The Magic of Ireland in Warrensburg and Columbia, MO
Long touting itself as possibly more authentic than some other dancing Irish shows you may have heard of - I can’t think of any off hand - The Magic Of Ireland also claims not to be short on excitement.
Ostensibly The Magic of Ireland exists because other Irish dance shows got lost in the sheer scale of their production. Or at least the Irish dancing, and especially the music, did.
Peter Jacobs, the man who created The Magic of Ireland, had some strong and not unwarranted feelings about some of the more successful Irish Dance shows:
He felt that the very thing that was attracting audiences was being glazed over in order to meet the requirements of larger venues and higher ticket prices. To his mind, these shows were ignoring the most important elements of Irish dance and music cherished by audiences worldwide. In fact, the haunting sound of the pipes, the energizing sound of the taps, the deep rhythms of the bodhrán and the shrill cry of the fiddle – the best of the Irish experience - were unfortunately being over-produced, and pre-recorded.
I’ve seen some videos of the boys and girls in action and authentic or not when I see people in black dress uniforms doing sequences of slow and then fast steps in hard shoes it’s hard not to think of an Irish dancing rally at Nuremberg.
If you liked Riverdance or anything Flately has done, I can’t imagine that you can’t but love this. There’s plenty of showmanship without ever being quite so silly.
Perhaps its greatest claim, and the one at the core of it claim to authenticity, is that of spontaneity:
The beauty of the show is that it is impossible to guess exactly what the evening has in store; perhaps an unexpected seisiún amongst the musicians, or a dancer might suddenly be motivated to jump up on stage unannounced. Always evolving, The Magic of Ireland reflects the spirit of Irish tradition and has brought into being what began as a simple idea. It is exactly what an Irish dance show is meant to be – authentic, live, and a sheer delight.
Warrensburg, MO
You can see The Magic of Ireland on Tuesday February 26, 2008, in Hendricks Hall at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri at 7:30pm. Tickets are priced at $16, $21, and $28 - which is excellent value, and students are half-price. The box office phone number is 660-543-8607 or you always use TicketMaster
Columbia, MO
You can also see The Magic of Ireland at the University of Missouri in Columbia on Monday February 25, 2008 at 7pm. Tickets are $14, $16, $18, children $12 - which is even better value - and can be purchased online
The official website is here, though it doesn’t list any tour dates.
This event will be posted on the KC Irish Events calendar.
See More on this Sweeping Irish Dancing Pizazz:
• Lord of the Dance Insults Eileen Ivers
• Irishness to Oirishness: The Flatley Dance
• Flatley Troubles Troubles
• Flatley The Re-inventor
• Irish Choral Music & Celtic Underpants
• Scottish-based Irish Dancer Faster than God
• How To Do Irish Dancing
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