ClarkCast Chapter 14: Olivia Nachtigal of Riverdance 30 is awesome!

OLIVIA NACHTIGAL
Olivia from Western Canada began dancing at age four. She danced competitively for the Mattierin School of Irish dance in Edmonton and won many titles, including top-5 finishes at the World championships. She attended the Riverdance Summer School in Dublin in 2019, and her dream came true when she was asked to join the 25th Anniversary Show in 2020. She has since toured North America, Europe, the UK, and China, as well as countless other countries. She is incredibly grateful to Riverdance and looks forward to continuing her journey with the show.

Riverdance 30 will be at the Beau Rivage June 5-7. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Clark Cast is on the air.

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Olivia Noctigall, you're about to do something awesome. You know, walking into a room, going up to bat, getting ready for your show. What's your walk-up music? What's playing in your head?

SPEAKER_00 0:12

I I won't say that I have a specific one song. It totally depends on my mood. Some days, obviously, we're gearing up for a big show. I want to really pump myself up so I'm listening to something upbeat, uh, maybe some music that's like a little bit of a throwback music. I like that. Something I can kind of sing along to and get in the mood to be high energy, really active. Other days, say we're just coming off the bus, you're feeling a little bit more mellow. I'm listening to something maybe a little bit more chill, which I think can really help get in the mood for the show too. Because if you go in too ramped up, it's maybe not the best when you're on stage. So some days it's something way more chill. Uh, I like a little bit of Zach Bryan sometimes, anything like that. So yeah, it just kind of depends on the day, depends on my mood.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

Welcome to Cloudcast, conversations about life, love, music, and the pursuit of being awesome. Here's your host, Jeff Clark.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

She is the primary dancer, one of the primary dancers in uh the River Dance Tour. It's the 30th anniversary tour, uh, started in 25, going through 26, uh, celebrating 30 years of River Dance. Uh, you can catch it at the BeauRvage June 5th through 7th. And they're going to be five shows: one Friday night, two on Saturday, and two on Sunday. Uh, Saturday and Sunday both have matinees. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com, or you can get them at BeauRvage.com. Olivia, thanks so much for taking time to do this.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Yeah, of course. Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Yeah, absolutely. Uh, it's it's been a minute since River Dance has been down here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Um, always a great show, always a great time. So I was I was doing my research, like reading about you online so before we did this interview. And um one thing that I read was that you first saw River Dance when you were 10 years old.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Yeah, so I'm from Western Canada. River Dance does not tour there very often. So when they came through when I was about 10 years old, everybody from my dance school, I grew up dancing. So I had a huge friend group from dance, so we all went to Calgary to see the show. And it was the most amazing experience. I think before that I I didn't even know really what professional Irish dancing was or what show dancing was. So it wasn't really on my radar. But the second I saw River Dance, I knew that that was something so incredible and kind of the next step in dancing after competing. I I still competed for another eight or nine years after that, before I actually joined the touring company. But I I remember seeing River Dance and it just kind of opening my world of what is a possibility with Irish dancing.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

So when when did you start dancing? Where at what age did you start taking dance lessons or start competing?

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Or um, I started dancing when I was about three or four. I have an older sister, she's two years older than me. So she went in and started taking classes first and she loved it. So then my mom was like, Oh, you can go and try it. Go ahead. Um, and I absolutely fell in love with it when I was so young. I probably started competing when I was about five or six, and then I competed until I was 18.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

It's interesting or that or great that you mentioned the seeing the show in Calgary because like the most information I could find about you online is when you made your triumphant return in River Dance, and like all the local media wrote these great stories about you, and everybody in Canada, Western Canada was so proud. What was that like for you to to come back and bring that tour to your hometown? It was close to your hometown.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

We well, we actually did go to Edmonton as well. So we did on Calgary. It was the most incredible two weekends of my life. Like it was for sure far and way the highlight of my dancing career. It was everybody who we have ever met, like friends, family, everybody who my family knows came to the shows. And it was just such a personal show, like to know that all those people were in the audience. Obviously, there was a ton of people that I didn't know as well, but to have everybody there showing their support was like nothing I have ever experienced before. So it's it was an unforgettable weekend. I got to do that with my sister as well. She used to tour in the show, she doesn't anymore, but she came back to do those shows. So that just made it that little bit more special.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Oh wow, that's amazing. And like any any any people that uh may have, you know, bullied you or been ugly to you that you're like, we're trying to get to no, I'm just kidding, you know. But uh what what a great thing to to be able to do that in in in your hometown, you know. That's amazing. I'm sure your phone was ringing off the wall, like, can I get tickets? Can we come?

