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Step into the world of 'Riverdance'

Jason O'Neill, principal dancer in Riverdance
Paige Walter
/
WXPN
Jason O'Neill, principal dancer in Riverdance

Riverdance has been captivating audiences around the world for more than three decades. Even if you've never been to a show yourself, you've probably seen the commercials or videos: Irish dancers lined up across the stage, feet moving impossibly fast and, of course, that big, billowy shirt on the leading man.

From its earliest performances in Ireland to its sold-out U.S. debut at Radio City Music Hall in 1996 and countless international tours since, an estimated 30 million people have seen Riverdance live. But while millions have watched from the audience, getting the chance to actually perform in Riverdance is a much rarer experience.

Today, for Sense of Place: Dublin, we're taking you inside Riverdance HQ alongside Jason O'Neill, one of the show's principal dancers.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Kimberly Junod.  Our digital producer is Miguel Perez. World Cafe's engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.

Raina Douris, an award-winning radio personality from Toronto, Ontario, comes to World Cafe from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she was host and writer for the daily live, national morning program Mornings on CBC Music. She is also involved with Canada's highest music honors: Since 2017, she has hosted the Polaris Music Prize Gala, for which she is also a jury member, and she has also been a jury member for the Juno Awards. Douris has also served as guest host and interviewer for various CBC Music and CBC Radio programs, and red carpet host and interviewer for the Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Association Awards, as well as a panelist for such renowned CBC programs as Metro Morning, q and CBC News.
World Cafe senior producer Kimberly Junod has been a part of the World Cafe team since 2001, when she started as the show's first line producer. In 2011 Kimberly launched (and continues to helm) World Cafe's Sense of Place series that includes social media, broadcast and video elements to take listeners across the U.S. and abroad with an intimate look at local music scenes. She was thrilled to be part of the team that received the 2006 ASCAP Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award for excellence in music programming. In the time she has spent at World Cafe, Kimberly has produced and edited thousands of interviews and recorded several hundred bands for the program, as well as supervised the show's production staff. She has also taught sound to young women (at Girl's Rock Philly) and adults (as an "Ask an Engineer" at WYNC's Werk It! Women's Podcast Festival).