American Reacts to Riverdance - Eurovision Song Contest 1994 Dublin, Ireland 

There are certain moments in history when a country shows the world that how incredible it is, this was one of Irelands moments.

Nearly 30 years later and it still gives me goosepimples!

THIS WAS THE INTERVAL ACT!!! Let that sink in! The roar of the crowd at the end gets me every time. It took Irish dancing, and elevated it to the next level. I remember watching it on the night, in disbelief. And I still get goosebumps to this day! 🇮🇪

I’m a Brit and I watched this live in 1994 and couldn’t believe my eyes and ears. It was amazing and I was mesmerised too. So skilful, so slick and so Irish ☘️😊❤

I remember that Eurovision and seeing Riverdance for the first time…it was breathtaking and stunning! None of us had ever seen anything like it. It still gives me goosebumps today! 🤓🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

Irish dancing is taught from childhood, these dancers are at the top of their expertise. 😊

It's simply called "Irish Dancing". I get goosebumps every time I watch it.

I’m 70 now but did Irish dancing from the age of 4 up to 16 and when I saw this on the TV in 1994 my heart nearly burst open it was the most beautiful thing ever. Once a dancer always a dancer I can still do the steps and the rocks only a bit slower HA HA love your response ❤❤❤

That's Irish Dancing. Michael Flatley said Kevin Massey was "one of the greatest traditional Irish dancers ever!" so Michael Flatley flew to Ireland to have private lessons with him. Kevin Massey was part of the dance team that had won the all-Ireland Irish Dancing Cup in 1957, that team included my mum. Kevin Massey, my mother and the rest of the winning team were all trained by Harry Mc Caffrey (My Great Grand Uncle).

Ireland actually won the Eurovision Song Contest that year for a record breaking third year in a row, a record never beaten. However, nobody remembers the winning song….just the amazing interval act!

I'm Scottish but be it our own pipes and drums or the Irish dancers and singers to the Welsh choir's it resonates something deep in our psychic and our souls and no matter how many centuries go by these things will always touch our souls and our sense of kinship ❤

I have seen this probably 100 times in the last 30 years. Watching you, watching where your eyes went, and your reaction as it finished, gave me SO MUCH JOY! It was like me watching it again for the first time 🫶🏻 I’m so glad it blew you away too 🥰

When The Eurovision Song Contest was held that year I, along with other designers was invited to see the dress rehearsal for this interlude act. There were about 40 of us in that huge auditorium . It was an experience I will never forget! The sound of it from the hauntingly gorgeous singing to the sound that their feet made in unison was spectacular. We knew then it was going to be huge. That was the first time that traditional Irish dancing had been given a modern twist. And was the very beginning of the spectacular full length show that has wowed audiences around the world for many many years and sparked other similar Irish dance shows since. I feel so privileged to have been one of the first to see it live.

I think people forget that the interval acts were seen as filler, generally uninteresting and more often than not just plain awful but that all changed and that is a genuine standing ovation, you can see the moment on Michael as the enormity of the audience reaction hits home, they probably hoped for a nice round of applause and on with the rest of the show but that ovation just rolls on. The stage shows have been running since then, one after the next. They put Irish dance firmly on the map that night. Amazing stuff. Irish creativity at its finest.

It gives you chills , it's so amazing. I love being Irish.🍀🍀🍀

Other than ABBA, probably the best thing ever to come out of the Eurovision Song Contest. I remember being blown away by that performance that night. I was first in line for tickets when the full-blown Riverdance show came out - and saw it multiple times after that!

As a 13 year old watching this in 1994 I was completely mesmerized by it. Now as a 42 year old it has the same effect.

I think the mesmerizing sound you're hearing is the Uilleann pipes! The performance is a mixture of both Irish soft shoe and hard shoe dances, both of which have been traditional for centuries.

