Riverdance first appearance on US network TV - The Late Show with David Letterman.
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- čas přidán 29. 09. 2016
- #FlashbackFriday. On 8th March 1996, Riverdance made its debut performance on US Network TV, appearing to rapturous audience on The Late Show with David Letterman. Featuring Riverdance leads Jean Butler and Colin Dunne, the talented cast of the Riverdance Irish Dance Troupe, Riverdance fiddler Eileen Ivers and the Riverdance musicians.
The Riverdance 20th Anniversary - 2017 North American tour is now on sale! riverdance.com/tours/ - Zábava
There is no one like Jean Butler. Her performance still stands the test of the time
she's stunning
I have never had an interest in dance or Irish music. I saw this episode of David Letterman live back in the day. And when Dave said “Irish dancers” I almost got up to go to the bathroom thinkin “uh, not for me”. I’m more of a metal head. But I decided to check it out. I was floored. The first time I heard the name “Riverdance” . I knew it wouldn’t be the last. Absolutely amazing talent. I was like “wow! What just happened?!” Very cool🤘🏻
I'm a metal head from Ireland and I still come back to Riverdance. There's something metal about it.
This dance never gets old. I can watch it over & over.
Riverdance is destined to make me burst in tears for the rest of my life!
Gets me every time. Synchronised perfection always does that.
I agree with you too Colin Dunne 💯
Riverdance isn't destined to make you burst in tears. You are destined to burst in tears when you hear Riverdance. Let's make that clear. The ego LOL
Does bullying a stranger on the internet help you feel better about yourself?
I’d ‘LOL’ but that would make me look as foolish as you.
No thanks.
@@dontfearthereaper2887
Me too!
I had honor to watch Riverdance25 in Dublin this month. I will never forget it, it was kind of magic.
Prob one of the best performances on David Letterman ever.
Jean Butler - The reason I got into Irish Dance and am still at it 14 years on.
She's married!
@@sidgillespie5879 shes saying that jean inspired her to be a dancer not romantically...
@@macaelatice-loma1048 I think I was joking back then.
She is the one and only
20+ years later Riverdance stands the test of time. Jean Butler is truly the lead female of Irish Dance.
Irish dancing in goes back a couple of hundred of years.
I beg to differ. It was all about Michael Flatley from the beginning. The promoters were idiots to push him out.
@@user-yx8bh9gu4t Though there is still debate about this, there are quite some stories that tell that Michael left himself, after a dispute about the show and its ingredients. But it doesn't matter. Michael went on to do his thing, became very big on his own and Riverdance was nothing more than a stepping stone for him.
I do feel Jean does not receive the credit she deserves for her role in Riverdance and everything that started with the Eurovision Song Contest interval-act.
Yea unfortunately she didn't stand longevity... Flatley did of course because he created this and revolutionized Irish dancing.
absolutely Jean Butler is the queen. she is Tatiana
Cant even imagine the hours and hours of practice! You just cant but smile watching this!
I wonder how many times I will watch this before I start to get bored. Think it's gonna be a long while.
I saw this show and couldn't believe my eyes and ears then and even now. Jean Butler is lighter than air and simply beautiful. I have seen it performed twice. Once in L.A. and once in Fresno. If you have Irish roots, it stirs the soul.
My beloved Daddy was never one to watch "dance" but when the full TV show was on, he was mesmerized - it seemed he wasn't even breathing while his eyes never moved from the screen. He was no sissy, but after the finale of the show, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said "I didn't think there was anybody could do that!" I'd say his very core, his soul, was truly stirred. I know there is UK blood ibn us but what part and how much UK I'm not sure but from his reaction, I'm positive there's Irish in us!!
@@Calliope0954
Absolutely love your comment!
Truly it does
I must have Irish roots from a past life because it definitely stirs my soul.
Anyone who has even a drop of Irish blood in them, will feel their spirits soar and their mood gladden upon seeing and hearing this.
I'm proud to be half Irish 🙂
I am English, but I get goosebumps watching these clips. Jean Butler will never be surpassed as the female lead dancer, as far as I am concerned, and as much as I like Michael Flatley's charisma, Colin Dunne was technically a superior dancer.
Jean was always so elegant and had that quintessential Celtic, Irish beauty to her.
