Interview: Michael And Matthew Gardiner of RIVERDANCE at Dr. Phillips Center - January 20 - 22

Chances are you may have been scrolling through Tik Tok or Instagram over the last two years and happened upon a video of two brothers performing fresh, fun and amazing Irish dance routines together. Those brothers, Michael and Matthew Gardiner are currently on tour with the 25th Anniversary tour of RIVERDANCE which will make a stop here in Orlando January 20th - 22nd. I had a chance to speak with the brothers to learn more about how they got started dancing, their newfound social media fame and their involvement in what has become a global phenomenon over the last 28 years.

BWW: Michael and Matthew, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today. We are really looking forward to RIVERDANCE here in Orlando!

Michael: We are excited to be here! We were here as kids when we were much younger, but we never got to see a lot of it so we are excited to be back.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you both got started dancing?

Michael: We started dancing in Denver, Colorado. The two of us were born to Irish parents in Denver and we actually have an older sister as well, Anna. Our Irish parents thought it was important for us to have a little bit of the Irish culture. There was an Irish Dancing studio nearby so they put our sister Anna into a dance class and when I was about three or four years old I showed a bit of interest in it. There were a lot of boys in the class and there was something really interesting about the rhythm, so I joined the class when I was about four. When Matthew came along, I think he just thought it was part of everyday life.

Matthew: I suppose, in a way, I didn't really have a choice. I was so young, but I enjoyed it just as much as Michael and Anna. We have always been very musical and maybe it's because we started so young. It was part of life. I went to school, then soccer practice, then straight to dancing. So it was a great mix.

Michael: We competed all the way through as well. There's a competition circuit whether you live in America or Ireland, so we did the American competition circuit until I was ten and in 2006 our parents decided to move home to Ireland. We like to say that the Irish dancing really helped us through that move because a move that big can be quite hard sometimes. It really helped us. The we joined the Irish dancing circuit there and competed all across Ireland and around the world. Matthew and I are fortunate enough to have 40 major championships between us, along with five world titles. One of us has three and one of us has two but we often let our audiences guess which one has more.

Matthew: We were very fortunate with that. One very special one was we actually won the World Championships together in our respective age groups in 2015. That took place in Montreal. So I was 16 and Michael was 20.

Michael: That was actually thre first time that brothers had ever done that.

Matthew: We both auditioned for RIVERDANCE in 2015. Michael was 20 - the same year as the Montreal Worlds. I didn't join the tour at the time because I was still in school and you have to be 18 but Michael was successful in his audition and he has been touring the world ever since. He took one year off to finish his degree in Architecture and I completed my degree in Civil Engineering before I went on tour for the first time in 2021 to the UK. We also did a US tour in 2022 and here we are again in 2023.

Another big element of our life right now is that our social media really took off in 2020. We started posting our videos online. We wanted to show how versatile and modern Irish dancing could be and we had the best mix of that. So we get to show that with RIVERDANCE on stage and we get to show that with Gardiner Brothers on a virtual stage in social media. We have over 4.5 Million followers now. We are very fortunate.

Let's talk a minute about your "internet fame" - 4.5 Million followers and over 350 MILLION views - that is amazing. Did your popularity on social media come as a surprise?

Michael: Matthew and I always thought we could do something with social media. Well before the pandemic we were posting stuff on our Gardiner Brothers pages on Facebook and Instagram. They were small pages and we had, maybe 1000 followers. But we always thought we could do something. We loved posting because the videos could reach hundreds of thousands of people at a time. But we always had the dream. We did know it was possible. It is humbling looking at the amount of people following us now, but we did think it was possible. So when the pandemic hit, I flew home from New York and Matthew had just finished the 25th anniversary performance with RIVERDANCE and literally the second day of the pandemic Matthew said "Let's go all out on social media now. We don't know how long it's going to be." We thought it might be two weeks (like the rest of the world) and it ended up being nearly two years and it was able to take off. It is amazing. We are very fortunate to be able to showcase Irish culture to the world. It is very important to us.

I think one of the great things about social media is the ability to connect with content that you love - no matter how specific or specialized. Do you find your audiences are already Irish dance fans or have you broken into new areas?

Matthew: We definitely have a good array of people in our audience now. A lot of people still comment and say "this is amazing tap dancing" which is flattering because tap dancing is similar. But I guess that is what we are trying to do - to show that there is a different genre of dance out there that a lot of the world might not know about. RIVERDANCE did that back in 1994, they really exploded Irish dancing onto the world stage and I suppose we are just trying to extend that reach. Our demographic is all over the place. The majority of our following is in the states, but then we have people in Ireland, the UK, Italy, Germany, India, Australia, and Brazil just to name a few. It is really incredible.

Michael: Our demographic also includes a lot of younger people. So it is great to be able to showcase it to a younger audience.

Matthew: And inspire them as well. Inspire them to either take up dancing or even to just inspire some sort of creativity. We have a lot of people come up to us in the street or after a show. I remember there was this one little boy and his dad in St. Louis who came up and said you guys are the reason he started dancing. So that is amazing for us to hear.

I know its hard to believe, but for those who may not be familiar - what can people expect from RIVERDANCE when it comes to Orlando?

Matthew: RIVERDANCE has always been, since the day it started, a world-class phenomenon and I think it is only getting better. It is such an explosion of culture, music, and dance.

Michael: It's a storyline of Irish culture, but it includes cultures from all around the world. We have flamenco dancers, tap dancers, European folk dancers. We have dancers and musicians from all around the world. To be able to tell a story through music and dance is very special.

