'Heartbeat of Home': A changed Ireland still dancing

<Coupon Codep>Outside the Dublin airport, there's a savvy sign: "Welcome home," it reads. It's both balm for the weary Irish traveler and a pitch, both comforting and savvy, aimed at visitors who trace at least some of their ancestry back to the Emerald Isle.

Some 20 years ago, "Riverdance" sold a very fine product in a way that was not unlike that sign. Here was a show that took what has been seen very much as a social dance form, the province of the ceilidh and the community center, and added lights, an amplified take on traditional Irish music and bravura practitioners in abundance. The sight of great lines of beautiful young Irish women, bodies ramrod straight and legs flying through the air, was nothing short of breathtaking. Revolutionary, too. For many in the audience (and the world tour of "Riverdance" shrewdly followed the Irish diaspora), the experience was deeply emotional.

Step dancing was never the same again. In ensuing years it became impossible to separate step dancing from "Riverdance."

Years ago, I remember sitting in the Irish Cultural Center watching young dancers. You could see the dreams of "Riverdance" dancing in their eyes. The show completely changed the very form it popularized and celebrated.

Stay away from home too long, of course, and the old sod gets replaced. In many ways, "Heartbeat of Home," the entertaining and mostly successful new show from the now famous (and very rich) Riverdance team of Moya Doherty and John McColgan, is an attempt to update the old brand for a new world order. Where "Riverdance" implied (with some foundation) that Irish dance forms begat so many others, the new "Heartbeat of Home" (Wednesday night was the U.S. premiere at the Oriental Theatre) breaks up those famous "Riverdance" lines and fuses the traditional forms with all that you might see in today's multicultural Ireland: Afro-Cuban dance, Latin dance, hip-hop.

But that's not the most interesting change. In this show, relatively few of the Irish dancers are actually Irish, most hail from Britain, Canada or Australia. They are not all redheads or bedecked with freckles or whatever else are the markers of the Irish physical stereotype, which already was more a showbiz product than a reality 20 years ago.

They are multicultural. They are diverse. The Celtic Tiger now has many stripes. Irish dance now is not necessarily what some still think of as Irish at all.

Of course, "Heartbeat of Home," which is essentially a variety show with live music, a vocalist and the signature company of dancers performing David Bolger and John Carey's choreography, walks a tricky line there.

The core audience is, for sure, those who love Irish culture and who fell for "Riverdance" two decades ago and who perhaps now have kids and grandparents of their own. Especially on a North American tour, the show can't just afford to be some kind of global mush. You can see the influence of "Stomp," "Noise/Funk" and other such groundbreaking variety entertainments, but the Irish dance still is in the foreground. As it should be, to my mind.

Specificity tends to be the friend of art; generality is the enemy. You can see generality in the lousy video backdrops, which strive so mightily to be universal, they end up looking generic. The journey we're forced to take through a stark, computerized, ice-cold version of some desert Southwest is the worst offender; the churning sea looks better, although those crashing waves reappear in Act 2, just as I hoped they'd been banished to Act 1.

This is not "The Little Mermaid."

"Heartbeat of Home" is a mainstream entertainment with an obligation to deliver accessible spectacle for those who like shows like "So You Think You Can Dance?" It's not the Joffrey Ballet. So stipulated. All for it. But the dancers (led by the remarkable Ciara Sexton, capable of springing herself halfway to the rafters, and the enigmatic Bobby Hodges) and the fine clutch of live musicians (all fabulous players and personalities) really are excellent enough for such focus-pulling and imaginatively limited digital detritus not to be necessary at all.

The athleticism and artistry is really something; the exciting finale followed by a concluding musical jam session is the most fun part of the night. The backdrops just deaden things. A tad tentative in spots, the show could do far more to involve its very enthusiastic audience.

In fairness, bombast is mostly avoided: "Heartbeat" is not an overbearing spectacle. It mostly is an honest and impressive showcase for exciting young dancers with myriad physical skills and boundless energy. And there is something admirable about what McColgan and Doherty are trying to do. Actually, I wish they'd had the nerve to go further and really deconstruct their previous massive success, really probe the changes in their native Ireland (where they are very famous and justly lauded) through their art of dance and music. These producers (clearly) have the pick of the best talent in the way that the Cirque du Soleil gets the best acrobats.

They could take more risks in terms of form: "Heartbeat" could use a few narrative surprises, some vulnerability. Granted, fusion is tough: step dancing still requires such specific training. Step dancers can do other things, but others can't do step dancing. They just have to watch, with the rest of us. An experience that, for the record, remains a thrill.

When: Through March 16

Where: Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.

Tickets: $32-$82 at 800-775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com