The international Irish dance sensation Riverdance is celebrating 20 years of kicking, jumping and jigging with a North American tour that will land them at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa Jan. 19-21 and at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando Jan. 26-28.
Greg Molony has been in love with Irish dancing ever since he saw Riverdance while watching TV at his home in Denver when he was four years old. Now 24, the openly gay dancer has been around the world with different Irish dancing troupes, including several past tours of Riverdance.
Watermark had the opportunity to chat with Molony earlier this month on the day of the tour’s opening show in Fort Lauderdale.
Where did the idea of Riverdance come from?
It began with Eurovision, which is a song contest in Europe, in 1994. It started as an interval performance act with Michael Flatley and Jean Butler. Our producer Moya Doherty and director John McColgan came together to work on this interval act, and this idea of a line of Irish dancers holding hands turned into this two hour production.
How did you, at four years old, decide you wanted to learn Irish dancing?
I was sitting in my family’s living room watching TV and on PBS they had a special on Riverdance and they were offering the VHS at the time, it wasn’t even a DVD. I was just in awe of it and I told my parents that’s what I want to do.
They signed me up for lessons and I started doing all kinds of dance competitions. I went to regionals and nationals, then when I was 21 I went to Dublin and auditioned for Riverdance and was selected.
Who were your inspirations in the Irish dance world when you were growing up?
Well obviously when you’re younger the big one is Michael Flatley. As I grew up there were some amazing dancers in the competitive Irish dance scene that you look up to but may not necessarily be in dance shows. But I love Jean Butler, who was in Riverdance at the time when it all began.
Are people still as in awe of the dancing when they see it live as they were back in the 90s when Riverdance first became such a craze?
Every single time we do a show people are up on their feet and clapping, and coming out of the stage door people are always there and they are so complimentary and they can’t understand how we do it [laughs]. We are always asked how we are able to move our feet so fast. That’s probably the most amazing part of this entire experience, just seeing all those people on their feet and excited for what we are doing.
What’s the training schedule like on a show like this?
It’s quite intense, but we all work so well together. We all want the show to be as amazing as we can make it. We have terrific dance captains and our director, they all have a great eye for detail, making sure everyone knows the numbers and hits every spot. We all make sure we all pull our own weight and know where to go. It’s such a well oiled machine at this point.
Tell me about the show?
It’s a wonderful showcase of talent. The first half of the show deals with the mythology of Ireland and the second half is about the Irish coming to America, but there is a showcase of talent from around the world throughout it all. We have a Flamingo dancer, Russian dancers, two taps dancers. I would say that there is something for everyone in this show.
Has the Riverdance show changed at all over the last 20 years or is it essentially the same show from the beginning?
I would say 90 percent of the show is the same. There is a new number called “Anna Livia.” There’s also new lighting design and new costumes. The bones of the show have been running the same, which speaks to how incredible the show is that it hasn’t completely changed over 20 years.
Riverdance runs Jan. 19-21 at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, tickets available at StrazCenter.org, and Jan. 26-28 at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, tickets available at DrPhillipsCenter.org.
You can follow Greg Molony on tour on these social media platforms: Instagram – gregory.molony and Twitter – @gjtmolony.
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