I was there that evening working as a rigger and that performance blew me away. The tradition of dance was nothing new to me but the freeing up of the style into something more modern was fantastic. It helped to make Irish dance, music and culture relevant into the current millenium. We have a debt to the people who put the performance together, even if they are luvvies.

I was 4 years old when this aired yet it's one of my earliest memories. My dream was to preform in Riverdance and I trained for years, sadly for health reasons it never happened, one of the hardest moments of my life was walking away from it. 😢 Glad you checked this out and liked it, such an iconic piece of Irish history! Much love 💚🤍🧡

This was a magical moment in tv. Nobody knew what it was about. It’s thrilling when they all dance together.

This is based on traditional Irish dancing (but brought fully up to date). When Irish immigrants brought it to the US, it morphed into tap dancing, just as traditional Irish and Scottish music became traditional American country music. If you get a chance to see the whole show, make a point of going to see it - it is breathtaking, with not just the dancers but musicians on stage, who sometimes also break into dance, while playing their instruments.

I always get chills watching this performance. They're all so talented. I can't even imagine how many hours of practice it took to perfect their performance.

My dad did the River Dance in 2001 on the Great Wall of China and he also did a competition between the world and he came third in the world. I'm carrying the legacy of the dancer's of my family. His three siblings have done Irish dancing when they were younger. My cousin on my mum's side also did Irish dancing.

My sister and I went to two of the stage shows that grew out of this, Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. Both were incredible.

A bit of back story about the dancers , the dancing in general. The dancers you saw on stage were in their early to mid 20's and would have begin dancing at age 4 or 5. Irish Dancing is a very competitive childhood to teenage activity, probably comparable to high school cheer leading and pageants in America. Many of dancers in this performance were World Champions and had reached the end of their dancing careers. Before Riverdance, when dancers reached the highest level and were in their 20's the only option was either to stop dancing or become dance teachers. Riverdance changed the Irish Dance community and gave dancers a way to become professional Irish dancers, as it inspired a whole new industry of theatrical Irish Dance shows. I am from Ireland and of similar age to the dancers in this performance. I started dance classes around age 5 right up until I was about 18. I did dance classes after school and then competitions a few times a month. I recognise many of them from the competition circuit. You also asked about the styles of dance. The soft shoe dance by Jean Butler is in the Slip Jig tempo. The shoes she is wearing are competition standard soft shoes, similar to ballet shoes but in black leather. This is one of the standard tempos for Irish Dancing. There are many various tunes in this tempo and for competitions, each dancer will do their own choreography mixed with some compulsory elements. What Jean is doing in this performance is a stylized more theatrical version of a competition dance. Then it changes to Michael Flatelys solo. Theres way to much to explain about him, look him up but basically when he was doing competitions he was the World Champion bad boy of Irish dancing, he pushed the boundaries' in competitions and created his own stylised theatrical type of Irish dancing. The shoes he is wearing are an adapted form of the competition heavy shoe. The competition shoes are soft leather with solid fibreglass tips and heels and an ankle strap for support. The noise is made by the force of the tips and heels hitting the ground or by them hitting together during high kicks. His solo with the drums and then when all the dancers come on stage for the end section is a stylised theatrical version of a competition treble reel. There are two types of reel, a soft shoe reel and a heavy shoe reel. The reel tempo is a fast based tempo and is often used as a show piece. People often remark about the tight synchronisation of theatrical Irish dance shows. Part of the training, right from a very young age is learning to dance this way. The chorography is learnt by repetitive drilling, and dancers are trained to repeat the same sequence or multiple sequences over and over and over for hours. When preparing for competitions, its very common to spend maybe 4 or 5 hours repeatedly doing the same multiple sequences of chorography. The dancers in this performance are all at the highest level and dancing in tight synchronisation would be something they have done for many years.

I was 7 years old when I saw this on TV during the Eurovision. I was so entranced by it. It was incredible! I love watching this again at now almost 37 years old. It takes me back to being 7 and in awe of something so beautifully put together!

