The Flying Irish

So I was very excited to be able to go see River Dance on Friday April 1st. I went with my parents, Lindsay, Jordan, Jake, Olivia, and Isabel.

Before the show Jordan and Jake were having a discussion that was making me laugh. They were talking about World War II. Jake's favorite person throughout all history was a General Name Erwin Rommel. They were taking about the invasion of Poland, Yugoslavia (or some Country like that. I can't remember.) They were having a philosophical discussion about what Hitler could have done to put himself ahead in the war. Jake was saying if they had moved ahead with a particular siege earlier they would have had a major advantage. It was just making me laugh. Then Lindsay pulled out this map of of the Pacific Islands and arrows and battle plans. She said that this is what Jake does during Sacrament meeting at church. And there is a couple in the ward that sits behind them and googles the maps on their Iphone to make sure Jake is accurate. It was making me laugh that this 10 year old might be smarter than I am. He is so funny.

Anyway. River dance was so much fun. There was a surprising variety, no necessarily music wise, but dance wise. There was Irish Step Dancing, Flamenco, Tap, etc. All of the dancers were so talented. The "Lord of the Dance" was really enjoying himself. He was so tall and slender and was literally flying across the stage. It was incredible. My favorite part was the second half that is set in America. The Irish Dancers and the American Tappers have a West Side Story Dance off. They get more elaborate and start teasing and in a sense mocking each other but the fight ends with mutual respect on both sides. That's probably redundant but oh well.

Anyway I was half watching the Dancers and partway watching the Musicians. The Fiddler is a champion violinist. He started playing the show when he was 16, the youngest fiddler in the shows history. He was so great. I was interested in his technique and came to a conclusion. True Irish Fiddling is so different than the style that I learned. From how much bow he uses to how he holds the bow, its a very distinctive style.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go.