallagher enthralled the Community Center Theater audience with their dancing in Riverdance - The Show, May 5-17 in Sacramento, Califonia.
    RIVERDANCE - THE SHOW, the self proclaimed "International Phenomenon," came to Sacramento, California's Community Center Theater for a 16 performance run, May 5-17.
    Without a doubt, RIVERDANCE can claim the "phenomenon" title with little fear of being unseated anytime soon.
    Since opening in Dublin, Ireland, in February, 1995, RIVERDANCE has played live before more than three million people and over three million copies of the RIVERDANCE video have been sold.
    It plays before sold out and standing room only audiences wherever it goes and RIVERDANCE won the 1997 Grammy for "Best Musical Show Album."
    Drawing heavily on Irish tradition, RIVERDANCE tells a story in music, dance and poetry, weaving a magical and almost surrealistic picture for the audience - holding them both transfixed and in awe as the story unfolds.
    A lot of the RIVERDANCE story centers on the fantastic dancing of both the Riverdance Irish Dance Troupe and principal dancers Michael Patrick Gallagher and Niamh Roddy. But not to be overlooked is the fabulous music of the Riverdance Orchestra that seamlessly holds all the dance sequences together.
    Musical Director David Downes has assembled a brilliant cross section of musicians, but shining far above everyone is Niamh Ní Charra. Her fiddle playing is a lovely thing to hear and is featured through much of the production.
    Michael Patrick Gallagher, the principal male dancer in the production, amazed the crowd when he first appeared, seemingly floating over the stage with his lightning fast taps. Perhaps more amazing is that he can keep the same level of energy up through the entire show. Gallagher is in a majority of the numbers and looked as fresh in the last as he did in the first.
    Gallagher learned to dance at an early age and was in secondary school when he first saw the show on television. After attending the Queen's University in Belfast, he auditioned for RIVERDANCE in April 1996 and joined the production in August, climbing to the position of principal dancer for one of the two RIVERDANCE touring companies.
    Gallagher has won numerous dancing competitions, including six All-Ireland titles and two World Titles, the first coming at age 11.
    The female principal dancer, Niamh Roddy, also began her dancing career at an early age. Of course, she had a lot of encouragement as her parents have their own dance school. Niamh won a number of dance competitions in her youth, including Ulster, All-Ireland and the World Championship.     Her amazing success at such an early age, led to bigger and better things. After completing secondary school and a year of business studies, she joined RIVERDANCE and rose to the role of one of its principal dancers. Her brother Pat is also a featured dancer with another RIVERDANCE group.
    Gallagher and Roddy have a good on-stage presence and chemistry, and their tireless dancing was a pleasure to watch. Despite their young ages, it's obvious they have immense talent and enjoy what they do.
    RIVERDANCE threads together a common Irish theme for much of the production, but is interrupted by several Spanish dances, aptly done by Rosa Manzao Jiminez. The audience seemingly loved these, but was left wondering why they were there. Even the Moscow Folk Ballet Company and several numbers showcasing historical black tap dancing with Van Porter, Charles Gray and Martin Dumas III fit in better with the overall theme than did the Spanish dances.
    RIVERDANCE is the "international phenomenon" it claims to be. Every bit so and more. The dancing is fantastic and highly entertaining - the choreography perfect - and the music will leave you feeling like Dublin is just outside the theater door.
    The cast, of course, got a well deserved and extended standing ovation at the end, but the audience was also treated to a unique encore as each of the RIVERDANCE troupes came out for a short mini-performance.
    The audience didn't want to let the RIVERDANCE company go at the end, standing for the entire encore and remaining even after the cast began leaving the stage.
    The Sacramento crowd knew they had just witnessed something unique and wanted to savor every last note of music, every tap of the shoe and the final bows as the house lights came up.
Return to Sacramento Stage & Theatre