Did you know Michael Flatly is in the Guiness book of world records TWICE? Once for tapping 28 times in a second and then beat his own record with the 35 times in a second in his hard shoes. Legendary man

This is based on the Irish Jig. Many kids in Ireland learned this style of dancing as a tradition, but the Riverdance troupe just gave it a massive update and new rythms. There are some good documentaries around showing younger people competing in competitions etc.

England here, i was 15 when this was aired, inwas babysitting for a neighbour and itbwas mesmerising, it's Irish dancing and river dance has been a global phenomenon ever since. It's beautiful, intricate, fun, expressive and just gorgeous, as a dancer myself I could not even begin to have this level of skill. Just gorgeous

I remember watching that in 1994 and being blown out of my chair. All these years later it stll does. Magnificent.

I will never, ever, tire of watching the finale of the 1994 dance. The interval act that eclipsed the main event…. It certainly did. Superb 🎉

After this display....the whole of Irish Dance with Michael Flatley & Co., became worldwide and a huge success. Across the UK and Ireland there are competitive dance schools of Irish Dance...up to World titles in different age groups. ( male and female )....My granddaughter belonged to a dance school and was pretty successful until University studies took over. It's always amazing to watch....just brilliant ☺

I grew up watching River Dance and Lord of the Dance. Their pure strength and dedication to learning the routines. It is magical

I have literally watched this thousands of times and STILL that ending gives me goosebumps every single time.

I saw Michael Flatley & Jean Butler at the Appollo in London in its early days (I'm from the UK) & it was the most mesmerizing & exhilarating performance I have ever seen.. The music stiil gets me even now.

I remember that night, we were blown away. It's Irish dancing, irish music. We in Ireland don't call it Celtic.

Coming from an Irish family a jig would invariably break out at weddings, christenings and especially funerals. Even funerals were full of love and laughter with so much dancing.

I’m about half Irish, and this performance ALWAYS makes me tear up.

The Eurovision Song Contest is held on a Saturday. I was out that night but on Monday morning everybody (everybody!) was talking about Riverdance at work. I worked with a girl who had been through a rough time but she was a different person - animated & uplifted - because of seeing this. When I did get a chance to see the dance the reaction was completely understandable. This was lovely.

For me the finest piece of dancing and choreography I've ever seen, it took my breath away at the time . Absolutely stunning from start to finish .

I’ll never forget watching this. And it’s always spectacular.

I remember seeing it when it was first aired and it was mind-blowing, I am still amazed at it today even though it looks like tap dancers playing 'The floor is lava' with no safe areas.

It was the first time that Irish dancing had been put together in this way, and the way they combined it with tap dance. The most impressive part I think is the skill, synchronisation and energy of it. Bill Whelan’s musical score is the final essential element. At the time it was a huge sensation and led on to international fame and worldwide shows that are still going today.

As others have said I remember watching it live on TV back in 1994. I live in the U.K. and of Irish parents. Irish dancing became a craze after this in England. My niece managed to join an after school Irish dancing class when she was about 8 years old. But there was a drastic shortage of places. My sister-in-law was offered £50 by one mum if her daughter could take my niece”s place. She didn’t accept.

It makes you want to get up and dance with them! The skill and control necessary to do that well…..wow. Simply breathtaking. I’ve seen this clip before, and never tire of it.

Makes me proud to be Irish.

The Eurovision half-time interval is where all the different counteries have a tele-vote to vote on their favourite songs. The half-time show was always a boring affair of the host country showcasing some boring act for tourism reasons, and most people generally swich off or are completely disinterested in it. That all changed with Riverdance... It started off where people thought it was more of the same... but as it went on and progressed through each of the stages (inital vocal harmony, Jean Butler solo, Michael Flately solo, Drum/Dance off, final cresccendo) it drew in more and more people seeing that THIS was different. Every year since, other host countries have tried to re-create something that had a feel like this, but could never capture the lightning in the bottle that Riverdance did. In all the years that the Eurovision has been on, Riverdance (an interval act) is still it's most memorable

There are plenty of wonderful traditional Irish and Scottish bands playing folk music. I must recommend Clannad and their awesome "Harry's Game" and The Battlefield Band "St Valery". Two very different tunes and styles. Riverdance however was and still is something very special.

