INTERVIEW: ‘Riverdance’ is a passion project for this dancer

Riverdance continues to be the chief exporter of Irish dancing culture around the world. The larger-than-life spectacle, which pairs Irish step dancing with themes of immigration and mystery, will stop by the State Theatre in Easton, Pennsylvania, Feb. 6-7. On this 20th anniversary tour, dance and music will be combined in that way only Riverdance can achieve.

One of the lead dancers for the American tour is Jason O’Neill, an accomplished alumnus of Riverdance who has been enjoying the art form since he was a child.

“Well, I saw Riverdance when I was a child,” O’Neill said in a recent phone interview. “I think I was like 6 or 7, and it was on the TV in the Eurovision Song Contest. And it was a 7-minute number, and it changed my life. It changed Ireland. It put Ireland on the map. It was an incredible experience. It was the very first time I’d seen Irish dancing represented this way, and it blew my mind. Ever since then, I was kind of enamored, obsessed. I was such a big super Riverdance fan since I was about 7 years old.”

O’Neill auditioned for the company when he was 22. During the intervening years, between first seeing Riverdance and then gathering the courage to audition, he had been dancing competitively mostly as a hobby.

“I’d been up to school and university, and when I finished my university degree, I thought, I have to give this a go before it’s too late,” he said. “Dancers have a shelf life. I always wanted to be part of Riverdance and travel the world and spread my passion with others, so I joined when I was 22 or 23.”

As lead dancer, O’Neill and the other leads have a good deal of solo work during the show. Sometimes he’s tasked with dancing by himself for five minutes on stage. During that time, it’s only him and the spotlight.

“Other times, you have the whole cast dancing with you, beside you, behind you, and you interact with everyone with the audience and the cast,” he said. “It’s an amazing experience to be part of. It feels very surreal. It’s a dream for me, and you just have to very motivated, very focused. And you have to train very, very hard to reach the level of the lead dancer.”

He doesn’t dance lead every performance. The other dancers rotate with him, and when he’s not taking the central part, he’ll join the ensemble. Along the way, he and his fellow company members rely on the expertise of a masseuse and trainer to keep their bodies in check. Irish dancing is a demanding art, and Riverdance doesn’t cut any corners.

“With Riverdance, it’s a special show,” he said. “People can connect with so many parts of the show. We want them to take away the energy, the excitements. It’s a very exhilarating show, so we really want them to feel happy. We bring them on a journey with Riverdance. The first half is about myth and legend. There are some darker elements. It builds to this massive explosion in the first half of excitement and happiness. The second half is about departure; it’s about immigration, leaving your home, setting up a new home, a new life. I think people connect with leaving home and setting up a new life, and there’s a lot of things that resonate — the songs, the music. It resonates with people and their home and their family, but there are deeper meanings within the show.”

O’Neill is contracted with Riverdance through April, and he will likely be with the tour in the summer as well. He has danced elsewhere over the course of his career, including stints in Footstorm and Heartbeat of Home, but for him, when Riverdance comes calling, he is there to answer.

“For me, Riverdance has always been a special show,” he said. “I always try to make time to be part of Riverdance. For us, it’s the pinnacle of Irish dancing.”

As O’Neill has risen to the top ranks of the Irish dancing world, the art form has changed a great deal, especially among the younger, competitive dancers. When O’Neill was in competition, he found the experience a joyous one. He hopes that’s still the case today.

“I think dancing is self-expression, so it should be fun,” he said. “I think the kids today [should] have fun, and make sure it’s your passion. Competition was very difficult. We trained very, very hard. I think it has got more difficult as the years have passed. I haven’t done competition in many years, so I think now they watch what they eat. They train much more often. They have the best of everything, where in my day it was more of a hobby. I would play football. I would go dancing. I’d be part of a choir. It was just something I did as an extracurricular activity, and it kind of developed from there. And now it’s more of a serious form.”

That hobby has now taken him to the top echelon of Irish dancing.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Riverdance will perform Feb. 6-7 at the State Theatre in Easton, Pennsylvania. Click here for more information and tickets.