Get Your Irish Up

Friday, Dec. 11, 1998 | 9:38 a.m.

Referring to Pat Roddy's vocation as "dance" is almost unfair.

Sometimes, it's more like torture.

"It's a very strenuous, high-maintenance activity, and a very masculine form of dance," said the 22-year-old star of the touring tribute to Celtic culture, "Riverdance."

For proof, Roddy lists a traveling collection of professional therapists enlisted to ensure that his lean, 5-foot-10-inch, 150-pound body remains fresh and free of pain.

"We've got a full-time trainer, two full-time masseurs and a chiropractor," Roddy said. "I have a daily massage, about 20 minutes, and usually my ankles and toes are all taped."

The dancer's shoes don't last long -- usually no longer than six months -- and injuries are a constant employment risk.

"I've sprained an ankle on stage and I tore a calf muscle," Roddy said. "When it happens, you do your best to hide it. But actually, I've been pretty lucky with injuries."

Good fortune has pervaded the enormously popular production since it made a short but scintillating 7-minute debut during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland. Since that original segment, featuring the since-departed Michael Flatley, more than six million people worldwide have seen one of the three "Riverdance" productions criss-crossing the globe.

Roddy and co-star Eileen Martin, accompanied by a supporting cast of 80 singers, dancers and musicians, perform at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for a limited engagement of five shows beginning tonight and running through Sunday.

The enduring popularity of Irish folk dancing is evident by the fact that "Riverdance" will be showcased just across the street from the New York-New York's production of Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" (although the latter production takes its scheduled holiday hiatus Sunday through Dec. 27).

Flatley, fired by "Riverdance" in 1996 for refusing to relinquish his choreographic copyright to the show's producers, lent his name (but not his dancing talent) to the New York-New York production. Roddy still credits Flatley -- who has performed in Europe with another of the show's tours and plans to retire from dancing to pursue a film career -- with sparking interest in Irish dancing worldwide.

Flatley even has a feverish fan following similar to that of the Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffett or "Star Trek." They've labeled themselves "Flatheads."

"If it wasn't for him, none of us would be here doing this," Roddy said. "He's a wonderful dancer, a perfectionist."

However, Roddy contends that "Riverdance" is a more traditional interpretation of Irish dancing than "Lord of the Dance."

"It's based on Irish dance music and is a celebration of everything Irish," Roddy said. "We trace Irish heritage and Irish roots, and introduce the dances through all the elements: sun, thunder and lightning, earth and water."

That's just in the first 45 minutes. After intermission, the show traces the journey Irish immigrants took to America following the Irish potato famine of 1845-1851.

"Showing our true culture is very important to me," Roddy, a native of Dundalk, Ireland, said. " 'Riverdance,' has been injected with a lot of contemporary elements, but is more traditional than 'Lord of the Dance.' They've gone more for the Las Vegas-style thing."

Roddy's parents were both dance teachers and he was performing at family functions almost as soon as he could walk.

"You could say it's in my blood," Roddy said. "When I was growing up, it wasn't the trendy thing to do, not at all. But since 'Riverdance,' it's become very widely appreciated."

Following its 1994 debut, "Riverdance," opened at the Point Theatre in Dublin in February 1995 for a sold-out five-week run. Success for renowned composer Bill Whelan (who has worked with Irish pop stars U2 and Van Morrison), director Moya Doherty and producer John McColgan was immediate.

And the blond-coiffed, bare-chested Flatley became an international heartthrob.

"It went from being something no one knew anything about to a very recognizable form of dance," Roddy said. "It happened very suddenly."

The original full-length show filled the London Coliseum for a 50th anniversary of VE Day hosted by Prince Charles in May 1995, and sold out the Labatt's Apollo Hammersmith theatre in London during a four-week run in June of that year.

"It was a new and distinctive form of entertainment, a cultural form of dance not many people were aware of," Roddy said. "I always felt that people would at least be intrigued by it."

The "Riverdance," video was an instant hit, as was the accompanying soundtrack. In October 1995, the show opened for another six-week run at Labatt's Apollo Hammersmith, just a day after Flatley's departure. The run was twice extended, first by nine weeks and then by another four weeks, selling out for a record 151 consecutive performances.

In March 1996, the production invaded New York and sold out Radio City Music Hall for eight consecutive shows. In October, its momentum mounting, "Riverdance" embarked on its first U.S. tour and was a regular sellout in New York, Chicago Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

The music conquered America as well. The Grammy Award-winning soundtrack spent more than 40 weeks on Billboard's world music charts.

"Riverdance" now encompasses three touring companies, two in North America and one in Europe. Roddy joined one of the North American companies in December.

The Roddy-led "Riverdance" cast most recently performed from Nov. 19 through last Sunday in Denver.

"The travel can be a grind," he said. "You see the same people day after day over a long period of time. But I'm lucky. This is a challenge, mentally and physically, but it's really rewarding."

Roddy has hardly any free time. He fills his spare moments by playing golf.

"After dancing and spending that much energy over a long period of time, it's good to get away," he said. "Golf might seem like a strange hobby for an Irish dancer, but it's actually very relaxing for me.

"You look forward to any time off, because after every performance you're completely exhausted."

The dancing depicted in "Riverdance" is famous for its thunderous, stately steps. Critics have called it a combination of Irish dance, flamenco and tap dancing performed to Celtic and African rhythms.

"I would definitely compare it to American tap," Roddy said. "Irish dancing is a lot more physical than tap. Tap is more about rhythm, but this has rhythm and athleticism."

While the dancers' legs are a fury of motion, their upper bodies remain relatively still. McColgan has said that in the late 1920s and '30s, many Irish dance schools were supervised by the clergy, and the idea was to keep the performances as asexual as possible.

"We've talked about it being prim and proper," Roddy said. "But there is a sexual adaptation that we've added."

What also has been added, according to reports out of London earlier this year, is audio augmentation. A recorded soundtrack was reportedly added to give the performance an even more booming sound.

Roddy explains.:

"To put it in a nutshell, it is enhanced," Roddy said. "It's augmented with microphones so the audience can hear us. If it was just us alone with no amplifications, the crowd wouldn't be happy."

That's the case in the spacious Grand Garden Arena.

"If you're sitting 10 rows back in a huge arena, it is difficult to hear us," Roddy said. Sound is a big part of what we do."

For smaller numbers, performers wear microphones hooked to their hips. Larger numbers are amplified with floor microphones.

"When all this talk started, it bothered me that people didn't think it was real," Roddy said. "We are actually doing the steps and putting 100 percent effort into it.

"If we weren't, we wouldn't need all the medical people touring with us. They'd just be a frivolous expenditure."

No, like Roddy's passion for his art, the performance is real.

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