Im only 1% Irish (mostly Ukranian), and when I was a teen, I literally bought tap shoes and a wooden board to tap dance along with Riverdance. I can't believe my parents never complained.
ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS ON EARTH ...
Maurice Brown
Jean is a phenomenal dancer.
This is the most stirring music in the world, wonderful dancing also of course
Saw it yesterday in Dubai opera and it was AMAZING.
The power, the beauty , the majesty.our magnificent culture is incredible
You mean irish culture yes it is beautiful
I will never forget this for as long as I live
ahhh Jean Butler....best Irish dancer EVER!
Best female dancer. Michael Flatley was the best ever male dancer, and even better than Butler
Is the view up your axx that comfortable?
@@Sanctified57
Despite being off an old tape, music and dancing sound amazing.
Small Stage..GREAT PERFORMANCE
All Letterman could say was "very nice"! I would have been shouting "WOW, that was incredible!! Absolutely amazing!" which is what I did say when I first watched them perform it during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest interval. It still wows me whenever I see it today. Absolutely amazing dancing and music. What a phenomenon it became after Eurovision! No other Eurovision interval performance can beat it for me. :)
I think Letterman is missing that gene! LOL
That's all he ever says/said... never liked the guy. Totally disingenuous. Neither funny, nor charismatic. And, so void of any awareness of Riverdance's origins mixed in with his own inept ego, he can't fathom that the pronunciation he persists with is so blatantly ignorant, that it only serves to spotlight his vacant and abrasive crassness.
Very nice lol
@@ZooxMazearen't you being just a wee bit harsh now? To me, he didn't come across as indifferent or dismissive of the cultural origins of the performance. Maybe he'd seen their rehearsals in studio leading up to its airing live and being that its a chat show, it's a very confined space and his show has a full line up of other guests to get to.
David Letterman said sitting there watching this performance was very exciting. Especially performed in the famous Ed Sullivan Theater. He said he was so close to the dancers, he could hear every step they made.
it makes our country so proud 🇮🇪💥
Just sublime, love Irish dance!!
Bravo, it was amazing👍😍🤩 🍀🍀👌👌
Great to see this clip which started my continued joy of RIVERDANCE. I took my teenaged daughter to a performance, or two, and have now taken my granddaughter. The fact that my daughter, living in Toronto now, has seen more performances than I have says it all. An incredible show and it is nice to pin down the date my fascination started.
Always welcome on my screen and in my heart!
They move and dance like a well oiled machine , such precision a tribute to their dedication
Colin Dunne is my favorite!
Colin Dunne just stood in and took the place... Flatley is who deserves the credit. Dunne just dances.... Flatley is the creator and the better dancer. just saying....
@@featherfawn9343 I disagree
Jean Butler has said, ‘Michael is good, Colin is superior.”@@featherfawn9343
What talent!
AMAZINGLY GLORIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL
Perfectly said!
Wow! They obviously swept America off their feet... 😁 I fell in love this concept when it first showed up on Eurovision in Ireland... Loved it ever since then! My parents actually went to one of their shows in Sweden. I deeply regret that I didn't join them... (I was young and stupid...😏 )
You gotta love the Irish
Fantastic dancing and let not forget the music and the band, it makes my dance
Colin Dunne will always be my favorite out of Flately and him.
Not in the same league as Flatley.
No, Colin is not in the same league as Flatley.
Colin is so much better.
Flatley’s ego gets in his way.
@@Sanctified57
@@Quaker-tc8ue I agree regarding the character assessment of Flatley but that shouldn’t colour one’s opinion of him as a dancer. let’s be real Colin Dunne is far inferior to Flatley it’s not even close. Flatley is indeed narcissistic type but what a showman, a force of nature, what charisma, what energy, and incredible talent and technique. He was and still is The Lord of The Dance. Shame he and Jean Butler didn’t hit it off on a personal level, but they had wonderful chemistry when performing together
What bullsh*t!
You need to fall out of love with Michael, accept that his flash is nothing, while Colin’s substance is superior.
Jean Butler, who has danced with both men in Riverdance, and personal feelings aside, has said, ‘Colin is the better dancer.’
I have seen much better dancers, in different genres, than Michael, so no, he is NOT ‘lord of the dance.’
It’s you, two years later, still looking a fool.