SPEAKER_00 5:30

But oh like seriously, everybody, like hairs, my hairstylists, like everybody was there, like teachers, everything.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

That's that's incredible. Um, so how long have you been in this current production touring?

SPEAKER_00 5:44

River dance in 2020. So I'm in like my sixth year now. Obviously, during COVID, there wasn't anything touring, so that year kind of doesn't count. Um, but I've been touring with the company since 2020, and we've been all over the world. I've been we've done quite a few North American tours. I think this is my fifth North American tour. Um, but we've also been we're in China, Japan, Australia, obviously lots around Europe, in the UK, everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

So so what's that like for you? Like, I know like say at the Beau Revage, you're doing five shows in a row. Like, how many shows in a week do you do you normally do? Like, is it just like night after night after night, or do you get breaks pretty regularly?

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Uh no, we it's basically night after night. We do eight shows a week. Um usually. There's obviously a few weeks where it's a little bit different. Our schedule is usually Mondays off, which is a travel day, especially in the US. Our travels are very long. So we're on the bus all day Monday, and then we have single shows Tuesday to Friday, and then double show Saturday, double show Sunday.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

What uh what was one of the some of the more like you've been you've been doing this for for five or six years now, but like what what was surprising to you? Like, I know you fell in love with this when you were like 10, but what did you like really learn about the culture, about the history or the mythology of this that like that you carry with you now?

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Yeah, I think something that that's not really like the history of the show, but something that's so surprising, I think, once I joined River Dance was the connection that so many people have to Ireland. Like there's people who come to the show who's like, my great-great-great grandparents were Irish, so we feel like we're a little bit Irish, and they come to the show, and it just creates such a big sense of community amongst so many people. And I think a lot of people feel really touched with the show, whether that being with the music, with the dancing, with the culture of it. Um, we incorporate a lot of different cultures into the show, which I think is really special. We have a tap dancer, flamenco dancers, or yeah, tap dancers, flamenco dancers, and folk dancers. Um, so it's just it's it creates a really big sense of community and you feel like you're a part of something so incredibly special.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

What about like the the the first time you toured the UK, like especially playing, performing in Ireland, like like doing this there? Did you feel a lot of pressure? Like what was it like for you?

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Yeah, I think especially in Dublin, so in Ireland, every summer River Dance does um like a residency in it's called the Gaiety Theatre. Um, so they're usually there from around the start of June to around mid-September. And obviously, Irish Dancing was born in Ireland, so it that is a little bit like you feel the pressure of it. Everybody knows exactly what it should look like. They've seen it a million times, but it's also so incredibly special to get to do it in the birthplace of River Dance. Um, but yeah, you can definitely feel the pressure a little bit when you're in those like high intensity situations. Uh, but it definitely makes it way more special.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

What's it like for you having you know seen this when you were young or like 10 when you're much younger, being inspired by it, and then like after the shows now, like younger girls coming up to you and telling you that you know how much you inspired them or this is what they would like to do.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Yeah, it that is absolutely incredible. When we're on the stage, we can always see out in our finale and we can see young dancers in the audience either dancing or cheering or just smiling up at us. And that just really drives us to want to keep going. Like it it is such an incredible feeling. And to get to do that for dancers now, it it just feels like a really full circle moment. Obviously, all of us looked up to these older dancers. I remember waiting outside the stage door to get autographs, like things like that. And it was so special to me when I was younger. So then to get to pass that on is so incredible. You really feel like you are inspiring the next generation, which is so great. And for the ones that get to come see the show, say for the first time, like I know they're feeling exactly what I was feeling, that it it opened up their world. They got to see what they can do, that competition isn't everything. They get to move on to do something else after if they want to. So it really is so nice to get to do that for the younger ones after people had been doing that for me my whole life.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

