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Jack Hartin
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Jack Hartin
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Jack Hartin
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Jack Hartin
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Jack Hartin
Riverdance will perform in Roanoke for one night only at the Berglund Center on January 31, 2018. Learn more information or buy tickets at their website here.
Riverdance Associate Director Padraic Moyles was a lead dancer before transitioning into the role of Associate Director for the 20th Anniversary production. As a Dublin native who emigrated to New York at nine years old, Moyles has been involved with dancing and the stage since he was 12 years old, joining Riverdance in 1997. He became Dance Captain and Principal Dancer and was also nominated for an Ovation Award for his leading role.
We spoke about his role, the hardest and most rewarding parts of the show, his future and more. Get to know Padraic Moyles and learn more about the incredible performance that is Riverdance!
Tell us about your background and how you became involved with Riverdance?
I started in 1997, auditioned for the show and was one of those lucky few to get in. I really haven't turned back since, started as a team member, understudy, dance captain, so on and so forth. To us, no matter what your role, you're a member of the team and you're just happy to be part of it all.
What does your role as Associate Director entail?
It kind of covers everything within the show, the vast majority of things. It's the hiring of the talent and finding the talent, attention to detail is paid on and off the stage, making sure costumes are right and lighting and choreography and performances. It's all of those things into one. What's great is there are so many people on the road in positions as your eyes and while I'm not on the road as much as I used to be, we go visit from time to time to make sure everything is in order.
These days I get video of all the shows no matter whet we are, so it's great I can watch those every day and 9 out of 10 times you look back in amazement of the talent on stage. There's no doubt technology has helped us in keeping an eye on more at once. Every show is videoed and stored and we can watch it every single day. It's the same for all of our team in the office, we can all watch the show and technology has helped us so much, even in terms of the show with graphics and screens.
How does it feel to be part of Riverdance for the last 20 years, and now be in your Associate Director position?
I suppose it's, for me, an honor and many ways a privilege. It's globally recognized, has a great reputation and the cast and crew look after each other. It's all those things that make you understand what it is you're part of; quite often you take it for granted, but out on the road, I see these dancers and team and family getting to do something they love every single day. It reminds me I get to do what I love everyday. We don't go to work, we simply do what we love to do.
In many ways it's just the most amazing feeling in the world. We have to pinch ourselves to help ourselves realize what we're a part of; when you're a part of Riverdance, it's something so deep-rooted in our culture, you realize you're an ambassador not just for the show but the country. We represent the country around the world, as do the Russians in the show or American tap dancers or Spanish dancers. It's something we all take extremely seriously but we have the time of our lives out there.
What do you think makes Riverdance so captivating/popular for audiences?
I think in many cases it's the attention to detail, and peak performance of the athletes and dancers on that stage. It's the way they pay attention to their mindset and physical look and exercise routines, their nutrition and rest and recovery. Those are their four key pillars on the road in terms of making sure they can perform at peak performance.
The music is absolutely extraordinary and are Grammy-award-winning scores. It's magical and timeless; having performed myself over 5,000 times, it never gets old. Put it with the choreography, costumes and lighting, it brings such a magic that everyone wants to see in theater. Everyone dancing perfectly in sync, being the best they can be and their energy and joy, it resonates with the audience. They come for an amazing time and leave happy; that's what you want at the end of the night, people at the top of their game and giving everything they have. I think that keeps people coming back.
How do you keep Riverdance new and fresh, especially in its 20th year or for audiences who come back time after time?
The best way we keep it fresh in terms of talent that continues to come in; we have dancers in the show that weren't born when it started! In the American version, we have the first child of a Riverdance couple; it's extraordinary to see how long it's lasted. In many ways, we constantly update the costumes to make sure they're of today, and lighting with technology, we've seen and changed that to be cutting edge. We have so many ideas for 25th anniversary with technology. It's probably the talent base that changes the most and keep sit so fresh. To me at this moment in time, and having been in the show myself dancing for 18 years, it's hard not to admit that this is probably the fittest and most talented group of performers we've ever had in terms of they way they go about their business, how professional they are, how they execute on stage. Every night is an opportunity to improve and they approach every day with that mindset. They're pushing to the next level and wanting it be the best.
What is the hardest thing about Riverdance (from learning new dances to schedule to...?)
I think there are two things – one, the travel. It's extremely tough on the dancers and they don't realize it because they're doing what they love to do. I don't travel as much as I used to now because I don't have the same role, but it's only now I realize how difficult it was. All those journeys, bus trips, flights...someday they'll realize how difficult it was, but they'll say how much they loved it.
Another difficult part is helping the audience to understand what Riverdance actually is. Many times over the year people might say they've seen us or the show in certain places, and you know we've never played there. The brand, as helpful as it is to us, no matter where people see Irish dancing, they think it's Riverdance. So in many ways that can be a challenge to help them understand or get a better idea that although the brand is big, Riverdance the show was the original, the best – when you think you've seen it, to make sure you've seen it.
What do you love most about Riverdance?
What's there not to love? It's given me my livelihood, helped me meet my wife, Niamh, and we have two beautiful children. I get to do what I love every single day. The great thing to me are two things – one, the ethos and mindset that people in the company have in terms of growing, positivity, being the best we can be all the time, I love that. I love the fact that Riverdance is 23 years on the road and everyone involved consistently thinks about how we can be better.
The second thing, right up there with it, is watching the reaction of the people out there. The standing ovations, kids dancing in the audience, the crowds that try to mimic what we do while we're sitting on the bus and they don't realize we can see them. In some way you've made someone's day a little bit better and their expectations were exceeded.
What's in your future – more Riverdance?
We hope there will always be a Riverdance. We're planning for our 25th anniversary, we have a number of show under the same umbrella that we all work on as well. We're constantly busy and I never, for one moment, thought I'd be involved in theater or in this position, but I've been involved since I was 12 years old. It's just weird how life works sometimes and I always thought I'd be a professional sports person somehow, and here you are doing what you love to do. I hope to be involved with this company for the rest of my life and I'd be happy to do that as long as we have the same goals in wanting to improve and creativity and being the best we can be with new shows and pushing boundaries, as long as all of us within the company are looking for growth and pushing to the next level.
You've danced for many notable individuals from around the world, including Michelle Obama and Queen Elizabeth II – any other performances come to mind that you're particularly proud of?
Probably the first time I danced for my parents, when I did the lead. I never told my mother I was going to be the lead and kept it a secret. My dad and myself were the only ones in on it, he wanted to keep it a secret from her so she could experience it for the first time in an unbelievable way. He knew how much she loved me dancing and I wanted to quit so many times, but my mother kept me in it and encouraged me. He wanted to give her the element of surprise and I'll never forget it.
And dancing for my own teacher, Donny Golden; he helped me understand what it was to be passionate about something and find the passion within something. I wanted to quit numerous times, but it was really Donny who helped me find passion within performance and he took me to Riverdance for the first time to show what it could be like. My first performance for him was very special and I owe a lot to him.
What advice would you give aspiring dancers hoping to be part of Riverdance?
I suppose one thing I would say is quite often we give up and what we don't always realize is we set a goal and have a plan. A goal without a plan is just a wish. When you set these goals, make sure to have a plan. When you follow that plan through at some moments you're going to want to quit. My best piece of dance – you're never as close to your goal as the day you quit, so there's no point in quitting. We can go through it step by step and keep pushing but the day you quit is the day you were closest to achieving that goal.