The Ireland-based “Riverdance” troupe has been entertaining crowds around the world for decades, leaving audience members breathless with their expertly choreographed, fleet-footed routines. But they recently performed at a much more local level, to a much smaller audience.
Each year, the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland hosts an Alzheimer’s Tea Day to honor people who are affected by either Alzheimer’s or Dementia. The team helps raise funds for organizations that work on their behalf.
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Alzheimer’s Tea Day is especially close to members of Riverdance, whose former director of operations, Ronan Smith, suffers from early onset dementia.
This year, Alzheimer’s Tea Day was held on May 3, and more than a dozen members of the troupe arrived at the Orchard Day Care Centre in Blackrock, a suburb of Dublin.
Clients there got front-row seats to the performance of a lifetime, kicked off by lead soloist Edel Murphy singing “Cloudsong,” accompanied by a charity choir.
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They must’ve been sorry for this beautiful song to end, but it perfectly transitioned into one of this world-renown troupe’s signature routines.
The dance part of the performance started off with a solo dancer skipping and kicking her way across the floor.
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Followed about a minute later by her male counterpart…
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By the time these two start dancing together, they’re more than halfway through the routine, and the audience probably would’ve been perfectly happy watching just them. But suddenly, several more step out from each side of the room and join in without missing a beat…
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Moments later, even more dancers flood the stage, spreading out until they form a virtual wall between the audience and the back part of the room. How incredible is this?!
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We’ll never know how they managed to execute this so perfectly in such a small room, considering the stages on which they usually perform are at least 10 times larger. But that just speaks to this group’s incredible ability to adapt, no matter where they happen to be.
Check out this fantastic performance in the clip below, and remember to share to help them spread awareness about and compassion for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia.
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