Awesome. You know, one thing that that I read about you, and I like to for you to kind of explain what it is. I I read that you went to Riverdance Summer Camp in Boston. So that's what you did before you started your residency. That was like the next step. Or tell me about that.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

Yeah, so every year we have a River Dance Summer School. It's in Boston. We're actually doing one in LA this year. It will be the first year that we're in Los Angeles. And then there's also one in Dublin. And uh it's a week-long program, it's a really intensive program. Um, we have kids from all ages. So if you're above 17, you can use that as your audition into the show. Um, so that's how I audition for the show. But um, there is younger programs as well. You go in on the Monday and you learn five dances from the show, and you're learning from people who are in the show. So now that I'm out of the summer school, I instruct the summer school. So you're learning from people who are in the show, who have done the summer school. They know exactly the position that you're in and exactly what you need to do to learn to get into the show. Um, but Monday to Friday, you're learning five dances. Saturday, you're doing a showcase, which is you're on an actual stage with actual lights, and there's two dancers from the show who are on stage with you doing the lead bits, so you really feel like you are a part of the show. So that's how I got into the show. That's how really most of the people who are in the show now got in. It's such a big thing. We have thousands of kids who come every year, thousands of people audition, and only a few get in. So it's definitely a really intense week, but I think it really prepares you for what life is gonna be like on the road and what it's gonna really be like to be in the show.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

What about for for people who who haven't seen the show or haven't experienced it yet? Like, what would you say to them to to encourage them to come out? Or what do you hope that they they get once they they've seen the show?

SPEAKER_00 12:21

Yeah, I think it's a really unique show. I don't think that there's much like it out there. It's incredibly high energy, and there is a little bit of something for everybody. Like I said, we don't just have Irish dancing, we have flamenco dancing, tap dancing, uh folk dancers, we have a band, a live band, and a choir. So if strictly Irish dancing isn't your thing, there's still absolutely so much for you to come out and see. The music is so incredible and I think resonates with so many people. You can truly feel it in your soul, and it makes you want to get up and start dancing. So that's a huge part of it. Um, but yeah, it's it is primarily an Irish dancing show, but there's just so much to it, and there's so much history to it that I think it's really incredible, especially if you've never seen the show before. I think it will really blow you away. It's not kind of what you would expect out of a dancing show. It's not just straight dancing for two hours. There is so much else going on. We have incredible LED screens, costumes are incredible. There's just, yeah, something for everybody.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Have you spent much time in the American South? Like, are you do you have you been to New Orleans a lot or the Mississippi Gulf Coast? Are you you familiar with this area?

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Or not really, no. I've been to New Orleans probably like close to 10 years ago now for competition, but no, I can't say that I've spent too much time around there.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

Right on. Awesome. Hey, the the the last thing I'm gonna ask you, and I ask this of everyone I do this with or that I'm fortunate enough to do this with, uh, how do you stay awesome? Like, what's the method to your madness, the secret to your success? What what keeps you going?

SPEAKER_00 14:02

My absolute love for what I do. Um, I have loved Irish dancing since I was three years old, and still to this day, it's my favorite part of the day is getting to go to the theater. I work with all of my best friends, which is so incredible. I just I love being on stage. I love seeing the joy on people's faces in the audience, and like it's so easy to keep going when I absolutely love it, and you can see that there are people in the audience who love it as well. You're doing it for them just as much as you're doing it for yourself. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

Awesome. Olivia, thank you so much for for your time. Uh, real excited uh to have you coming to to coastal Mississippi to the Beau Rivage, and uh hopefully everyone will get tickets and come out and see you.

SPEAKER_00 14:44

Yeah, definitely. Thank you so much for having me.