Riverdance good or bad? Good. Definitely.

1) The Performance: It itself is good. Several of the composed pieces were 'composed in the tradition' and pass very well for traditional tunes. In particular I really loved the tune "The Countess Cathleen". It reminds me of "Ashokan Farewell" in that you feel it must be hundreds of years old despite the fact it was recently composed. By the way I've searched for the sheet music to it in vain, if anyone knows a source I'd be greatful. The band was excellent as were the dancers and choir.

2) Legacy: I think Riverdance did for Irish culture what Ken Burns "Civil War" series did for the American civil war. I mean all I can say is that on our local PBS station, ever since the onset of Riverdance, there have been a score of Irish programs every year (usually just about 'pledgetime'!). The recent rage is a series of concerts by the "3 Irish Tenors". Not only music & dance, but historical documentaries as well have flourished. The people are not satisfied with just Riverdance.

So I guess what I am saying is that people who had never seen or heard any of Irish culture are being turned onto it. If such a person is drawn to it, then they are not going to be content to just rewind 'Riverdance' in their VCRs over and over, but are going to seek more of this stuff out and ask questions such as "What is this?", "Where does it come from?" and "Where do I go to find more?".

3) Irish Pride: I (by the way, I have Irish roots) have perceived a certain 'nationalistic pride' in the people of Ireland since this worldwide fascination with their culture began after Riverdance. Let's face it, as a nation it does not have the triumphant history of many lands and has spent much of the last 3 or 4 hundred years in a perpetual state of civil war, hardly an environment in which to build up societal institutions. To some degree it has always lacked a little self esteem, perhaps feeeling like the 'illegitimate little brother' of England . It seems now that, through the music and dance, it is saying "Yes we ARE different, we have our OWN identity, are OWN history, our OWN integrity!"

THese are just my few thoughts, YMMV, of course.

Keith