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Heartbeat of Home: how do you follow Riverdance - behind the scenes of the new show

Heartbeat of Home
Heartbeat of Home

When Michael Flatley and Riverdance appeared as the interval act at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, no one knew what a phenomenon it would become.

It was the first time that the world had seen Irish dance as an artform, and the show has been seen by more than 22 million people to date.

Now, the show's producers Moya Doherty and John McColgan have devised its follow-up, Heartbeat of Home.

Heartbeat of Home is really to show how much Irish dance, and dance in general, has evolved over the last 25 years – but it is not Riverdance mark two.

"Riverdance was an iconic moment,” explains Doherty. "A cultural shift in the Irish psyche.

"But what we are doing now with our new show is something different. It reflects the different Ireland and the multicultural society we have become."

"[It is about] looking at Ireland through a different lens."

Heartbeat of Home
Heartbeat of Home

Heartbeat of Home is definitely multicultural. It is a fast-paced music and dance show that fuses together Irish dance with flamenco, tap dancing, tango, salsa and hip hop.

"It's celebrating dance from Africa, from Spain, from Argentina, from Ireland and fusing all together in a marvellous mash-up," says McColgan.

To put together the show, McColgan drafted in choreographer David Bolger and, in a new departure for him, bestselling author Joseph O'Connor to write the lyrics.

The result is "a mood story, a dream journey".

"The first part is a literal, internal voyage while the second half of the show is centred around a wedding," says Doherty. "It is reflective of a mixture of cultures."

This is done by bringing together 38 performers on stage, including a 10-piece band with the score written by award-winning composer Brian Byrne, who has worked with Katy Perry and Barbara Streisand.

And then there are also state-of-the-art video projections that make the show into an immersive experience.

The Tempest
The Tempest

"[For this show] I wanted to stretch dancers in all their disciplines and take them to a new place," says McColgan.

And this is something that the dancers agree with. But what is noticeable is the fact that the cast is very international. In fact, not many of the dancers are Irish – they come from as far afield as USA, Australia, Canada, Italy, Argentina and Spain.

"I think the multiculturalism in the show is what makes it special," says Australian-born Natasia Petracic, who trained in a variety of styles, including classical ballet and Irish dance.

"It's a celebration of everyone's culture and everyone's different danceforms that bonds us all together."

This resulting show is for everyone, not only fans of Riverdance.

"I wanted to excite an audience and have them coming out, saying I have never seen anything like that before, and have them uplifted and have them really enjoy the experience," added McColgan.

Heartbeat of Home is at the London Palladium on February 22 and 23