Lord Of The Dance Enjoys Visit To Oz

Illawarra Mercury

Thursday October 25, 2007

KILMENY ADIE

THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND

Saturday, 5pm and 8pm:

Illawarra Performing Arts Centre

Adults $59.90; concessions $49.90; children $44.90

Bookings: 4226 3366

By the end of this visit to Australia, dancer David Moore will have visited more of the country's cities and regional centres than most natives will in their lifetime.

The performer has returned to Australia for his fourth visit and this trip is linked to his lead role in The Rhythms of Ireland.

The show will tour Australia for more than seven weeks, taking in capital cities as well as regional centres such as Kalgoorlie, Frankston and Carnarvon.

"(I have friends in) Western Australia, NSW and Victoria and they say 'you have seen more of Australia than we have'," he laughs.

The production combines Irish dance and music and includes traditional singing and, of course, the style of dance made popular by Riverdance and Michael Flatley.

Moore, who did a stint as the lead in Riverdance, says this production differs from others of its ilk.

"The show is completely live. That means the dance, the music and every tap, sound and rhythm is completely live," he says.

"(In other shows there is) no room for any mistakes.

"In this, if there's a mistake it gives you the opportunity to play with the audience and have fun with them. If something does go wrong you give them a wink or a smile," he says.

However, Moore says, this does not mean being a performer in The Rhythms of Ireland is an easy affair.

The show has already completed at least three weeks of touring and this includes more than 23 performances, or an average of two shows a day.

While Moore says he enjoys touring, his attention is firmly focused on his performance.

"We're not going to see great tourist attractions in every place we go to," Moore says. "I don't get a lot of time off. Most days it's two shows and then a day of travel. It's tough."

However, that does not stop the Irishman from logging on to the internet and searching for information on his next destination.

He says the Wikipedia website is a useful resource for learning about the sights, sounds and history of places like the Illawarra.

Interestingly, dance was not always the focus of the performer from Drogheda in County Louth. He began lessons when he was eight and by the time he was 12 he had competed internationally and was a world Irish dance champion.

During his teenage years he gave dance away until Riverdance burst onto the scene and Moore says he saw it would provide him with a invaluable opportunity.

So, while studying for his degree, he travelled a four-hour round trip three times a week for intensive dance lessons and practised for three hours a day when he didn't have a class.

"It took me the year and a half to get up to scratch," he says.

"I hadn't danced through my teenage years ... but I still had a love it for."

Fortunately, his love of dance coincided with an international passion for the art form and paved the way for him to make it his career.

"It was a great opportunity to travel the world and see some of the most beautiful places and work in prestigious theatres," he says.

"For me it has been an education that, even if I worked for the rest of my lifetime, I couldn't have afforded to pay for.

"When I think about it, it's quite amazing to me still."

© 2007 Illawarra Mercury

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