Can you tell us a bit about your respective roles in RIVERDANCE?

Michael: The two of us are fortunate enough to be lead dancers in the show now. It was a dream for us for a long time and last year the two of us auditioned as lead members for the show and were both successful. It is the first time ever that brothers are able to be leads together. As lead members you take the lead every third night. You don't do lead every night because it would be too taxing on the body. And when you are not a lead you dance as a troupe dancer. So no matter when people come they will be able to see us dancing either as lead or as one of the troupe dancers. We are very excited to see the audience out there and we will give them a wink somewhere in the show, so they will have to pay close attention. So when Matthew is on lead I will be right there dancing next to him, trying to give him a bit more energy.

I can imagine it is a particular thrill to get to perform so often with your brother right there beside you.

Michael: Yes, definitely. It is very special. We don't take that for granted. Matthew and I get to perform for our virtual audience all the time together, but to be able to perform for a live audience - there is something so magical about that. Being able to share that moment with your brother is so special.

I often hear from performers how challenging it can be to be on a tour like this. Do you think it makes it easier to have your brother there with you?

Michael: Yes, definitely. Tours can be a very tough place. Especially when you are away from your family, away from your friends for six months. Having somebody there as a support system is really fantastic. I have done touring on my own when Matthew was still in college and I would miss him on those days. But now that he is on tour with me, if I am having a down day he can just come over and make me laugh or something and it picks me up. We are very lucky to have each other and to be able to perform together as well.

What would you say has been your biggest inspiration as dancers?

Matthew: One of them is obviously RIVERDANCE. We both saw the show when we were kids in Denver - probably in the Pepsi Center. I can remember bits but I remember watching the VCR tape over and over as well. We got obsessed with it.

Michael: And that followed along throughout our journey. RIVERDANCE has always been there and has been something to look up to, to aspire to. So RIVERDANCE has been a constant inspiration. But there definitely have been other inspirations as well. We love to take inspiration from other dancers. Not just other Irish dancers, but other styles of dance as well. Take Hip Hop as an example, or Michael Jackson - he was just incredible as a dancer. He inspired us to try new things. And there are other social media dancers now who inspire us too.

Matthew: Yeah, we often try to put in a different style into our dancing and I think that is why people have connected to our social media videos. Our hip hop may not always be the best but we give it a go anyway. Sometimes Irish dancers can be quite stiff and rigid, which is beautiful, but we try and mess around with that as well - add new elements. Another inspiration - Mom and Dad always had great music on when we were kids and they still do. Mom was also in a band, she's an amazing fiddle player so I think the music was a big inspiration for us. As young kids it was something that our brains really absorbed - the timing, the rhythms, the layers. That's how we choreograph our dances now. We try and listen to the different layers - to the drumbeat or the guitar or the fiddle.

I am glad you brought that up because one of the things that I partiuclarly love about watching Irish dance is that it almost becomes its own instrument. The sound becomes part of the music as well.

Michael: That's a nice way to say it. There is a musical aspect to it. That adds an engaging factor. It is so exciting to see and hear it together.

What do you each look forward to the most before you step out on stage each night?

Michael: For me, when I first joined the show, the moment I have looked forward to the most since day one is in the beginning. Everyone walks out nice and slow and there's a slow buildup. There's a moment in the first number where the drummer does this incredible run down on the drums and crashes the cymbal. And then, bang, the show has started. I could not wait for that moment every night. But that's the great thing about RIVERDANCE. You get different moments throughout the show - moments that not only the audience looks forward to but each dancer looks forward to as well.

Matthew: As lead dancers, a very special number is the iconic number "Riverdance". It is just before the interval and it is just so special. There are three drummers on stage, the male lead comes out and does a solo. It is slightly different nowadays but it is the original solo that Michael Flatley did to the Riverdance music. It is just so special to be able to do that solo. Thinking back to little boys watching Michael Flatley do it.

Michael: And also thinking about us running around the living room pretending to be Michael Flatley. And now we get to go out and do that role. It is really very special. Right before we go out to do this number as lead, Matthew and I both think about the history of RIVERDANCE and each person that has done that role and everybody that has gotten us to that moment - it's a very emotional moment.

Matthew: The solo is amazing, but then the female lead comes out and joins us and we have a bit of a couplet piece. After that the whole troupe comes out and it is such an explosion of energy. The crowd is hopping and we get to do the big finish.

Michael: It is the first time the audience gets to see the whole cast dance in one line together. Even now, just thinking about it, I get goose bumps. It is a very special moment in the show.

You both got started dancing young, do you have any advice for young performers looking to make it professionally?

Michael: It's great to be on this side of it now watching younger dancers, even dancers from our old school in Galway wanting to know what they need to do to get to be in the show. So being able to help them achieve their dreams is very special.

My advice would be to keep working on your art form and to keep chasing your dream - like Matthew and I did when we were younger - we put RIVERDANCE on this pedestal but we always chased it. No matter the highs and lows you may have, you have to keep chasing that dream and keep focusing on it, because it's the low times that make the high times even better.

RIVERDANCE runs at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts January 20h - 22nd. Performances are 8:00 PM on Friday and Saturday and 6:30 PM on Sunday, with matinees at 2:00 PM on Saturday and 1:00 PM on Sunday. Tickets are available online at https://tickets.drphillipscenter.org/production/14786 or by calling the Bill & Mary Darden Box Office at 407.358.6603. Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801

Photos: Michael and Matthew Gardiner

To post a comment, you must register and login.