''Dancing on Dangerous Ground'' is an

Irish dance Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from vari ...

show created by and starring

Jean Butler Jean Butler (born March 14, 1971) is an American stepdancer, a master of Irish Dance, choreographer, and actress. She is best known for originating the principal female role in the Irish dance theatrical production ''Riverdance''. In January 20 ...

and

Colin Dunne Colin Dunne (born 8 May 1968) is an English-Irish dancer and choreographer who is a leading figure in the world of traditional Irish dance, as well as a theatre actor and contemporary dancer. Best known internationally for his performances and c ...

. It premiered in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

at the

Theatre Royal Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

in 1999. The show made its American debut in New York at Radio City Music Hall in 2000.

Synopsis

The ensemble and the three main characters are introduced during the surreal prologue:

Finn McCool Fionn mac Cumhaill ( ; Old and mga, Find or ''mac Cumail'' or ''mac Umaill''), often anglicized Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is leader of the ''Fianna'' bands of y ...

(a non-dancing role played by Tony Kemp), high king of Ireland;

Diarmuid Diarmaid () is a masculine given name in the Irish language, which has historically been anglicized as Jeremiah or Jeremy, names with which it is etymologically unrelated. Earlier forms of the name include Diarmit and Diarmuit. Variations of the ...

(Colin Dunne), captain of the

Fianna ''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had ...

—Finn's army; and

Grania ''Grania'' is a genus of marine annelid worms in the class Clitellata. They are found at many depths in sands throughout the world. They are generally about in length and mostly colorless or white, though ''Grania colorata'', a recently discov ...

(Jean Butler), Finn's betrothed. The scene fades away and the prologue breaks open into the Court of Finn McCool, where Diarmuid is displayed as the best soldier at court and Finn's devoted and trusted servant. Soon afterwards Grania arrives and is introduced to her fiancé for the first time. Finn welcomes her and presents her with four bodyguards sworn to protect her. Life at court continues as usual, Diarmuid and Grania unaware of each other. Diarmuid continues to drill the Fianna and Grania hosts pre-wedding celebrations for the ladies of the court. The two eventually meet in a late-night bar and their fate is sealed. The second act opens with the wedding of Grania and Finn. Diarmuid attends the celebrations and leaves distraught. Grania realizes that her happiness lies with Diarmuid. She and her handmaidens slip a powerful sedative into the wine, drugging Finn and his soldiers. Diarmuid returns and discovers Grania over the unconscious Finn. The two escape the palace for the temporary safety of the wilderness. The Fianna awaken from their stupor, bound and weak-kneed. They break free and an enraged Finn calls upon them and the women of the court to seek out the lovers. They comb the forest furiously and in the ensuing frenzy Diarmuid and Grania are separated. Finn's legion surrounds Diarmuid and kills him. Grania returns to the forest and finds the body of her beloved. Unable to cope with the loss of Diarmuid, she withers in despair. She awakens and finds herself in the company of the ghostly figures from the prologue. Diarmuid is among them and the two are reunited.

Departure from the original story

The story is based on the

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated ...

tale ''

The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne ''The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne'' ( ga, Tóraigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne or in modern spelling) is an Irish prose narrative surviving in many variants. A tale from the Fianna Cycle of Irish mythology, it concerns a love triangle b ...

'' (the original spelling of "Grania"), but many important details have been changed. Most importantly, the Fianna doesn't kill Diarmuid in the original version. Gráinne's father,

Cormac Cormac is a masculine given name in the Irish and English languages. The name is ancient in the Irish language and is also seen in the rendered Old Norse as ''Kormákr''. Mac is Irish for "son", and can be used as either a prefix or a suffix. ...

, intercedes on her behalf and offers Fionn his other daughter in exchange for Gráinne's freedom. Fionn accepts the offer and gives up his pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne.

Critical reception

The show was not well received when it opened in London. It was dismissed as another Irish dance show in the ''

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Je ...

'' vein and critics felt it did not live up to its claim of dramatic storytelling through Irish dance. Changes were made to the order and execution of the dance numbers before the show opened in New York, where it received highly favorable reviews. Despite the good press and advance sales for the Canadian premiere in Toronto, the show was unable to continue touring due to debts generated in London.

References

* A detaile
summary
of "The Pursuit of Diarmait and Gráinne" (the original story from the Fenian Cycle).

with Colin Dunne a
the Celtic Cafe
. * Program notes from th

an

productions.

in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''.
Review
i
''The New York Times''
{{Irish dance Irish dance Concert dance