Riverdance remains a show for all the world

By Guy D’Astolfo

YOUNGSTOWN — Riverdance’s run at Powers Auditorium began two days after ice sent bricks on the building’s side wall crashing to the sidewalk.

The damage was minor, and the show went on. But theatergoers could be forgiven for looking up after Tuesday’s opening-night show to see if any more bricks had been shaken loose — such was the power of the performance.

Sixteen years after it debuted in Ireland, the world-famous Riverdance is nearing the end of a three-year farewell tour that is circling the globe. It is as transfixing today as it ever was, and the phenomenon that it created will certainly never go away.

It’s the same brilliant show and choreography that opened in Dublin in 1994. The dancers, singers and musicians have changed over the years, but the talent level is firmly intact. These are likely the best dancers the Powers stage has ever seen.

For the unfamiliar, Riverdance tells the story of the Irish people, from ancient times to the 19th century diaspora and beyond.

It introduced step-dancing to the world, and that remains its enduring legacy. But Riverdance also includes segments from other cultures, and they also dazzle.

At Tuesday night’s performance, the leads were danced by Marty Dowds, who welted the floor with his tap solos, and Alana Mallon.

The opening scene harkens to the dawn of time on the cool and misty Emerald Island, with the dancers’ unsmiling faces evoking a pagan ritual. It morphs into a dance reminiscent of the woodland fairies in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The scene builds to a crescendo before a palate-cleansing musical interlude of mystical yet plaintive Irish music played with bodhran, whistle and fiddle. It’s a pattern that repeats itself throughout the night.

Interspersed into the book are dances from other cultures that are met as the story unfolds. Rocio Montoya burns in a fiery Spanish dance like a scene out of the opera “Carmen.” With a rose in her hair, she wields the fabric of her orange dress like a peacock in the stirring but traditional dance.

Later in the act, soloist Laura Yanez sings pristine Celtic music that has the calming power of a sacred chant.

The second act begins with the Irish in America with the svelte dancers changing into hoedown costumes. “Heal Their Hearts,” a moving spiritual that sympathizes with all immigrants, is sung like an aria by powerful baritone Michael Samuels.

More crowd pleasers are the jazz tap dancers, Jason Bernard and Kelly Isaac. Their exuberant urban style clashes with the ramrod straight step-dancers in a humorous dance-battle scene. Dowds, Craig Ashurst and Marcus Maloney are the Irish dancers.

Displaying the strength and athleticism of Russian dance are a contingent from the Moscow Folk Ballet Company. Great leaps and high kicks marked this dance, in which the women are twirled like rag dolls.

The Irish dancers reassemble for a finale that caps the story and takes the evening to an even higher level. When the full Riverdance Irish troupe performs, one gets the unmistakable sense of witnessing something that is special in this world.

XThe final performance of “Riverdance” at Powers Auditorium will be tonight at 7:30. Call the box office at (330) 744-0264 for ticket information. Availability is very limited.