SHOW REVIEW: Heartbeat Of Home at Detroit's Fisher Theatre March 18-23

This week, the Fisher Theatre welcomes one of their most electrifying and entertaining shows of the 2013-2014 season. Heartbeat Of Home comes from the producers and creators of Riverdance and features some of the most breathtaking dancing to ever hit the stage. Heartbeat of Home meshes together the signature Irish dance of Riverdance with hip hop, mambo, waltz and salsa and other sexy Latin and Afro-Cuban styles of dance. The show is nonstop fast-paced energy, sexually-charged routines, and jaw dropping dance moves set to a well assembled soundtrack written by Golden Globe nominated composer, Brian Byrne.  

Heartbeat Of Home comes 20 years after the launch of Riverdance by the same husband and wife creative team, John McColgan and Moya Doherty. This isn't the same type of show that you've necessarily come to expect from the people behind Riverdance. Instead, this show features many different types of dance(salsa, hip hop, tap) and a magnitude of diverse styles of music. The styles of music sometimes even get interpolated, with the different music and dance styles merged together or "mashed up" within the same song.  Heartbeat of Home features an international cast of about 30 highly-skilled dancers descending from Australia, Mexico, Britain, Canada, the United States, Spain, and of course, Ireland.

Aside from the fantastic cast of dancers, Heartbeat of Home also features a very talented 10-piece band which includes 2 fiddlers, a trombonist, and a bag pipe player among others. Also showcased are the remarkable vocal talents of Zimbabwe-born singer, Lucia Evans. Evans won the fourth season of Ireland’s singing competition television series, You’re A Star, and has impressively sung for Nelson Mandela and the Special Olympics Opening Ceremony.

The most remarkable dancing of the evening comes from Lord Of The Dance alumnae, Bobby Hodges and Ciara Sexton, who make every footstep look seemingly effortless, even though the sheer level of talent required to carry out those moves is quite perplexing. During a scene in the show set in a downtown area (perhaps New York City), the male dancers demonstrate tap moves that floored the audience with some hilarity involved. The audience seemed to be engaged with every act of the show, clapping, nodding heads, and even laughing at some points, but never able to take their eyes off of the stage. When it came time for the show's finale, the mesmerized audience proudly stood up and applauded the entire cast of the show. Heartbeat Of Home has played in China, Ireland, and Canada and recently made its US debut on March 4^th in Chicago. Heartbeat Of Home has a lot of potential to grow and develop and to earn the cult-like following of Riverdance. If Detroit's audiences are any indication, we'll still be seeing Heartbeat Of Home on stage 20 years from now. This show is a must see!

Heartbeat Of Home plays at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre through Sunday, March 23^rd. 

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS!

Ticket prices range from $35 to $85 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com, or at the Fisher Theatre Box Office!

Showtimes:

Tuesday-Saturday evening at 7:30pm

Thursday Matinee at 1pm

Saturday Matinee at 2pm

Sunday Matinee at 1pm