::DANCE NEWS::
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Riverdance Is Back, And It's Still
Delightful Source: www.thestar.com - Robert Crew, Special To The Star Riverdance 
(out
of 4)Composed by Bill Whelan. Directed by John McColgan. At the Canon Theatre, 244 Victoria St., until June 21. 416-872-1212. (May 20, 2009) It's been around since 1995, has visited 32 countries and has played to 
audiences in excess of 21 million. But now the self-proclaimed journey is drawing to its end. Riverdance, which opened last night at the Canon Theatre, is on what is apparently its farewell tour of North America and making its final stop in Toronto, courtesy of Mirvish Productions. It's fair to say, however, that it is hardly on its last, very shapely legs. The dancing is as energetic and as noisy as ever; if you like thundering feet, this is the show for you. And the Irish dancers still display that engaging mix of wholesome and sexy. If it has done nothing else during its 14 years touring the world, Riverdance has given unlikely employment to a generation of dancers whose mothers and fathers can hardly have expected that little Sean or Fiona would make a lucrative career out of a healthy hobby. Here we have Marty Dowds as the principal male dancer and Alana Mallon as his female counterpart. He is as good a dancer as you could hope to see, although perhaps a touch less charismatic than others whose shoes he now fills; she has both strong technique and strong stage presence. The clogging vs. tap contest, featuring Dowds, Marcus Maloney and Craig Ashurst and tappers Kelly Isaac and Jason E. Bernard is the undoubted highlight of the show. And they've also got a nifty, flying-fingered fiddler in Pat Mangan who romps effortlessly through several intricate tunes. To me, other parts of the show still appear problematic. The solo ballads are not particularly striking, despite the best efforts of baritone Michael Samuels (in particular) and Laura Yanez. The Russian dancing, with Evgeniya Starodubova and Sergey Bukreev leading the way, is not particularly original or engaging, and the quasi-Flamenco sections featuring dancer Rocio Montoya appear, well, rather odd, given the context. But the moon (and occasionally the sun) still shines brightly down, the narrative is filled with misty, poetic words and allusions while the blazing energy of the dancers lights up the stage. It may be shuffling off into the Celtic twilight but the Riverdance journey has brought pleasure to millions. And, it's safe to say, will continue to do so for some time to come. |
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