Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Riverdance was first performed
during the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, on
April 30, in a seven-minute format, produced by Irish dancer
Michael Flatley. The music accompanying the dancing, composed by
Bill Whelan, was released as a single in Ireland, where it went
straight to number one and remained there for eighteen weeks.
The Eurovision broadcast has been cited as one of the crucial
moments in the creation of the Celtic Tiger myth amongst the
Irish themselves - a moment when to be Irish was to be at the
forefront of European culture. (Others cited include Ray
Houghton scoring against either England in 1988 or Italy in 1994
and Mary Robinson being elected President of Ireland in 1990) In
November 1994, tickets went on sale in Dublin for the first
full-length show of Riverdance, which opened at the Point
Theatre on February 9, 1995 including in the cast, Irish Dancing
Champion, Jean Butler . The show ran for five weeks and was a
sell-out. Later in 1995, the s