It’s almost a quarter of a century since Riverdance ignited a passion for Irish Dance around the world and, since then, very little has changed – until now. The UK is experiencing a revolution in Irish dance and that revolution is called Emerald Storm. Gone are the traditional short skirts, gone are the rigid arms and emotionless faces and instead we have strength, attitude, emotion and ripped jeans all topped off with a stunningly powerful score – in short, Irish Dance just grew up!
The story starts in the Celtic Otherworld, a mythical Heaven, where peace and tranquility reign supreme. When sinister elements threaten this paradise, the Queen of the Otherworld must break the rule of the land and call upon a group of mortals, Emerald Storm, to save the legendary land from certain destruction.
Devotees of Irish Dance, and the Crawley audience is full of them, delight at the power of the dancers who, because Irish Dance wouldn’t be the same without it, perform several impeccably timed cannon lines, create patterns and lines across the stage with flawless precision and do it all to a score that mixes brand new songs, written by West End superstar Steve Balsamo, with more traditional Irish folk songs.
The set is quite basic, with just a few raised platforms, fences and drapes to create atmosphere, with a large projection screen displaying the video backdrops but, to be honest, no one is really here to admire the scenery when there is so much incredibly intricate choreography, created by Samantha Heather, that demands all our attention and focus.
Just as we are getting used to the ripped t-shirts, hot pants and jogging bottoms, the scene changes and we see four girls, barefoot and in pastel coloured floaty dresses, who take us right back to the traditional heart of Irish Dance with a beautiful routine accompanied by Helena Gullan, who takes the role of the Queen of the Otherworld, playing her violin.
Emerald Storm is so much more than an Irish Dance show, as evidenced by the amazingly acrobatic and gymnastic contemporary dance solo routine performed by Rebecca Hawkins, the comedic capers of Ben Farrall as he tries to impress the ladies with his dancing and the fiery passion of Stephen Johnson, Jade Spooner, Brendan Crawford and Sophia Parton who perform a ballroom dance piece that would right at home on Strictly.
The rest of the dancers, Lindsey Alexander, Charlotte O’Brien, Charlotte Spooner, Lizzie Stanley, Abbie Goodchild and Louis Geirnaert, work tirelessly to move the storyline along, with several quick changes helping to bring to life this tale of good versus evil.
Narrating the story, in dramatically written verse, is John-Philip Bowen. Casting an imposing shadow over the proceedings he warns of the impending doom for the Otherworld and, with soaring vocals that fill the huge auditorium, he powers his way through Whiskey in the Jar, fills us all with emotion in the stunning Balsamo composition Now It’s Time and has the audience totally silent in his incredible acapella version of Shenandoah.
Producers Duncan Heather, Samantha Heather and Mike Crawshaw have undertaken a huge task in taking such an iconic form of dance and blasting it into the 21st century but, judging by the amount of people who take to their feet as the finale unfolds, it is a task they have completed very successfully and they will now be responsible for bringing Irish Dance to a whole new generation.
**** Four Stars