Comment on this story What: Riverdance When: June 22-24, 7:30pm; June 25, 8 p.m.; June 26, 2 & 8 p.m.; June 27, 2 & 7 p.m. Where: Knoxville Civic Auditorium Cost: $20-$65. Call 656-4444 to order by phone.

Kathleen Natter’s risk pays off in Riverdance

by Paige M. Travis

Riverdance must be seen to be understood. It’s a performance of pure spectacle that combines dance, music, history, flashing lights, singing and exuberant chants, yells and clapping from audience members. The phenomenal stage show debuted in 1995 and proceeded to sweep the world, drawing audiences like an enchanted pied piper.

One element that makes Riverdance so magnetic is the sheer enthusiasm of its performers. Many of the cast members are well-trained, award-winning dancers who, before 1995, didn’t have many outlets for their skills, and certainly not on such a worldwide scale.

Growing up in Brisbane, Australia, Riverdance cast member Kathleen Natter followed in the footsteps of her older sister and started dancing when she was 3 years old.

“As soon as was old enough to walk I was copying her,” Natter says. Although she thought she was dancing just like her 11-year-old sister, “I was just skipping and kicking.”

Irish dancing was, and remains, very popular in the country originally settled by convicts from the British Isles, so it was easy for young dancers to take lessons and enter competitions. Natter says the only opportunities to perform were in these competitions and on that day everyone wants to feel a little Irish, St. Patrick’s Day. But competitions (and green-hued holidays) can only take a dancer so far.

After Natter graduated from high school in 1997, she went on tour with Gaelforce, a touring musical dance drama that bills itself as “the Ferrari of Irish Dance.” She toured for a year, eventually feeling homesick and returning home to rest and plan her next career move. After about six months, she was ready to act. “OK, I’ve had my rest. I want the real thing now,” she decided.

By 1999, Riverdance had built its reputation to unprecedented levels. The show, which tells the history of Ireland through dance and music, had debuted in Japan, France and Mexico City to roaring crowds. In June 1999, it was announced that Riverdance would go to Broadway. Candidates for the Broadway cast would audition in August in Toronto. With an eager and nervous spirit, Natter decided to take a leap and audition for that company. She was driven by curiosity and the desire to prove herself.

“I had to know at that point,” she says. “I knew I was old enough. I felt I was up to the standards they needed.”

Just to make the journey from Australia to Toronto worthwhile, even if she didn’t make the cut, Natter booked a side trip to Niagara Falls.

But she didn’t need the consolation prize after all. Although she’d gotten the usual “we’ll call you” line, Natter couldn’t wait until she left the country to know whether she got the job or not. She did some asking around and found out that she’d passed the audition. “They said I had no problems,” she recalls. “It was just a matter of when [they’d call].”

Two months later she was asked to report to Dublin for the first round of rehearsals. The budding crew then relocated to New York City, where they opened on Broadway on March 16, 2000.

Natter, who married an American man she met in New York, is now a principal dancer in the Boyne company, one of the three touring productions all named after rivers in Ireland.

“We get to do lots of solo performances and wear different costumes,” she says of her role. “You’re basically in the spotlight the whole time, so there’s no hiding,” she adds with a laugh. All of her stage time as a lead dancer gives her opportunity to connect with the audience—or at least those folks she can see within the first few rows.

“The audience is usually great and responsive,” she says. Loud clapping and cheering is preferable.

“Noisy crowds help. It makes such a huge difference. It makes the smile on your face that much bigger to know that you’re appreciated.”

After several years of touring, she’s learned to gauge a city by its audiences. They tend to respond consistently throughout the duration of a weeklong stint. “If they’re really noisy on Tuesday, they’ll be screaming crazy all week,” she reports. And if they’re quiet, like some of the more retiree-populated towns in Florida, they’ll show their enjoyment with more reserved expressions, like smiling.

Natter splits her off-time between her husband’s family homestead in New York and her family, who still live in Brisbane. But she doesn’t seem to be tired or bored of touring yet.

“It’s a great way to see the country and the world,” she says. “In most of the larger cities we do as much sightseeing as we can.”

As a dancer with a professional career, Natter is a success story. And she encourages young dancers to keep the faith and be willing to take a chance.

“I was at the right place at right time,” she reckons. “If at first you don’t succeed, try again. There’s always a spot for you. You just have to find where and when.”

June 17, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 25 © 2004 Metro Pulse