MAKING ‘WAVES’ IN IRISH DANCE Review of "Waves", by Jake TinioThe latest product of the Irish dance phenomenon is here, but it isn’t what you might expect. Indeed, it’s easy to get fooled by the cover of the Waves video, which features two-time World Irish Dance Champion Liam Harney dressed in funky threads and striking a decidedly non-traditional pose in front of the Manhattan skyline. Furthermore, the name of the show is refreshingly terse and a welcome departure from the formulaic "Something (of the) Dance" nomenclature we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. With a cool name like "Waves" might one anticipate an Irish-Dance-Meets-Baywatch type of show where Harney step-dances on a surf board accompanied by a Pamela Anderson look-alike?
Thankfully, nothing could be further from the truth. About a minute into the video, I realised that Waves refers to the waves of emigration that took place in Ireland during and after the Great Famine of the late 1840’s. Indeed, the Great Famine ("An Gorta Mór") serves as the show’s focal point. Such a calamitous episode in Ireland’s history naturally lends an air of tragedy – and even moral outrage – to the production. An Irish dance junkie looking for the latest blast of Celtic razzle dazzle will be disappointed; Waves is a relatively low-key affair that should appeal more to traditionalists, particularly to students of Irish history. Imagine a Broadway musical commemorating the Nazi Holocaust, and you’ll have some idea of what this show is like (some populist historians, in fact, regard the Great Famine to have been an act of genocide on the part of Ireland’s British rulers).
Waves displays a modest, homespun charm, the kind you might expect to see in an Irish cabaret. Compared to Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and Gaelforce Dance, Waves is much more theatrical, its storyline much more compelling. The cast, it seems, spends as much time acting as they do dancing. As far as the dancing is concerned, Liam Harney and his troupe perform mostly traditional Irish dance integrated with elements of tap, jazz and ballet. Although Harney occasionally uses his arms, none of his moves could be interpreted as being "Flatley-esque." The cast is dressed in period costumes – leather pants, spandex underwear and slinky bodysuits are nowhere to be found. The music, composed by Charlie Lennon in a straightforward style, is performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. As is de rigeur with Irish dancing shows, Waves features vocalists, three of them in fact: Erin Pender, Cathy Jordan and Tommy Makem (who doubles as the show’s narrator). The stage is small and situated close to the audience. In fact (in one of the video’s more annoying aspects), close-up shots of the dancers’ feet invariably show the heads of audience members sitting in the front row. Accordingly, the venue has a cozy ambience reminiscent of an "Unplugged" concert on MTV.
Waves recounts the story of the Great Famine and the subsequent Irish diasporas through the eyes of the Kelley family of New Jersey. As the show opens in the present day, a group of youngsters straight out of a Gap jeans commercial are cavorting on stage in an interesting blend of tap, jazz and Irish dancing. The narrator, who introduces himself as one of the family, harkens back to Ireland in the early 19th century, when family ancestor Johnnie Kelley, played by Liam Harney, first meets Máire, his bride to be. They’re attending a political rally organised by Daniel O’Connell, the leader of Ireland’s Catholic Emancipation movement in the 1820’s. Máire, a comely blonde played by Rebecca Cissne, is the resident guy magnet who attracts Johnnie’s attention. She plays hard-to-get at first, but Johnnie is no slouch when it comes to women: he’s smooth, he’s handsome and, most importantly, he’s a great dancer. In no time at all, he and Máire get married, and a little bundle of joy (a son) is on the way. For a while, Johnnie and his family enjoy halcyon days with their neighbours in the countryside. Much craic is shared as the adults and children of the town dance together. No one can foresee the disaster that looms just over the horizon.
