Riverdance at the Eurovision Song Contest 30 April 1994, Dublin - First Time Reaction

[@mbp1646]

Ask any Irish person my age who was lucky enough to see that on TV when it was first broadcast and you will get the same response. The hair stood up on the back of our necks with awe and pride at the spectacle.

[@gerardflynn7382]

Agreed I remember it well

[@michaelvincent4280]

The Irish pull in my genes was amazing and you couldn't question it. Watched it with my mouth open. This came from my Mother's side.

[@KINNARAMONEY]

I was 10 years old, earliest "proud to be irish" moment I can remember

[@PenneySounds]

American tap dancing likely came about through cultural mixing between Irish immigrants and the black community, who were both isolated to impoverished neighborhoods and likely began sharing ideas. The full Riverdance stage show later added a sequence called "Trading Taps" that was all about this.

[@DavidCalvert-mh9sy]

I can remember watching this on television in Australia when it was broadcast. I was mesmerized and could not take my eyes away from the screen. To this day I have no idea who won the Eurovision song contest that year. But I know who won the world's hearts. God bless the Irish.

[@vallee3140]

same here

[@nigelmurphy6761]

Ireland won the Eurovision that year as well with a song called rock and roll kids. It was our third straight win in a row after wins in 1992 and 1993. Believe it or not this was was only the interval act. Amazing stuff. 👍

[@lyndabignell9660]

It's amazing live. I've seen River Dance and Lord of the dance. They both got standing ovations

[@FIGPLAYHOUSE]

This was super impressive 👏

[@helenwood8482]

I saw both two. Incredible.

[@cathaldowdall7467]

💕 This make you proud to be Irish 🇮🇪 . From Dundalk Ireland . I was 11 when i seen this on tv Live . This make u proud Not Conor McGregor. 💪💪💪

[@helenwood8482]

I saw the stage show that grew out of this. One of the best nights of my life.

[@vallee3140]

We were lucky enough to see Michael Flatley in Riverdance twice, he was mesmerising.

[@dmfardenryan]

This was not developed in America, it's 100% irish traditional dancing produced by irish people. Michael Flately was the only irish American in the cast.

[@willylumpnj]

Actually Jean Butler is from Long Island

[@PenneySounds]

Flatley and Butler are both Americans and choreographed all the dancing. It was seeing them and Colin Dunne (who is from England) perform was what inspired the producer to create the whole show. However, most of the dancers are Irish and so is the composer and most of the rest of the initial company.

[@judewarner1536]

This how traditional performance skills, virtually unknown outside their cultural domain, are reborn for the modern world.

[@OliverMcIntyre-kg9ch]

Brilliant..I was 14 and watched with my parents in Donegal, Ireland and it was mind-blowing....love your reaction young lady ..keep up the posts👌😊

[@jakhaughton1800]

I’m from England and have just discovered your channel Alisha. The variety of things you watch is brilliant. Keep it up. It’s a big world with many interesting things other than pain and suffering. ❤

[@stevenhenthorne2]

Irish dancing is the origin of tap dancing. Jean Butler started soft shoe, then went hard shoe for her return performance. Male dancers normally go hard shoe all the way. Soft shoe has ballet components.

[@raymonddixon7603]

It was one of the origins of tap dancing granted. But their were many different ingredients in the mix. I used to think it came from sailors with their hornpipes, I was wrong. I am an Irish trad musician from Stoneybatter, Dublin city.

[@rincemor]

Actually males dance reels in shoes that do not have tips. Females dance reels and slip jigs in pomp’s like ballet dancers.

[@stevenhenthorne2]

@@rincemor very interesting.

[@AlexandraLynch-x1v]

This dance needs to start as a child to be anygood❤❤

[@pathwaystomodernity7716]

This is an adaptation of multiple traditional Irish forms of music and dance. Traditional irish dance has lots of local styles and differences but generally uses either the hard shoes or soft shoes, this performance uses both. The drums are scaled down versions of Lambeg drums which are an Ulster (Northern) instrument associated with loyalist marching bands. The pipes that are heard in the last part of the piece are Irish uillean pipes. Played under the arm. Irish dancing is organised globally with national and international competitions. However prior to Riverdance there was virtually no scope for professional performance. Once people reached the end of their competative dancing as amateurs the only option for most would be to set up their own dance schools or work as dance teachers for someone else. This performance transformed that situation almost overnight with Riverdance itself and multiple other shows providing a new world of paid opportunities for dancers, singers and musicians. I have worked on four shows as an LD and tech manager. Each with varying approaches to the music and dance ranging from shows that were very purist in their approach to those that are very loosely based on a combination of traditional and modern elements. My niece has been travelling and performing as a professional irish dancer for five years and has been across Europe, Asia, Australia, Tahiti and has recently been on a UK tour having just returned from china. She is touring to the US and Canada in the fall and winter of this tear (2024). Bill Whelan, Jean Butler and Michael Flately did that.

[@Kennethoneill]

The woman in red wearing glasses at 10:11 was our president at the time Mary Robinson. A great woman in her own right.

[@gerardflynn7382]

Aye, she went on to a prominent position in the United Nations.

[@johnclibbens6803]

This is based on traditional Irish step dancing. Tap dancing developed in America through a combination of step dancing and other traditions.

[@06741590]

Just to add, there's soft shoe and hard shoe Irish dancing. Jean Butler did both, changing her shoes half way through.