Oh i remember this so well When they finished Everywhere errupted I thought my heart would explode. If your irish it just does something to you inside so emotional

For hundreds of years the Irish's hands were tied but their souls live on. This is Irish dancing, see how their hands remain at their sides but they move so gracefully. We learn Irish dancing as soon as we start school. 💚🇮🇪

Watching your face was priceless,glad you liked it, love from Ireland ❤, love your channel 👍

It still makes me cry with emotion when I see this. The whole Riverdance story and performance is so inspiring.

This show is in every country. There’s always a tour. And you can get it on DVD!!!!!

I remember watching this on TV at the time - and I ve seen the full river dance show - and watching this still give me goose bumps - Every time !!!!

The dance is Traditional Irish Dancing and you're right, the foot-taps are very similar, if not almost identical to tap dancing. I remember watching the Eurovision that year in the kitchen of my Moms' house, myself 4 siblings Mum and Dad. We were as mesmerised as you were when it came on the telly. When it was over, all 7 of us leaped out of our seats and cheered. We had lumps of pride bursting out of our chests and choking back the tears after it was done.

It's a dance representation of a rivers journey from upland stream to the waves on the sea.

Ireland won the the Eurovision that year with the brilliant song Rock & Roll Kids from Charlie McGettigan and Paul Harrington. But most people only remember the interval act Riverdance. It was astonishing

I was fortunate enough to see Riverdance in New York many years ago. It’s still the best thing I’ve ever seen. 💚🇮🇪☘️🎼🎶🎶🎶🎶

Riverdance is still being performed all round the world. The 25th Anniversary show is being performed in Dublin in the summer.

Awesome Steve, I'd not seen that for a while. Now you're getting there buddy. Irish Music, Irish Dancing. Its practised all over Ireland and as you see its wonderful. I think you felt that in your soul, you now know you're Irish my friend. Peace.

This was an epic interval act in Eurovision that to this day is still the best interval act ever. Its called step dancing. The soft dancing that Jean Butler did at the beginning is traditional Irish figure dancing. This version completely eclipsed and modernised what Irish dancing always was. To this day this still gives me shivers when I watch it. Loved your reaction to it🥰😍💚💚

I enjoyed watching your face during the performance - you looked mesmerized. I watched it when it was originally performed and I still get goosebumps when I look at it now.

Anya a beautiful singer, haunting voice 😊

I still remember watching this live and having my mind blown. It was almost a surreal experience, like nothing so many had seen before. Incredible totally overshadowed the whole eurovision that year i would say. Amanda from UK 🇬🇧

