Riverdance 30 - De Montfort Hall Review

Review by Emma

Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review

Confession; this was my first ever time seeing Riverdance.

I’m not sure what I expected the show to be; maybe 15 or so people holding hands in a line, dressed in gorgeous emerald green dresses (the girls) and sequinned shirts (the boys), dancing for two hours without moving their arms. Honestly, I thought I was going to be so bored. But this show is way more than that.

From the very first tap on the stage, the audience was transported into a world where Irish tradition met contemporary energy. This show isn’t just Irish dancing. It’s a meeting of styles and a story told across different cultures.

The production feels fresh and more experimental than the stuff I’ve seen on TV over the past 30 years. A video screen behind the dancers shows breathtaking visuals, from rivers and trees to cityscapes and mountains. Flamenco dancer Rocio Dusmet displayed an incredible fiery talent, and the Riverdance Dervish Ensemble (Vlad Gasnas, Nicoleta Suhari, Ana Turcan, and Eugeniu Turcan) added some impeccable athletic spectacle. One standout scene, set in New York, pitted tap dancers Dharmesh Patel and Cipher Goings against three Irish dancers (Kieran Bryant, Will Bryant and Fergus Fitzpatrick) in a West Wide Story-esque ‘tap off’. Personally, this was my highlight of the show; it was fun, it was uplifting and energetic, and it was different.

Of course, the original Irish dancing choreography was still there. At the centre of the production was precision of the lead dancers (Anna Mai Fitzpatrick and Kieran Bryant – the friend who came with me remarked, “well he reckons himself” when Bryant entered the stage, but this air of arrogance, whether fakes or not, certainly added to the performance). Sharp, percussive footwork, technical brilliance and synchronicity of the whole troupe created a sense of awe each time they erupted into unison taps. 

The live band – Cathal Croke (uilleann pipe and whistle), Emma McPhilemy (saxophone) and Hayley Richardson (fiddle) - brought an infectious energy that lifted each scene, while the songs dotted throughout added depth and emotion.Special mention must go to musical director Mark Alfred, who apparently plays every percussion instrument known to man and didn’t seem to take a single rest throughout the entire show.

I worried that the larger, full-cast numbers might have made the stage feel crowded but clever directing and a use of steps meant that it never did. The blend of movement, music, and voice ensured that the artistry shone through.

This production is not only a celebration of 30 years of Riverdance. It was a reminder of how rhythm unites us, how stories travel across borders, and how art continues to move us.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Riverdance 30 plays at De Montfort Hall in Leicester until 4th November 2025 with tickets available from https://www.demontforthall.co.uk/

The show tours internationally through the remainder of 2025 and into 2026. Full information can be found at https://riverdance.com/