The Best of Riverdance

The history of Riverdance is greatly appreciated on this DVD as the story lines are similar but different too and the lead performers give their heart and soul to make this so special

This DVD is NOT, nor was it designed to be, a seamless copy of Riverdance - The Show. It is a documentary covering the history of Riverdance from the initial dance done at a competition through the first 10 years of the vastly expanded Riverdance - The Show, and is narrated by Jean Butler (the first lead female dancer). Every dance and musical interlude is included, even the added dances. Several different lead dancers are shown. The DVD isn't a pure documentary, however, because it has editorial comment. I do not know, of course, if the editorial comment was scripted or was Jean Butler's personal view.I came away believing several things. First, Riverdance was a very special creation, groundbreaking in many ways and worthy of its fame. Second, it was/is a mistake to have multiple troupes with varied abilities. There are some singers and dancers who are definitely not the caliber of the first troupe. The bell-like purity of voice of the first female lead singer simply has been lost in some later renditions, and several male dancers' high kicks are a travesty compared to, say, Michael Flatley's.Which brings me to the male lead dancers. I have the video tape of the original Dublin performance (I wish it currently was available as a USA-compatible DVD). Here was the man who danced that first Riverdance performance, who was the chief choreographer for the expanded Riverdance - The Show, and who was the lead dancer. He danced with a joy that was special and unique; he was uplifted by the ovations. He is the man who holds the Guinness World Record for taps in one second. His high kicks are phenomenal. His ability was at a whole level not attained by the other male lead dancers in the DVD, who (if the DVD title is to be believed) are the best dancers. Don't get me wrong: they are very good - or even excellent - dancers; however, compared to Michael Flatley they are second string. Further, in some instances the expression on their faces (especially the one that replaced Michael Flatley) was more "I showed you" than exuberant joy over the dance itself.I confess I don't like the pas de deux that was added to The Show. It is a lovely pas de deux - don't get me wrong - but just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the dances. The Irish, Flamenco, and American-tap dances (and the Russian folk-style number) all have a certain "feel" that is totally different from (and disrupted by) the pas de deux.I am glad I purchased the DVD. I'd never seen even a clip of the original dance performed at that international venue; it was great to see the origins of this wonderful show. It was also great to see Michael and Jean react to the ovation at that performance: it is hard to imagine now, with the show a world-wide phenomenon, that this was the first time a huge audience gave a standing ovation to "Irish clog dancing" - so it is hard to grasp the amazement and joy they felt. Also, I finally heard the meaning of each dance, which was not explained on the video of the Dublin performance. Jean Butler's explanations are clear and concise, and allowed me to watch each segment at a deeper level, starting to understand the meaning while still appreciating the beauty, art, hard work, and talent.As a documentary - which is what it is - I recommend it.

I’m glad I purchased this DVD, it does give greater insight to the show, and I love the Riverdance shows and Michael Flatley’s productions. They all suffer from editing problems, but Riverdance more. The compilation editing didn’t bother me, the changes of costumes can be visually jarring, but that is what a compilation is. The Jean Butler commentary was what gave the greater insight, even after watching the special features of the other Riverdance DVDs. Jean’s commentary wasn’t excessive, and I didn’t think distracting.The video quality made me wonder if some was filmed in 4:3 and blown up to fill a 16:9 screen, very marginal video quality, even for concert video. The editing isn’t any worse than the other Riverdance DVDs, which is where the video came from. There are times in every one of the Irish Dance DVDs, Riverdance, or Flatley’s, when you want to scream, ‘Don’t show me half a dancer, maybe a face now and then, but always whole dancers. You have twenty-plus dancers on stage at one time, why, if you’re only going to show five or ten. I am satisfied with this DVD with those qualifications. The one star I dropped was for the video quality, I think it should have been better.

I was intrigued by Riverdance when it first came out more than ten years ago, but I've never seen the show live and in person. I have a VHS copy of the original show lying around and I love it! When I wanted to update my copy with a DVD version of the same thing, I was surprised to learn that one is not available (anyone know when it will be available?) So, I bought the best of DVD hoping for the best but not really expecting it ...well, I was pleasantly surprised. Now, I'm not familiar with all the different versions of the show or the principal dancers (Breandan de Gallai is GEORGOUS, though), but I enjoyed seeing the different lead dancers, the different costumes and backgrounds. A previous reviewer complained about the editing of the various shows and the commentary by Jean Butler, but these elements enhanced my enjoyement of the show. In fact, I want to buy all the different versions of the show and have a whole set of Riverdance because of this DVD. I also want to get out and actually SEE the show live (anyone know when Riverdance is coming to the state of Texas again?) So, I am very satisfied with this DVD. I would recommend this DVD to anyone who likes Riverdance and to anyone who wants to get a comprehensive overview of the different shows throughout the years.

