"Riverdance", created by Bill Whelan, has been around for 10 years and recently had its farewell tour across the U.S. Back in the mid nineties, "Riverdance " was a phenomenal hit bringing Irish dancing to the masses and making Michael Flatley fame. His ego led to disagreements with the troupe and Flatley left to pursue other projects, such as "Lord Of The Dance". "Riverdance" was left without its star and soon Colin Dunne filled the bill as lead male dancer, without the Flatley bravado. Jean Butler continued on as its talented female lead. Which leads us to this video review.

"Riverdance-The Show" starring Flatley was broadcast and released on video tape commerically. (You can get it now on DVD). After the breakup, "Riverdance" quickly came out with another video starring Dunne and Butler, which was shot at Radio City Music Hall. This was released on video tape and DVD. Now comes this special new release of the same performance from 1996, newly remastered and with additional audio options. This 2 disc set also has a special features disc celebrating the "Riverdance" 10th anniversary.
The performance disc is a mixed bag. The songs and dance routines are still just as charming and lively as they were in its heyday. The dancers and singers do a wonderful job and the second act is expanded to include some new songs and dance numbers, expanding the performance by about 30 minutes. I did have some problems with the performance editing. Since this is a live performance on stage, I expected to see that. "Riverdance" is unbelievably visual in nature and I found the editing on this disc distracting during the performance. Instead of focusing on the dance troupe and its incredible, intricate formations, needless close ups and shots of the orchestra are inserted at inappropriate times. Sure , you want to have variations but the timing of such shots was disturbing to me. Kind of like focusing on a guitar player's face during an incredible guitar solo-no , we want and should see to see the finger work.
The second disc offers three documentaries-:Riverdance-10 years, Riverdance in China, and Riverdance on the BBC's Pebble Mill. Fans will be sure to love these.

In summary, "Riverdance has had a good run and this double dvd set from BBC reflects its popularity. However, the editing makes this disc too frantic for my tastes. I still like the original , Riverdance The Show, better as a performance and video presentation.