Trouble strikes when a potato-killing spore arrives in the fields of Ireland, leading to widespread famine from 1845-1850. In this five-year period, over one million Irish die of starvation or disease, and another million are forced to emigrate to England, America and other English-speaking countries. The greatest irony of the potato famine is the fact that Irish peasants were dying by the thousands amid a land of plenty. The blight attacked the potato crop exclusively; there was still an abundance of wheat, corn and beef in Ireland. Most of it, however, had been earmarked for shipment to England. Furthermore, the food that remained became so expensive that the poor, who had grown to rely almost exclusively on the potato for their sustenance, couldn’t afford it. Having also lost their livelihoods, thousands were evicted from their homes. Starving and destitute, they faced the dilemma of either toiling in filthy "workhouses" or leaving the country. In the show’s most poignant song, Tommy Makem laments the peasants’ plight and condemns Ireland’s British rulers for the inept and unjust policies that led to the decimation of an entire country.
Johnnie and Máire suffer the same fate as millions of their unfortunate countrymen. Grimly, they dig in the fields but find only potatoes blackened with fungus. At this point, the show takes on a Dickensian dimension as the cast, dressed in rags, forlornly walk about in bare feet. Beggars are turned away; a woman carries her dead child for burial. Inevitably, the Evil Landlord – nattily dressed in overcoat and top hat – comes to the Kelley household to demand rent which is not forthcoming. In desperation, Máire offers her fiddle as payment, but he promptly smashes it to pieces. With the aid of local police, the landlord throws the Kelleys out of their home and land.
In the midst of their suffering, Johnnie and Máire have another child, a daughter. They realise, however, that they cannot provide for their children. When Johnnie is offered free passage to America, he and Máire give them away before leaving to search for new opportunity. Harney and Cissne are capable actors who effectively convey the guilt and agony that Johnnie and Máire experience as they are forced to abandon everything they have.
Fortunately, the Kelleys thrive in the New World. Johnnie eventually returns to Ireland to reclaim his children. After a long search in a destitute land, he reunites with his son and daughter, and together, they leave for America. Soon afterward, Johnnie and Máire have another child. Further generations of Kelleys ensue, and the show returns to the present day where we see the dancing Gap-clad kids once again. Tommy Makem, accompanied by the troupe, closes the show with a rousing song which pays heartfelt tribute to those who suffered during "Black ‘47" before braving the perilous trip to the New World where they struggled to gain respect and establish a new life. Look how far we’ve come, Makem is saying. Look how much we’ve done, and look how much we now have to share with all of you.
The 150th anniversary of the Great Famine has been commemorated with gatherings, concerts and memorials in numerous cities around the world including Dublin and Boston (www.boston.com/partners/famine_memorial/; incidentally, the construction of this memorial was organized by an Irish immigrant and businessman named Thomas J. Flatley). In addition, the Irish government commissioned the "Great Famine Commemoration Concert" which has toured Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. This concert features an orchestra, several top Irish musicians, and Liam Harney as soloist in "Flight From the Hungry Land."
Born in Ireland and raised in Boston, Harney has quietly been carving his own niche in the world of dance. He’s already made forays in feature films ("Blown Away," starring Tommy Lee Jones), commercials ("Folgers," which he choreographed and in which he co-stars with Cara Butler), TV (pilot of "Donny and Marie"), and theatre ("Dancing At Lughnasa" starring Michael Learned at the Old Globe). In addition, he’s made numerous solo appearances in venues such as Radio City Music Hall and Kennedy Center. An erstwhile star of Riverdance – he briefly shared lead dancing duties with Colin Dunne in London after Michael Flatley’s departure – Harney currently maintains a bicoastal dance company with headquarters in Boston and San Diego.
Trained in ballet, jazz, modern and Irish dance, Harney has the ability to shift seamlessly from one discipline to another. It’s fascinating to watch him dance the jig before gliding into a series of graceful, Baryshnikov-like pirouettes. His dancing in the video is superb – he has the highest kicks of any Irish dancer I’ve seen – but he doesn’t do very much of it, relatively speaking. Although Waves provides a solid demonstration of Harney’s considerable talent and versatility, it’s not the star vehicle that Lord of the Dance was for Michael Flatley. Rather, it’s the latest step along the way in Harney’s quiet yet increasingly accomplished career. And that’s just the way he seems to like it.
©Jake Tinio 1999