[@catherineocallaghan6575]

No it is Irish step Dancing brilliant i have watch it every since the first night every week as I'm so proud of our heritage performance as I was their from Cork in Ireland and I'm so proud still after all these years I still ❤️ it ❤

[@civlwrbuf]

With the vein of thought, when they took the show to New York they incorporated some American elements into the show. It included a dance off between the irish dancers and tap dancers.

[@RalphWigg1]

Jean began with the soft shoe style, converting later to the hard shoe. What was unique was the overall dance style, combining Irish step, tap & jazz.

[@blackenreed1425]

One thought about tap dancing: rivers are a lot bigger than taps. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@stevenhenthorne2]

I've watched all sorts of Riverdance videos. Michael Flatley went on to create Lord of the Dance and Celtic Tiger, but this one is a classic. Also, the pronunciation of "Eurovision" is "YUR-oh-vizh-un." My location is Norwood, Louisiana.

[@dougdanielson9145]

Eurovision is a yearly contest for European music.

[@stevenhenthorne2]

BTW, the river in Riverdance is River Liffey that flows through the city of Dublin, Ireland. Michael Flatley created Riverdance with the concept of bringing line dancing into Irish dance.

[@diarmuidbuckley6638]

What makes you think it's the Liffey?

[@stevenhenthorne2]

@@diarmuidbuckley6638 that's what I got from other videos on Riverdance. It's the official story.

[@joriskemper5392]

New Parliamentary regulation in Ireland just came up: If you want to marry an Irish woman or man you will have to perform this dance flawlesly with the person you propose to, in front of the local Council of Elders. A failure to do so without error will result in your family name to be disgraced for at least a period of 4 years, after which you can retry and redeem yourself by another attempt. If that attempt fails, however, you will be banned to Alaska - or they redicule you so much so that Alaska suddenly begins to seem like a nice way to hide away in utter shame forever.

[@Clodaghbob]

If the second attempt fails we’ll ban you to the UK. It’ll be cheaper to transport you there. 🤣😂🤣👍🇮🇪

[@LFire12]

Both Jean Bulters soft shoe and Flatley's hard shoe are forms of Irish Dancing that predate tap dancing by a long long long time. Tap dancers tend to have 'tap's only on the toes of their shoes, Irish Dancers brogues have metal on the toes and the heels.

[@blindscribe1679]

Its weird thing to understand, in the 80’s as a Irish kid I attended waking Irish wakes, where the sons and daughters of neighbors went to England for work and the neighbors would chuck what little English currency they had into a pot to help the traveling neighbors. In the 90’s the Irish soccer team had a English manger who woke the country up and we realized we where an entity worth recognizing. When the euro vision came about we watched the mid show and our jaws dropped. It was a celebration of been Irish and that year, nobody knew who won the competition, but we all knew who Riverdance where!

[@margaretmckeon467]

Ireland won it that year

[@PenneySounds]

Must have been a good day to be Irish. I've seen interviews with the producers of this act who said that at the time a lot of people, especially young people, had come to see traditional Irish culture as sort of rigid and stuffy and old-fashioned, and the goal of this was to present Irish culture in a way that felt modern, sexy, cool, and powerful. And they really succeeded. I was raised with Scottish-Canadian culture, which has a lot of similarities and connections to Irish culture, including a form of hard shoe step dancing. It wasn't really seen as rigid and stuffy, but it was definitely seen as old-fashioned and uncool. I didn't know about Riverdance until the New York show was aired on TV two years after the Eurovision performance, but it really resonated with me.

[@AlexanderCalderon-kd6mh]

Awesome!

[@Seanadun]

Riverdance was only supposed to be the intsrval act of eirovision, but it is the only thing anyone remembers..

[@diarmuidbuckley6638]

We remember it is called Riverdance

[@sandrahilton3239]

Its traditional Irish Dancing but part of that is tap.

[@mauriceluciano5211]

Tap dancing evolved in America from Irish dancers dancing with African slaves. It's a combination.

[@JuandeFucaU]

riverdancing is illegal in Canada.................. because too many people were drowning.

[@FIGPLAYHOUSE]

😯😯

[@oliviaoriordanleclaire271]

Treble dancing

[@dougdanielson9145]

You should do a reaction to Celtic Woman, I would recommend their latest release I know my love

[@FIGPLAYHOUSE]

I will have a look thank you 😊

[@12bigredd]

made in IRELAND :) MY ISLAND!!!!

[@FIGPLAYHOUSE]

Amazing ❤️ I loved it

[@stevegee7593]

Hope you are safe and that Beryl will miss you

[@FIGPLAYHOUSE]

I am thank you for your concern.

[@AlexandraLynch-x1v]

It is Irish Dancing

[@andywrong3247]

Check out the seekers sing im an Australian live.check out johna lomu funeral, checkout derek redmands 400metres race 1992 Olympics to thevmusic of you raise me up.check out Maradonas football warm up from 1989 its about a 2 minute clip there's music in the background singing to life is life,they both complement each other..

[@Irish780]

Irish got quick feet 😊

[@oliviaoriordanleclaire271]

It's called Tremble dancing

[@blackenreed1425]

Please note: there is no "correct" way to pronounce English. That's what we call accents or dialects. Have you noticed how some Brits pronounce pronunciation as pronounciation?

[@thekeythesecret66]

Sheeeeeeeeeeeit

[@seansalter1679]

Canada 🇨🇦

[@silverkitty2503]

Eriú Eire ..

[@uncensoredentertainment]

People say they can speak English and insult English who can only speak one language but they are not speaking English at all its muddled crap.

[@peterchapman3740]

Look up the history of tap dance lots bullshit in there ,the world now like to mmm embelish things