@@Sanctified57
It doesn’t get any better than that!
Nothing beats like the world's famous Irish dance troupe like no other and this one is legendary. 😊
We still have our Flatley VHS and a LaserDisc of one of the later shows. By Golly I think we even have our Riverdance CD. Nice going ofter 23 years :)
Finally some semi decent camera work showing us what we want to see!
jean Butler....most beautiful dancer since Cyd Charisse.
Maria Buffini does a good job also...Please see her dancing Riverdance for Queen Elizabeth.
saw RD and LOD in SFO years ago------Trump should appoint jean butler as the US ambassador to Ireland........JB would do a GREAT job for Trump and Ireland----------ERIN-GOGH- BRAGH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-------JB has to be the classiest woman in the world............another Jackie Kennedy-
Tadju50 by
Chills all the time, every time!
There was a documentary about this tour . Jean Butler was in a lot of pain from memory . Fantastic & so original in concept
Yes, i remember watching it.
She was having pain in one of her knees, she was possibly going to have to drop out of the show.
I also remember a sequence about ‘the floor at Radio City Music Hall,’ it was so much different than floors they were accustomed to dancing…very early on, some of the dancers were having muscle strains.
As a i recall, a massage therapist was ‘hired’ to help deal with it, and a ‘manager’ said, ‘just take it easy as best as you can.’
First - Jean Butler 😍
Infinite loop, she is awesome!
Infinite loop m
We're Talking Most Lovely and Talented here.
What´s the name of the song???
You would need the Riverdance New York video where the track names might be listed on the cover.
Lets go riverdance
jean butler best ever
Bravo!!
the stage was too small for their talent.
The audience was getting just a "taste" of what they'd see at Radio City Music Hall!
True... but under the circumstances... they more than excelled. It was quite a PEEK! ; )
Wish I was part of that audience.
you think, oh this is cool. then the six dance corps come out, and i thought that was it. still amazing. and then - BOOM. full troop. dead. killed dead in my own living room
I am loving it for EVER not IRISH BUT LOVE IT
Celts actually ranged from Spain and France to the Germanic World and of course the islands. Can also be linked back to the Indo-European cultural family.
Powerful sound... the marching Irish
Absolutely spellbinding😊
i love vintage riverdance. their tap dancing was more fun to watch
I have been in love with the woman for 25 years. Introduced my kid to Riverdance today and this is the pair I want her to see. The energy between these two people fucked with my head as a tiny teen and I guess I've been looking for that ever since.
Loved it then. Love it now. Fantastic!
The energy between Colin Dunne and Jean Butler was amazing - unlike when she danced with Michael Flaterly.
Michael only has room for Michael.
Totally disagree. Dunne looks wooden and lacks charisma, in trying to copy Michael Flatleys moves. There was genuine chemistry and flair with Flatley and Butler, even though she didn’t like him. Say what you will about Flatleys arrogance, but he was head and shoulders above the rest, and took the whole dance genre to another level with Lord of The Dance troupe.
Still trying to figure out who the real villain in the riverdance saga is. Jean and Michael have very different perspectives on what went down. I wish we could hear a non-biased rundown.
@@Sanctified57 Agree with this comment Wooden
Colin and Jean are nearer in age so be more charisma . MF was 38 she was 24 in 1996
Nice Ireland
This is absolutely FANTASTIC… love their work…. Thank you for the video….
Watching it right now on PBS. Forgot about them. Love it!
I wanna dance like this too!
Never too late to start ;) I started at age 23 and 5,5 years later, I'm still at it. But, I will never reach this level (I think... I also thought I would never be able to take more than 5 classes or so as this would prove to be to hard... I'm now on my way learning the first (very hard!) steps in Intermediate level...)
@@weeardguy 💕💕💕💕
Bill Whelan’s Irish-Balkan musical fusion and Jean Butler’s incredible choreography. An amazing synthesis.
People who disliked this video have no taste. And yes the stage is to small for them. But this is not the Riverdance show stage. This is a tv show stage people. So it is going to be smaller. 🙄🙄 seriously people!!
I'm guessing people wanted to see Flatley and not a stand in......
Bravo then, Bravo now !
That was pretty damn cool!
Хорошее видео Большое Спасибо! Привет из России!
