How did Riverdance begin ?
In 1993, having won the Eurovision Song Contest, Ireland, and the RTE (Radio Telefis Ireland, Ireland’s public radio and television network) had to organize the 1994 Contest in Dublin. Producer Moya Doherty was given the task of producing the show. An act had to be prepared for the interval, while the various national juries voted. She had the idea of putting together two American born traditional Irish dancers, Michael Flatley and Jean Butler, together with the choir Anuna and twenty traditional Irish dancers, to choreograph an Irish dance number for the interval. Composed by Bill Whelan, this number, called Riverdance, was so successful (it sold more copies than the song who won the Contest this year), that it was decided to expend it as a stage show. The show opened in Dublin in 1995, and the rest is history.
