Customer Reviews

Riverdance - Live from Geneva

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I would not recommend this version if you have not seen Riverdance before. Some of the scenes are ruined because of the almighty closeup. A good portion of the show is watching the dancers torso, not complete dancer, with feet moving. All you watch is their smiling face bobbing up and down. This version is also much slower then others I have seen; many slow songs and watching people playing musical instruments. I would only get this if you are collecting the different Riverdance shows. Buy Michael Flately's version if you are new to Riverdance. Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames great.

I own the one shot in Radio City and I love it, the kids that I baby-sit throw it in the vcr and dance away with it. It is an amazing show. I recently bought this version and it's atrocious!!! Everything is in red, the dancing is sloppy,the extra scenes are not worth having, and there's fog. This show used to be "classy" I guess you could say, and that was what set it apart from showier shows like the one (because they are all the same with a few added numbers and new costumes)Micheal Flatley runs. Like the other viewer said...Moya Dougherty said that there was a fine line that they couldn't cross, and it has definately been crossed. If you like Michael Flatley's show then you'll like this, maybe. If you liked the other Riverdance...save your money.

If you have followed RIVERDANCE seriously, this version will make you remember Moya Doherty's warning in A JOURNEY about crossing the line. What with the blinding entrance backlights, smoke machines, swaying hips, headset mics and the ugliest costumes this side of Vegas - the line is barely to be found in this tired, truncated incarnation.
You should own it, however, for the inspired performance of the splendid Breandan de Gallai and for the American tap dancers.

I just bought this Riverdance, and also have the older version shot in Radio City Music Hall. I like this one better. It is longer, for starters; about two hours. It shows close-ups of the dancers feet, which I liked. I was wishing the girls were wearing something besides black tights and dark skirts against a dark background, so I could see their legs better. But, the dancing was very good. The orchestra, with an assortment of instruments, was quite appealing. The violinist dancing around while she was playing was nice, too.

In Michael Flatley's DVDs the costumes are much more colorful. I would have preferred more of that. Bright colors are nice. I never could understand the storyline, if there is one. It includes the Irish dancing, which is why I wanted to buy the DVD. But it includes black tap dancers, which you can see all the time on television. The story includes traveling to other countries, other shores. Why, I do not know. It seemed forced. I would have preferred more Irish dancing. If they needed variety, they could have included some Scottish Highland Flings, or sword dancers, instead.

I only buy DVDs that I intend to watch more than once. This certainly is one of them. I do plan to go back and back to it, watching it over and over.

You'd have to be a real negative purist to call this bad. It's a SLIGHTLY changed/updated version of the original show. So there's new sets, costumes and props but the songs, music and dancing is STILL Riverdance.
Don't let a couple of obsessed elistist dissaude you from enjoying this.

The first thing that I said to myself when I watched it was "What's wrong with the lighting?" Sometimes the dancers are completley in the dark! I really can't see how the lead female singer was put in the show, she has an ok voice but she doesn't blend with the others. I enjoyed watching Shivna and I liked the changes made to Ri Ra. I saw a version very similar to this, with a few costume changes, and it was amazing.
If this is your first time buying a Riverdance dvd I highly recommend The Best of Riverdance or Riverdance - The Show. Over all Riverdance is Riverdance, a show like no other no matter how many changes they make.

Update: I think I've figured out why they've made the changes which take away much of the Magick that is Riverdance. The people I work with know how crazy I am about all things Celtic. So, bless 'em, they thought I would like Michael Flatley's latest creation, Celtic Tiger, and got me that for my holiday gift this year.

After watching that HIDEOUSLY TACKY travesty of a show, it seems like whoever is in charge of RD these days is trying to compete with Sacred meets Vegas and Vegas wins junk that Mr. Flatley has produced!

So, come on, take RD back to it's Magickal, Lovely, Sacred Roots!

What are they thinking? Who changed the number that originally featured Davey Spillane playing the pipes? Why on Earth would anyone want to take one of the most soul-hauntingly lovely pieces of Sacred Musick ever written amd make subtle alterations to it?

And the sound quality of the tape leaves a lot to be desired! As always, the performers are AWESOME! And I've gotten over the trauma of knowing that I'll never get to see Michael and Jean live! Just kidding about the trauma part, however the RD of my dreams DEFINIETELY has those two in the lead roles!

But come on, a Lugh with black hair! The best Lugh I've actually seen live was Patrick Roddy. The best Brigit I've seen live is Eileen Martin.

The last time I saw RD live was about a year ago, and this was the version that I saw and it kind of made me think that RD was trying to go Hollywood!

However, there were a few good things about the changes. The narration about how it's all a journey from one lifetime to the next and the inclusion of the Shivna number! It's quite good!

I wouldn't realy advise buying this tape unless you are a RD nut like I am and buy anything about RD that you can get your hands on!

I happen to own this show on video. I can honestly say that pretty much everything is the same. There is nothing very special about this. I also own the first riverdance and the show done live in new York city. I like those shows better. If I were to own this on DVD I would not watch any of it. I consider this version of the show to be a bit boring. The music as well as the dancing are pretty much the same.

I have loved Riverdance since the first time I saw it on PBS. I could wait till I received my Riverdance: Live from New York DVD so many years ago. Recently, I had a chance to see it on tour when it came to Los Angeles. I had been waiting for that moment so long and it was everything I could hope for (with the exception of them having removed the song "Home in the Heartland" which any ture fan knows brought the story full circle). That night, I ordered not only Riverdance: Live from Geneva, but also Jean Butler's Irish Dance DVD (Which I would recommend). To make a long story short, don't waste your time with this version of the show. The main female singer is absolutely horrible (Definitely doesn't hold a candle to Katie MacMahon's original vocals), and the lead female dancer's too short hair drove me crazy. Do yourself a favor and purchase the 1999 DVD Live from New York. I promise you won't be disappointed.

I bought this DVD and enjoy it tremendously, the only problem is that the lead female singer? She takes the haunting, dreamy melodies that are beautiful in every other version of the show, and turns them into ear-pierceing, cringe-worthy caricatures of the original. It leads to a terrible experience for the viewer! In contrast, the male lead singer has a gorgeous voice, its just unfortunate that he was paired up with that singer.