Time
8 p.m., Feb. 1-2
Tickets
‘Riverdance’ to tap Poly Theater
Venue
Metro
Line 2 or 11, Houhai Station (后海站), Exit E
‘Riverdance’ to tap Poly Theater
Writer: | Editor: Jane Chen | From:
“Riverdance”
“Riverdance,” a theatrical show consisting mainly of traditional Irish music and dance, will be staged at Shenzhen Poly Theater this week.
With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval performance act during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean Butler and Michael Flatley. Shortly afterwards, husband and wife production team John McColgan and Moya Doherty expanded it into a stage show, which opened in Dublin in 1995. Since then, the show has visited hundreds of venues worldwide and has been watched by millions of people, making it one of the most successful dance productions in the world.
“Riverdance” is rooted in a three-part suite of baroque-influenced traditional music called “timedance.” At the time, Whelan and Dónal Lunny composed the music, augmenting the Irish folk band Planxty with a rock rhythm section of electric bass and drums and a four-piece horn section. Whelan had also produced “East Wind,” a 1992 album by Planxty member Andy Irvine with Davy Spillane, which fused Irish and Balkan folk music and influenced the genesis of “Riverdance.”