First of all: I loved watching your expressions. You watched it all with open mouth and opened it even wider to take a deep breath when the second row of dancers appeared! Literally mesmerised! 😊 The Riverdance group still performs, in and outside of Ireland. I saw them last year in Dublin (I live only 30 minutes away from Dublin in the countryside). But they also perform in other cities in Ireland and tour across the world. Seeing them perform live is AWESOME! Two and a half hours is even too short to watch them (but they need to rest, lol). There’s a lot of Irish dance schools, even one in a village nearby where I sometimes walk in to watch. Lots of boys and girls in Ireland learn this way of traditional dancing. There are National, but also European competitions. Fun detail: the dance is normally performed on a small spot. This originates from the fact that in the old days, in rural Ireland, dancers took out the wooden door of their tiny house and laid it on the uneven muddy ground. Often neighbours joined in with their music instruments and songs. Dancing on the door gave the tapping sound, but also limited in their movements, due to the small dance “floor”. Hence the arms to the sides. The best way to learn about Ireland and it’s history, music, landscape, people and culture is to come and visit us. An Irish band that I love are the High Kings, they sing beautifully all Irish songs, the Wolftones sing mostly rebel songs, The Dubliners also sing traditional Irish, Christy Moore is a great singer… A few titels to listen to (and find on RU-vid: Rocky road to Dublin, Grace, Galway girl, Fields of Athenry, Cavan girl, The parting glass, The Irish Rover, Boolavogue, Star of the County Down, Paddy’s green shamrock shore, Mc Alpine’s fusiliers, Finegan’s Wake, The Foggy Dew, Leaving of Liverpool… A great deal of Irish songs are about Ireland’s (not so pleasant) history, like Grace. Read more about that song on the internet. A lovely song in Irish (Gaelic) is “Ar eireann ni neossinn ce hi” (the High Kings version is amazing!).There’s too many songs to mention. Books can provide a lot of information, but you have to experience Ireland in Ireland and at least have one pint of Guinness in a pub, any pub (in a village or countryside). Slaìnte! 🍻 You’re welcome! Greetings from Donadea, county Kildare ☘️🇮🇪

I was lucky enough to see the Riverdance show in Newcastle Arena in the 90s and the subsequent tour, Lord of the Dance, with Michael Flatley. The shows build and build to a crescendo, you feel the reverberations in your organs. Watching it again gives me goosebumps. Lord of the Dance is still touring and is currently in the USA…..go see the show if you can.

I, too, remember that night vividly and, even now, I get quite emotional watching that again! This was the Interval act - while the votes were being counted from the various European juries to decide the best song act from the main song contest that had gone before this. Everyone was just blown away by this! It was like nothing anyone had seen before - based upon traditional, 'arms-down' Irish dancing, but Micheal Flatley had taken it to a whole new level! The multi-European audience, as you saw, gave them a standing ovation - it was an incredible performance which quite overshadowed the Main Event that night! They went on to develop Riverdance into a whole, stand-alone dance show on its own which became a major box-office sensation - and this was where it all started!!

Remember watching this and was just mezmorized and the music is beautiful .

I remember watching that live! I was 9, and everyone had left the room because it was the interval which is usually rubbish. I was transfixed, and started yelling at my parents to come back in. Still get chills to this day watching it! And I went to see a live show only last year, so it’s still going!

There has never been a Eurovision Song Contest interval performance anywhere near approaching this incredibly moving performance.

Absolutely wonderful, I love watching this every time it comes up over the years. It was such a phenomenon and makes me tear up every time at how fab it is.

My wife and I saw "Lord of the Dance" at Wembley Arena in London many years ago. We both sat mesmerized at what we were seeing and hearing. "Riverdance" and "Lord of the Dance" 2 great full videos to watch and enjoy.

I've always loved Riverdance since seeing this when I was still a youngster. I got to see it live in Dublin and I was totally thrown off guard by my reaction...the thud of the beat & footsteps made me really emotional & I had tears in my eyes throughout most of the show. It was spectacular ❤❤

I am from Ireland and watched this eurovision interval act when it was first performed. It was so magical and gave me goosebumps the first time I saw it. I did not know then that it would become the worldwide sensation that it did, but I am not surprised by that. This is based on traditional Irish dance but with a twist of free flowing movement which adds a magical quality.

I can remember watching that performance so vividly on television even to this day. No other interval act has even come close to matching that one. In traditional Irish dancing the arms are kept still by the side of the body, but Michael Flatley added his own features and interpretation (as you saw - he raised his arms in the air for some of the performance). He is an Irish American, but came over to Ireland in his teens to train for competitions, and has remained there ever since. This interval act then was transformed into a stage show and has been performed around the world for many years. Michael went on to produce and star in other productions - The Lord of the Dance, Irish Tiger. I have seen him perform live a few times. The sound of the feet when the cast is on the stage is incredible!

