Roots

           The journey for River Dance began in Dublin Ireland in 1994, as just a seven minute intermission show. It was an entirely new form of the very familiar Irish 'step' dance. The style of the dance as well as the attitude were changed from the original classic step dance. The addition of a live band and singers made the feel of the dance become that much more alive. In the intermission show in 1994, the crowd became mesmerized when Michael Flatley and Jean Bulter arrived on stage to introduce River Dance.  During the next year, the dance was modified to become its own show. The first two known dancers, Michael Flatley and Jean Bulter, were the original leaders in River Dance. Michael Flatly was the male lead and went on to create "Lord of the Dance" Since the opening year's show in 1995 at Dublin's Point theatre, over a million people have seen a River Dance performance. 

The Eurovision of 1994 Dublin, Ireland.
You can watch it here: 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qriw7kGPZrY

           River Dance incorporated not just the Irish heritage in its dance form but also incorporated pieces of Spanish, Russian and African- America dance. With the combination of all the history into one dance program and the transformation in the style of music, River Dance's popularity boomed. 

         One source of information for River Dance states, " At a basic level, River Dance is a display of music, dancing and singing. On a deeper level, it is the story of Ireland and its people. Like a river fed by many tributaries, then flowing into the oceans, the Irish people came from many different places, and then centuries later, moved out of Ireland to other parts of the world."
          -Shannon B


"Show Guide for Riverdance." — Popejoy Presents. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. <http://popejoypresents.com/performance-guides/show-guide-for-riverdance>.

"Riverdance Celebrates 20 Years since Eurovision 1994 - Riverdance." Riverdance. 28 Apr. 2014. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. <http://riverdance.com/blog/2014/04/28/20-years-since-eurovision-1994/>.     

From the Beginning

This blog is a team effort, being completed for a World Dance class. It is part of a final project that will incorporate research history of the dance as well as learning the forms of the dance. The dance our blog will be covering is Irish River Dance. 

Our group will be incorporating the origin of River dance and the multi angled aspects that make each dance so unique. From the different type of shoes, to the rigid body positions and the amount of people preforming each dance. This blog will also take a closer look into whether or not this form of dance is a form of expression or just used for entertainment. 

So let’s break it down. 

The earliest Irish dancing was performed in 400AD, where they were preforming rituals to honor the oak tree and sun. The culture of this type of dance was for feeling of the feet not the mechanics of movement. This then turned into Irish step dancing at the end of the 18th century which then led to the beginning of Irish River dancing in 1994. River dancing started to develop through the performance of a seven-minute intermission piece in the Eurovision Song Contest. This seven-minute piece was held on April 30, 1994 in Dublin and was done by husband and wife. After the intermission piece they began to expand until May 8, 1995, where a showcase preformed a River dance at the Royal Gala 50th Anniversary. In just that one year alone River dance grew rapidly and spread worldwide. 

​As we began our first post with an overview of the history we ask that you keep up as our footsteps will be getting faster!

-Shannon B

http://dancesofhistory.weebly.com/irish-riverdance.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverdance