Riverdance Live From Radio City Music Hall New York DVD

This was a great disk. Photographed at Radio City Music Hall, it definitely gave the scope and grandeur of the performances. The singing wasn't bad, but then that's me. I preferred the music and the dancing. The dancers were totally amazing with their footwork and speed. I was left in awe of their consummate skill in handling this style of dancing. Do I recommend it? Sure and begorrah, and it's lovin' it, I am! Read more

I'm very happy that Riverdance: Live from Radio City has been reissued. It looks as good as ever, and much more convenient that the disc doesn't need to be turned over to watch the second half. Colin and Jean are the best leads together, dancing in a beautiful duet with one another. These two are experts, and it shows. Colin Dunne projects a passion and refinement in his step dancing that no other male lead has. His speed and timing are perfect, but the main interest is his graceful technique and his musical sense of rhythm so evident in all of his solos. He really shines in his Heartbeat of the World duet with Flamenco dancer Maria Pages, and of course, the ever favorite, Trading Taps with the American tap dancers. Jean Butler, as always, dazzles the audience with her regal beauty and her flowing, graceful soft shoe solos. She has a powerful stage presence and brings out the beauty of Irish dance. The band is excellent. The sets are beautiful, authentic hand painted sets. The company is tight and well-rehearsed. This truly is the best recorded version of the phenomenon Riverdance. The documentaries alone are well worth the purchase of this reissue. Read more

This is another great and entertaining disc from Riverdance. The dancing is always superb and so is the music. Riverdance is so different than any other entertainment venue in America. I think that is why it is such a big hit, and not just here. Everyone is truelly talented. Read more

My son loves to watch music videos, and I thought he might enjoy the music and dance on this video. At this point it is too early to tell if it will become one of his favorites. I will note that the service with Amazon.com is always superb and I have never had a complaint. Thanks. Read more

Prior to ordering this I read the reviews, which, on a whole, were mostly positive. But there was one aspect of this DVD that others were mentioning negatively; it was the way it was shot from different camera angles, and the main complaint was there was a lot of darting around, as though the viewer could never fully absorb the scene. Well I just ordered it anyway because I love the show so much, and I'm happy to report that I had no problem with any "darting around" of camera angles, and sat just as mesmerized with this production as I did with the original one at the Point Theater in Ireland. The cast is stellar, you just want to jump up there with them; Colin Dunne is superb (I thought I'd be heartbroken with the abscence of Michael Flatley, and all due respect to Michael, Colin did a wonderful job); Jean Butler is simply ever-beautiful, you cannot resist her; Maria Pages, you're in sheer awe watching her; and Katie McMahon has that one-in-a-million pure voice that's simply her own. I can go on, and almost did, but, in a nutshell, if you have any fears of not enjoying this for whatever reason, well you can lose those fears, as it's totally enjoyable. Read more

I had this on VHS years ago, and I have always loved it!! This is a great show. Wonderful music, amazing dancing, and a fantastic cultural display that spans the globe!! My kids thoroughly enjoyed it's they had never seen such synchronization of dance. Read more

I saw this show on VHS 6 or 7 years ago and was waiting for the DVD release. It is hard to find the proper words to describe how amazing the show is. The disc is a compilation of the famous Riverdance Show live from Radio City Music Hall in New York. Now, what is on the disc? First of all is the gorgeous Irish step-dance couple Colin Dunne and Jean Butler. They are just amazing; it is hard to stop watching their performances, expressions, speed footwork, and beauty. They are unbelievable and their scenes are never boring to watch again and again! I might like the performance with Michael Flatley a little bit better than that with Colin Dunne but again, it is very subjective and Colin Dunne is unbelievable too. Although I am not a huge fan of Flamenco, Maria Pages's Firedance is special in the show. Even I am speechless when watching Maria's expressions in this dance. You might ask what Flamenco is doing in an Irish Music/Dance show? I have no idea but it just fits in perfectly. The show has a very impressive scene when Colin Dunne and two more dancers from the Riverdance group try to "compete" with Tarik Winston, an African-American tap dancer from the Bronx, and another tap dancer. To me, Tarik won... I like this part (Trading Taps) the most after the Finale. You should be warned - the show is not dancing only. It includes a musical performance and singing. I like all the outstanding voices and heartwarming tunes, though I personally am waiting for the dancing to begin. Overall, the content is still super hot even about a dozen years after the performance. The DVD just appeared in 2008 and is much better than VHS. It contains a lot of special features with interviews and the history of this show (and is worth watching too, by the way). The Riverdance Show became a very refreshing event in the history of dancing and has its own special place there. So, why 4 stars only? The reason is that I am not supposed to evaluate the show. It has been evaluated many times by many people and their evaluation is simple: Riverdance is a historical event that is hard to overestimate. I am supposed to evaluate the DVD I purchased. I am sorry to say that the video is, at most, of average quality. I can accept that a video recording from 1996 might not be as bright and sharp as a modern recording. Indeed, it is 16:9 but it cannot be called High Definition. I believe that the lighting was not good for the recording. The real problem, however, is the editing of this recording. The video is taken from a few cameras and the producer (who deserves a dozen spoiled tomatoes thrown at his head for his cutting work) switches between them quickly, unpredictably and annoyingly. Sometimes you barely can see the dance composition. Instead the video can show you the feet of a random dancer for many seconds. It is awful and sometimes produces sea sickness due to loss of space orientation (at least for me). I cannot give the product less than 4 stars because it is a DVD any dance fan must have. However, you have been warned that the video quality is below average. Although it is watchable and very enjoyable, I am very dissatisfied by the quality of the video. I highly recommend this DVD for purchase but be warned about the below average video composition. Read more

I enjoyed the Irish dance along with the American tap dancing in this video, it held my interest throughout the video. I enjoyed the singing and thought that went into making this video, I look forward to seeing more offered in the future. Read more