Thank you 🙏🏻❤️
Still the best❤❤
Jean Butler is without doubt the greatest female dancer ever. No one has in the past or ever will in the future come anywhere near her. I dare anyone to try and argue the case. Impossible.
Jean seems more relaxed and comfortable with Colin, then Flatley.
Flatley’s ego gets in his way.
sounds like a bag of in tune nails and lokks like floatinf gizels..beautifull
AWESOME
Lindo lindo!!!
Colin was definitely the better male principle dancer in terms of partnership with Jean Butler.
Yes.
Unlike Flatley, Colin doesn’t let his ego get in the way….
Fantastično 👏👏👏👍💝🍀🇲🇪💐❤️
Back when Letterman was worth watching.
This is sacrilegious. Having these great dancers on the David Letterman Show.
4 ever good!!
Watch the original first ever performance at Eurovision in Dublin, if you think this is good, the original will blow your mind.
Agreed. Flatley was the catalyst. Such a shame he left, and his loss is quite apparent in this rather staid performance here
Yes ! This Riverdance, is like an army without a Captain... or a Kingdom with only a Queen... and not the rightful King by her side.
Flatley, was the spark that ignited the flames !! He was mind-bogglingly awesome, and totally raised the bar to a spectacular, even unsurpassable, never-before-achieved height !
What a presence !! @%☆
@@ZooxMaze yeah he was amazing
Agreed.
There's nobody but Michael Flatley and Daire Nolan
I’m sure you don’t care how foolish you sound.
@@Sanctified57
perfect apresentation 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Waléria Saraiva my father was in the original! He’s right next to Jean in the 1994 Riverdance.
@@bruh0-037 OMG... wow.. so excellent.
They squeezed a massive stage show into a little talk show studio and the camera couldn't even back up far enough to get the whole troupe in shot.
The Ed Sullivan Theater is where this was taped. The home of Late Show with David Letterman and now the home of Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The theater was transformed in 1993 for Dave, and it still is a theater, but now a TV Theater. So space is limited. It was never designed for this type of performance.
@@johnking5174 Somehow they pulled it off though
This still has the celtic spirit since Michael flatley, it brings tears to my eyes. Long live the Celtic spirit. Aug 2020😎😎👋👋😎😎👋👋
God bless the Celts.
@@jasonwilson2763 right on there 🙏❤🇬🇧🇬🇧
Sadly not quite the same magic, post Flatley
@@Sanctified57 maybe not but still magic in it's own rights nonetheless. 🙏❤🙏🇬🇧👍Aug 2021
Colin is a much better dancer than Flatley can ever hope to be.
Flatley’s ego gets in his way.
@@paulcrisp9861
Wow
I’m gonna liv forever
I can’t take my eyes off of Jean butlers legs.
I would have brewed a large pot of pantyhose tea after that performance.
I saw Riverdance on The Letterman Show when they first arrived in New York, and it does not look as I remember it. The missing stairs would be the main item out of place.
that is talent, that is dancing, not shaking your big butt up and down.
marilyn so well said!
Nahh shaking your butt is real dancing not this
But Wait, is that or is that not Enya at 3.31 along with her Bestie in the audience cheering on The Very Best of Irish!!!
Fuckin brilliant
Dance fool Dance !
So next year is their quarter-century anniversary.
Stepping close to the edge of the stage there!
Erm, no.
There was special flooring laid down to protect the studio floor and probably to make it easier for them to dance.
@@Quaker-tc8ueThanks, you must be a wow at parties.
A truth you don’t like makes me a nasty person?
You must be a nitwit, daily.@@TheLastAngryMan01
I had my crush on butler
It's Riverdance not river DANCE. why does he say it so strangely?
No throwin your arms around like a demented tap dancing galoot.
i have online school lol
love the music!!! would love to be 1/25th this talented n be able to dance with a gorgeous gal like her n those lovely sheer hosed legs!!!!
Colin Neil. Is nothing to scoff at he's very good always enjoy him let's see how many people's feet can move that fast.
I had a VHS recording of one of their shows and one of the dancers messed up after they all turned around and she found herself facing the wrong way! Can you imagine how mortifying that must have felt. I haven't seen her since.
Colin Dunne was way better than Michael Flatley in this, I wish there were more Riverdance videos featuring him.
czcams.com/video/hA6BdtSgVYg/video.html