What It’s Really Like… To Tour With Riverdance

They say the grass is always greener and this can certainly be the case when it comes to jobs so in a new series of articles, Her.ie will be sitting down with people in a series of professions to get a true picture of what it is like to walk in their shoes. Siobhán Manson is the lead female dancer with touring phenomenon Riverdance, which returns to The Gaiety Theatre this summer to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. The dancer trained with the Hession School of Dance in Galway before joining Riverdance in 2005. She tells Her.ie about the highs and lows of touring the world as an Irish dancer. How did you get into Irish dancing? I started with the Hession School of Dance and did competitions for years and years. I was offered a show in France and did that for a few months. After that, I'd caught the bug! It’s funny because nowadays for people coming out of competition, going professional is an option that’s there but when I was finishing school, it kinda seemed unattainable in a way. It just wasn’t in my mind at that point. Once I went to France on that show, people told me that you could send in audition tapes and that’s how shows are usually cast. I think I was very lucky with timing because I just sent in the tape as somebody was leaving the company. Then I went and did a one-on-one audition in the Gaiety, I’ll never forget it! What is the hardest part of the job? The actual physical act of dancing each night is tough but it’s funny because most of the good things are the bad things and vice versa. Obviously, I’m getting to do something that I love, night in, night out, and that’s amazing but it does take its toll on your legs as well and you have to take care of yourself like eating right, icing after each performance etc. The show is great because they provide ice buckets and we have physiotherapists and masseuses that will travel with us. They take really good care of us but it’s up to yourself as well, you have to take very good care of yourself too. It’s hard being away for so long as well, even though that’s a positive thing as you get to travel and see the world. I’ve been to amazing places that I probably wouldn’t ever see otherwise but then at the same time, you’re not seeing your family or friends for months on end. That can be really tough as well. You go through ups and downs, you have bad days where you miss home and then you have others when you realise you have this amazing life and you’re like ‘I’m so lucky!’. What is it like to work on a show that is so well-regarded? It’s a massive honour, it really is. It’s so well known internationally that a lot of people will call Irish dancing ‘riverdancing’! They mix up the type of dancing with the show, that’s how internationally recognised it is. It’s such an honour and everywhere we go, we’re so well received by whoever the host is. It was the original show so it’s great that it’s still going. How are the ensemble feeling about returning to Dublin? Dublin is the highlight of everyone’s year, it’s great to be at home. Your friends can come and see you, your family can come and see you, you can go to work as if it’s a regular job but you’re doing the show as well so it’s such a highlight. We always get such great support from everyone here, the crowds are always great. The Gaiety is brilliant as well because it’s so intimate, it’s such a small theatre, compared to our arena tours, so it’s great to have the audience so close. I love that because you can feel the audience responding. Why do you think Riverdance has been so successful? It’s a combination of things, I think. It’s the blend of music and dance and because it was something that was so different and so new when it was first seen. They knew something big was going to come from it, instinctually, and it’s the kind of show that has something for everyone. The music is amazing; I’ll never ever get tired of listening to the music. Also, there’s pop dancers, Moscow Folk Ballet Company and loads more. A lot of people don’t realise that before they come see it! What is a typical day like on tour with the show? We would generally spend a week in each city so you’re on the road on a Monday and on a Tuesday, you’ll get up, go for breakfast and try to see as much of the city as you can. If you have a show the night before, you’ll sleep late and then we usually go into work at about 6pm, where you might have a massage or go to the physio before the group warm-up session. That usually consists of about 20 minutes of cardio. Hair and make-up is usually done before the warm-up because we try and do that as close as possible to the show. You’ve got about 15 to 20 minutes to get yourself and your costumes together, because we have a lot of fast changes in the show, and then it’s showtime! After nine years, do you still get nervous before a show? I’ll never forget the first time that I danced lead. I was in the wing and I was so nervous because I was in Dublin and my dance teacher and all my family were there. I was thinking ‘I am never going to do this to myself again. I’m going to do this now because I can’t get out of it but I am never doing this again, I’m going to walk out the door afterwards!’. I always would get a little bit nervous when I dance lead because it’s a new crowd or a new venue. I think the nerves help as well. I wouldn’t want to be without the nerves but at the same time, it’s muscle memory at this stage so you’re not worried about your steps, it’s just the silly things! Is it hard to come down from the buzz after a show? After every show, there’s a big adrenaline rush so you come off the stage covered in sweat and do a bit of a cool down, ice, shower and all that. Then we’ll go back to the hotel and depending on the night, we’ll sit up and have a drink or go out. It’s rare that you’d go straight to bed because you’d be on such a high. There's been some controversy over the image associated with Irish dancing, particularly the use of heavy make-up and tan on young children. Where do you stand on that? It has been controversial but I’ll defend it in the sense that the kids are performing, the same way that we are. With Riverdance, we have a very natural look so you wouldn’t have lots of fake tan or heavy make-up on but we’re on stage with bright lights so up close, you would have a lot of make-up on as it’s necessary. Any actor is the same. Occasionally, it can be excessive. It’s the same on a night out, you’ll always see some people going overboard. They have brought in rules recently so the younger kids can’t wear lots of make-up and that’s good because you don’t want to see that. I do think it is unfortunate that this is what is in the spotlight at the moment about Irish dancing because I think it’s being missed that what kids can do these days is unbelievable. They are athletes, I see them in my own school in Galway. The stuff that they do and the training that they do is amazing, they are there every day for hours on end practising. People should be thinking ‘wow, that’s how far our sport has come in terms of athleticism’. What would you like to do in the future? I’d love to get into acting and I’ve started taking classes recently and doing a few short films and student films. I really get a great buzz of it and enjoy it so that’s something I’d like to pursue in the future. Riverdance comes to The Gaiety Theatre from June 24th to August 31st. For more information, click here.