My love of Celtic culture grew independently of the Riverdance phenomenon, nevertheless, when the two merged, it was like fire and oil, developing a bright, hot flame.So I was pleased to find a piece of work that attempted to document the Riverdance story. I saw the very first Riverdance, performed during the Eurosong festival, and I watched it as it developed into the massively monumental work it now is. I so thoroughly enjoyed the Riverdance segment performed in Ireland for the Special Olympics (introduced by Pierce Brosnan--an Irishman) that I watched it four times in a row.More importantly, I learned something about the characters involved in this phenomenon. I learned that yes, indeed, Michael Flatley for all his brilliance on the dance floor, has an ego the size of the Titanic (and may have the same fate some day--ah but I digress). I learned that the founders of the show were scared but determined. I learned that more than once misfortune befell the troupe, but they recovered and triumphed anyway.This is a documentary, it is not a show. So don't expect it to flow smoothly. You may find the juxtapositions of the various versions a little unnerving, but if you can handle it, and if you are the kind of person who enjoys the backstory behind the success, this DVD is for you, and you'll not regret purchasing it.

River Danceは大好きで、NYでも東京でも何度も観ています。ダンスはライブがいいに決まっているので、CDしか持っていませんでしたが、オリジナルメンバーのダンスが観れるとあって今回購入。素晴らしかったです！すでに何度も観ています。小さい画面でも十分楽しめます。

満足！アイルランドの音楽の良さが十分にわかる一枚です。購入価値ありです。

A good watch if you like " river dance'

The following is a very detailled review of this DVD. It was actually better than I expected. Here is a review of all parts of the DVD- I enjoyed having Jean Butler doing commentary.- The intro was pretty cool.Reel Around the Sun: Basically the entire clip from the 1995 video, so it was extremely good. 5/5The Heart's Cry: Katie McMahon's rendition from the New York video. I would have preferred the 1995 version since it wasn't really Katie McMahon's in the first place 4/5Countess Cathleen/Women of the Sidhe: A compilation of the New Yourk video and the 2002 video from Geneva. This was what I had heard about: the panning from one clip to the other. It was nice seeing Jean Butler but it wasn't the original version and I have previously complained about how many times Joanne Doyle went on "pointe" so to speak. It was ok, but I didn't like all the splicing and the fact that they didn't use the original. And the worst part was that they used the 2002 music. 3.5/5Coineadh Cu Chulainn: They used the original 1995 clip by Davy Spillane, so it was nice. 4.5/5Shivna: The only tape that they had with this on it was the 2002 version. This was the only thing I LIKED about the 2002 tape. 4.5/5Firedance: The clip from the 1995 version with Michael Flatley. This is my favourite out of all the Firedances. 5/5Slip Into Spring/Harvest: This was from the New York tape. I LOVE the violinist in this one. 5/5Riverdance: The dance that started it all. Of course, they did clips from all three tapes and again, they used the music from the 2002 tape. It was o.k. for me, but since it was the the main thing, I'll be generous 4/5American Wake: Only the 2002 clip. The good thing about it was that they got costumes that were closer to what the clothes were like back when all the Irish moved to America. It's a fun dance, so I'm not all that disappointed. 4.5/5Lift the Wings: They started with the original clip which was great. I could actually sing along to it because it was in a key I could sing to. Then they went to the New York version which was fine and dandy, just not in my key which totally ruined my chances at becoming a Riverdance singer. Then they went to the 2002 version. HOW DARE THEY PUT THAT HORRIBLE SINGING WOMAN!! I HATE HER!!! 3/5Heal Their Hearts/Freedom: The 2002 Soprano and the 1995 choir. I would have preferred the New York Soprano and the entire Freedom song from 1995, but it was still more than satisfactory. 4/5Trading Taps: Was cool. It was the New York version. Not a whole lot to say about it. 4/5Marta's Dance/The Russian Dervish: Another sad mix of a bunch of renditions and the 2002 music. But, I'm not extremely mad about it, they put all three versions and they ended it with the guy who looks a bit like Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam (I know, I suck) 4/5Slow Air Tunes: A musical piece. The start was very lame but then became that violinist that I love with Maria Pages on castanets. 4.5/5Ri Ra: Wait a sec, Jean said this was Oscail An Doras!! RIP OFF! I was hoping for the 1997 version (which rocked, by the way) but all I got was the sucky 2002 version 2/5Home and the Heartland: Katie McMahon sang the whole thing. She couldn't have not sung it since in the 2002 version they didn't do it. 3.5/5Heartland: My all time favourite part of the show and also my all time favourite version: The Original!!! 5/5Finale: Just a bunch of clips of finales. Not anything special. 3.5/5Documentary: Absolutely AWESOME! I have so little to say because it's so good! 5/5In Show Out: Sucked. I have little to say because it is so LAME. Just a speeded up tape of the setup of the Riverdance set, the performance and how they demolished it. 1/5Special Olympics Ceremony: Was pretty cool. I just hated how they tried to show all the feet of the dancers because they were going so quickly that you could hardly see them. 3.5/5Overall I liked it a lot and thought it was a good money's worth, especially since it was a LOT less than what I had seen it for at another store. I am very pleased with it because I had read some very sad reviews about this DVD, but I gave it a chance and I really liked it so even if you read bad reviews, give this DVD a chance, you'll like at least something about it.

It's a DVD of River dance ....