It became massive and turned into a touring show which went all over the world. Eurovision, on the other hand, still happens every year, hosted by the country which won it the previous year. If you are interested in folk music, check out the Scottish band Capercaillie or the Irish folk musicians Clannad.. Riverdance was an absolute phenomenon and deserved its success. Just beautiful.

After seeing Riverdance during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest I bought the videotape of their show which was awesome! They had tap dancers, a flamenco 💃🏻 dancer and Russian folk dancers.

I was 9 when this happened during Eurovision and it was such a magical experience. We had never seen anything like it. Great childhood memory of watching this with my family. I was lucky enough to be able to take my dad to one of the shows many years later.

Check out Lord Of The Dance too. The set pieces with the male dancers and Flatley are breath taking.

Doesn't get much more Irish than this....fantastic

I was one of the 300 million watching this live and as a 16 year old boy was occupied with holding back my tears from the pure amazement

From the first time I heard / saw Riverdance, it has been one of my favourite albums. When I need to unwind, I sometimes sit with my headphones on and listen to the entire album, beginning to end.

I had forgotten about this. Watching it brings back so many memories of me and my parents watching this when I was 5. Unfortunately my parents aren't with us anymore but I would have loved to play it for my mum again..

It really is mesmerising. Nowadays when people think of Irish dancing they think of this, even though Irish dancing goes way back.

I'm irish. Riverdance is a more than brilliant dance / show with Michael flattley who has now retired from dancing altogether due to health reasons. Get well michael !!!! ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ The kind of dancing is called irish dancing

I went to see the 25th anniversary Riverdance live in the Netherlands. Absolutely beautiful!! A combination of music, dance and history!

To answer ur thumbnail question, I have been irish dancing for 7 years. This form of dance was shaped from irish oppression during the British takeover of Ireland and the religious prosecution. I'm in a professional performance company called the Teelin Irish Dance Company and we perform a show called Celtic Journey every year. It takes so much practice to make our lines even, to make our figures look good, and for us to sound together and cohesive. Many dancers start dancing before they can even walk. It takes so much time and dedication to be able to do what they do.

If you search for Irish dancing flashmob there's a really good video that shows off Irish dancing at its best

Traditional Irish dancing performed by the best ! A phenomena !! nothing else describes it !

I saw that live in TV, too. I was 17 at that time and was flashed by this dance moves and the music. Greetings from Germany ❤️

I still get shivers every time I listen and watch Riverdance long may they continue and grow in talent and strength.

Riverdance is Amazing. There is another stage show called Lord of the Dance with Michael Flatley which is awesome. Irish dancing at its best.

I love Irish Dancing.

Lady in Red Dress in audience was our President. River dance was 'jus5' an interval performance at the Irish Euro vision. Michael Flatley ( main dance) chorigraph the whole show. This was almost 30 yrs ago. It is now a WORLD WIDE Show called RIVER DANCE or the 2nd show is called LORD OF THE Dance. We are incredibly proud of this and it has given young Irish Dancers a show they can work towards performing on anywhere in the world. The show was a move towards modernising Irish Dancing - which it did.

When I watch the Riverdance on the TV, my jaw drop because the dancers are amazing and creative with lots of passion to show us their culture. I hope they can return to entertaining us soon ❤🎉😊

We had Riverdance on VHS when I was a kid and me and my sister's would always be stomping about like elephants trying to copy hahaha! We learned Irish dancing at brownies as little girls and now me and my best friend watch it with our babies and they're always transfixed. It's beautiful:)

I was 14 when I seen this on TV, my whole family were all transfixed on the TV and never moved once till it was over. It was spectacular.

Whoever participated, whoever won - "Eurovision-1994" was remembered by Europeans only one thing: the beauty, charm and energy of Jane Butler, Michael Flatley's staccato - the unforgettable, breathtaking birth of Riverdance!!

Finally Steve has taste and is reacting to Riverdance in the Eurovision. That song was the "intervall act" in the ESC 1994.