Dancing on Dangerous Ground
March 13th 2011 11:22
I am getting my Irish on in preparation for St Patrick's Day and what better way than to watch an Irish dance show. No, I'm not talking about Riverdance, but a show named Dancing on Dangerous Ground. At its helm, world famous Irish dancers, previously the lead dancers in Riverdance, Jean Butler and Colin Dunne. Two superb dancers and they showcase their talent in Dancing on Dangerous Ground, where the ground is anything but dangerous. Unfortunately the show played in London and New York before financial difficulties shut it down, though I can't see why, this brilliant show deserved a much longer life than it got.
It's an Irish dance show with a difference, there's a story being told, in this case a famous Irish legend, the legend of Diarmuid and Grania. Grania is betrothed to Finn McCool, the leader of the Fianna army and Diarmuid is his lieutenant and trusted friend. Love and betrayal follow suit!
The show opens with Finn preparing the audience for the story, and a dance number with beautiful music and rhythmic dance moves begins. Diarmuid and Grania are introduced at the end, though there's no dancing from the two of them, there is tension in the air as they walk towards each other with Finn looking at them. The narration continues allowing the viewer to realise that there is a love triangle brewing. Finn is played by actor Tony Kemp, who does a wonderful job.
An energetic number follows, featuring the entire company and Colin as Diarmuid, who is impressive in his solo. Gone are the dark costumes and lighting of the prologue and here the colours are bright, the dancers wearing shades of blue and purple. I absolutely adore the music in this!
Grania arrives and we’re introduced to Jean's natural grace in soft shoes. She's a powerful and graceful dancer whether in hard shoes or soft shoes but there's something just so natural about her as she dances across the stage.
Diarmuid drills Finn's army encompassing moves such as push ups which turn into dance moves. Colin is just so fast, I don't know how many steps he can do a minute, but I'm guessing it's a huge amount. No music is required, the army and Colin provide the music through very rhythmic tap work.
Finn then gifts Grania her very own bodyguards and Jean uses her acting skills, coming out on stage with a “For me? Oh, you shouldn't have?” air. Here she shows us she can keep up with, and outdo the guys in hard shoes. They follow her, it's not the other way around. They are there to do her bidding after all!
The women of the court lithely dance across the stage, a soft shoe dance with Sorcha McCaul in the lead, joined briefly at the end by Jean who wows with her performance once again.
The wedding is coming up between Finn and Grania and wedding celebrations begin in the court. There are some impressive moves not seen very often in Irish dancing. They clearly dared to be different and introduced new movements into Irish dance. The stage is filled with dancers, and the number is energetic without the addition of taps and is danced in soft shoes.
Diarmuid reflects on his life accompanied by a violinist. I must say, after all the energetic pieces, I think this piece goes on for too long and also, as Diarmuid hasn't yet met Grania, what exactly is he reflecting on? His future love triangle? It's not high energy, it's slower but Colin's footwork still impresses.
Fate brings the two lovers together in a bar. Here Colin uses his musical skills and plays the piano, while the other dancers are on stage, some of them taking drunken steps while holding beer bottles. Grania enters with her group, creating a stir. The music here is lovely and is accentuated by the taps going on as the dancers let down their hair so to speak. Grania gets up and displays yet again why Jean Butler is such a fantastic Irish dancer. She's fast and powerful at the same time. Not to be outdone by a woman, Diarmuid gets up and displays some fast footwork. You can't imagine anyone can move their feet quite that quickly until you see Colin Dunne. Grania looks at him with interest and the group get up to dance, culminating in Diarmuid and Grania meeting in the middle, clearly infatuated.
Behold a tango...well, one of the Irish variety. The dance is sultry, and clearly there is a love blooming. On a side note, Colin should have worn a white shirt, that maroon shirt he wore made all sweat marks very obvious! On another side note, I love the dress Jean wore in this, it looks like black velvet and is stunning.
Finn feels that Grania’s “soul seems to dance with another” on their wedding day. The celebrations begin after the wedding, there is a lively reception. The tension begins when Diarmuid and his group enter, and Grania immediately gets up from her throne to watch. Yeah…that’s not obvious! She joins the dancers and once again, she ends up partnered with Diarmuid who can’t keep his eyes off her while Finn comes downstairs with a look that reminds me of the phrase “if looks could kill.” He proceeds to go after Diarmuid who makes a run for it. Probably a smart move on his part, considering how angry Finn looks!
I thoroughly enjoyed the next number, showing Grania and her handmaidens drugging the men. The music is enchanting, there is an air of intrigue. The dancing is very rhythmic and, Jean does well despite the long train of her dress which could have tripped her up at any moment. She must have practiced for awhile to be able to dance in that particular outfit. Diarmuid enters when the men are on the ground, out for the count, looking around and wondering what has happened only to realise Grania has done it in order to be with him. She kisses him and he eagerly follows her off stage.
Aptly named, “Lovers’ Song”, the two are now carefree, enjoying the alone time together. A soft shoe dance filled with romance.
Finn’s army wakes up slowly, not remembering how to dance initially though it slowly comes back to them and they break free of their bonds triumphantly.
Finn, also woken up from his drugged stupor, declares war on Diarmuid. His army, along with the women of the court plan to track him down. Another powerful dance with dark undertones, as shown by the lighting, costumes and the blood-red sky.
The search begins, the Fianna use flashlights and Tony Kemp shines doing some ‘searching’ dancing along with the dancers. Diarmuid and Grania are found, Diarmuid hides and comes out to dance out his desperation when the search party have barely left the stage. When they find him he tries to outdance them but there are just too many of them and he falls. Here I had to laugh as the camera zoomed in on Colin sprawled on the ground clearly breathing hard when Diarmuid is supposed to be dead. I think a shot taken further away would have sufficed!
Grania is devastated and she kneels down beside him, checking for signs of life. Finding none, she dances out her sorrow in a powerful soft shoe solo. Jean is a good actress, there is pain on her face as she dances this, very suited to what Grania would have been going through. She falls to the ground, rising when the rest of the dancers enter the stage, giving them heart-broken, but also accusing looks.
‘Reunited in myth’ brings the lovers back together and ends the show on a happy note, despite the tragedy. During the encore I noticed Colin is a gentleman, by giving the flowers he and Jean both received to her as well, she ended up with two bouquets.
Overall a brilliant show, which showcases Irish dancing at its finest, with the additional element of the story told through dance.
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