I still get a reel buzz before going on stage ...even after doing hundreds of shows
Stars tell of excitement as global sensation returns home
IT’S been nearly 25 years since Riverdance became a global sensation and it is still as magical as ever.
The show is back on Irish shores with a young cast with the same energy Michael Flatley and Jean Butler brought to the original performance at the Eurovision interval in the Point Theatre in 1994.
When I went behind the scenes in Dublin’s Gaiety, it was just over an hour before the show kicked off and dancer Amy-mae Dolan, who is the female lead, was getting ready for another night on stage.
With her striking features and fiery red hair, it’s hard to deny the resemblance to Riverdance’s original leading lady.
Despite being just 20, Amy-mae, from Co Tyrone, has already been dancing the role for a year.
And even though she’s performed in hundreds of shows around the world, Amy-mae confesses the pre-show nerves never go away.
She told the Irish Mirror: “It’s an adrenaline thing. Whenever I hear that music, it’s just amazing.
“It’s hard to explain but it makes my heart go so fast and my tummy starts flipping.
“I know there are hundreds of people out there waiting to see the show and they’re so excited. “They’ve been waiting months and I know it’s me who has to deliver to them what they’re expecting.” The young dancer told how she goes through certain rituals before going on stage to get her into the groove –including looking to her predecessors’ past performances. Amy-mae said: “I always listen to certain pieces of music from the show because it gets me into the role.
“I listen to Countess Kathleen, it’s the first number I’ll dance tonight. Sometimes I’ll watch old videos of past dancers like Jean Butler dancing it.
“It reminds me that’s where it started and this is where it is now. It just gets me so in the mood.”
Meanwhile, you’ll find male lead Kieran Hardiman taking in the atmosphere from outside the Gaiety.
He said taking time out to watch the crowd as they arrive helps him to get in the zone.
Kieran added: “Most times I like to go out the front of the Gaiety and sit at Synott’s [pub] and watch the audience go in.
“I can see them get excited for the show. Then I come in a half hour before for the last few things and that gets me going.”
The dancer, who is originally from Scotland but moved to Ireland when he was eight, first joined Riverdance in 2007 and has been lead dancer for more than two years.
He admitted the masculine routines performed by Flatley and other male performers on the show helped spark his love of dance. Kieran said:
“My mother danced and she put us into it. I didn’t necessarily want to do it but then I hit an age where I realised I was good at it so kept going.
“I’ve been dancing and touring ever since.
“When you saw it in 1994 and 1996, it was something everyone wanted to do, especially seeing all the lads in it.
“There were masculine numbers and that sort of took away the girly side of dancing.”
Amy-mae, dressed in one of the stunning costumes made for the show by Emmy-winning designer Joan Bergin, recalls the moment she discovered she had landed the lead role – just months after joining the Riverdance troupe.
She said: “I did my first tour from November 2016 to February 2017 in China and I wasn’t sure when I was
When I hear the music it makes my heart beat fast and my belly flips AMY-MAE DOLAN DUBLIN YESTERDAY
coming back into the show because upcoming tours had already been cast.
“So I decided to dance in the World Championships in Dublin.
“I came fourth that day and Padraic [Moyles, associate director] happened to be presenting our age group with the awards because Riverdance had sponsored the competition.
“When he put the medal around my neck, he told me they were going to train me in for the lead. My legs were shaking. “It was just amazing. My mum was in the audience and I wanted to tell her but I couldn’t believe I had heard it right.”
Kieran has performed in 42 countries, but he said there’s nothing like a homecoming show in the Gaiety.
He added: “This is my favourite place to dance. There’s just something special about it. It’s really special.”
Riverdance runs in Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre until September 9 and in the INEC Killarney from September 12 to 16. Tickets are available from ticketmaster.ie.