'Riverdance' in their blood: Kids of original dancers join iconic act at State Theatre

When they were babies, Cian Porter and Faith Moore were probably in the same room one or two times. But they didn't meet until a few months back.

Since then, they've grown close, under the most unique of circumstances: The pair are the first children of "Riverdance" performers to join the famed ensemble.

Porter and Moore each joined the cast for the first time last November for a six-week run in Dubai after completing video auditions in August.

The show plays the State Theatre in New Brunswick Wednesday, April 20, and Thursday, April 21.

Porter's parents toured with "Riverdance" from 1999 to 2006. His dad was an understudy lead dancer, and his mom was a singer.

Moore's mother was a troupe dancer, joining "Riverdance" for its first American tour and performing with the ensemble from 1996 to 2003.

Joining has "always been a dream" for Moore, she said, growing up around "Riverdance" and meeting her mother's friends who were part of the ensemble.

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Porter agreed it's been a dream come true.

"I think Irish dancing, especially, is so intricate that it is always a challenge," he said. "I feel like even if you're really good at something, there's something you're really also not good at, so you need to work hard. It's always a revolving door of hard work."

"Riverdance" traces its roots to the interval act in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, and was subsequently developed into a full-length stage show.

Its 25th Anniversary North American tour was shut down in March 2020 during a sold-out engagement at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's amazing to be dancing in front of a live audience again," Porter said. "We were lucky that we were still able to train and do dancing here and there in a class setting, but it does not match at all to dancing in front of a live audience and sharing the love of dancing with everyone."

Moore said her favorite moment is the show's opening.

"It's a very serious number and it starts off with a lovely singing voice. It's slow coming onto the stage and it's very magical," she said.

Porter said he loves "Distant Thunder."

"It's a number with all the boys," he said. "Growing up as a lad who dances, I think it's nice that it's an all-boys number and it shows the strength of being a boy that dances."

The cast includes lead dancers Amy-Mae Dolan, Will Bryant, Maggie Darlington, Anna Mai Fitzpatrick, Fergus Fitzpatrick, James Greenan and Meadhbh Kennedy; troupe members Brandon Asazawa, Belle Brenton, Kieran Bryant, Morgan Bullock, Gerard Byrne, Keeva Correy, Matthew Gardiner, Michael Gardiner, Emma Mannion, Jordan McCormick, Faith Moore, Olivia Nactigal, Cian Porter, Dylan Scholls Zoe Talbot, Mairead Trainor, and Elle-Mae Wheeler; Russian dancers Ana Turcan, Eugeniu Turcan, Christine Lesnikova and Alexander Safonov; tappers Tyler Knowlin and Dharmesh Patel; and Flamenco dancer Rocio Dumset.

Newcomers Matthew and Michael Gardiner (@gardinerbrothers) and Bullock (@yourangleyuordevil) have found fame on TikTok. Bullock's performance of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage Remix” went viral in 2020.

"Riverdance" is also enjoying a moment off-stage, with "Riverdance the Animated Adventure" released on Netflix in the United States on Jan. 14. The piece features an original score by Grammy Award-winning composer Bill Whelan and used motion capture of "Riverdance" performances to create the animated dancing.

"Riverdance" visits the State Theatre at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. For tickets, $40 to $98, and more information on this and other upcoming programming, visit STNJ.org.

For more on Riverdance, visit riverdance.com.

Ilana Keller is an award-winning journalist and lifelong New Jersey resident who loves Broadway and really bad puns. She highlights arts advocacy and education, theater fundraisers and more through her column, "Sightlines." Reach out on Twitter: @ilanakeller; ikeller@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Riverdance 25th anniversary tour comes to New Brunswick