Riverdance Shivna

[MsHihihi111]

in love with this song i read power of six while listening to it so i fell like im reading or and in my book!!!

[vashtiverous78]

the story is about a chieftan cursed by a bishop to roam the woods with an old crone...if only the poem was available in english but many have tried and given up b/c of difficulty in translating

[LemmingCliff]

can you dance for your finnegan?

[0605EML]

The female lead dancer in this is such a beautiful dancer!

[kwbrownie2006]

I may be wrong, but the dancers look like they're from the Moscow Folk Ballet.

[TimberwolfsLilsis]

@kwbrownie2006 I believe they are.

[MrIrishcowboy]

@kwbrownie2006 well i know that the moscow folk ballet work with riverdance in the beginning, whether its them in this video, i think your right

[StoliDassah]

So glad this was finally included in a DVD of the show...I always loved the song on the soundtrack, but it wasn't on the video for the original Dublin performance or in the NYC performance. I saw the show live in 1997 and loved it so much, glad people will finally get to experience it

[Scarlet89]

The lead singer there actually teaches in my old school. She was a bit of a b actually. Hated my sister for some reason even though she's the quietest person you could possibly meet! Anyway, I like this a lot!

[ShadeHeart94]

I wish I had pants like those, I'd look sexay! Haha!

[michaelinasmom]

Taking my mom to see Riverdance next month. She took me to see it for my 16th birthday and since it's the farewell tour, it's our last chance to see together.

[brezairola]

"Shivna" - mimed from Geneva. Lovely miming.

[beezagirl777]

this was my dance song 3 years ago!

[beezagirl777]

this was my dance song 3 years ago!

[IAmAnAvocado]

Haha thats made me laugh !!!! well done who ever you are, quite a funny joke :)

[theheartislowtolearn]

thanks

[theheartislowtolearn]

"the knee and shin Lynn"

i imagine Lynn to be a nurse who asked

" which parts of the leg hurt?

[hananokuni2580]

Ah, the Celtic love for poetry and wordplay.

[danjames56]

this sounds something like what the elves of lord of the rings would sing :)

[hermionefan3]

It does! XD!

[StoliDassah]

@danjames56 I always thought that too. LOL! Probably because it sounds like they say Bilbo.

[TimberwolfsLilsis]

@danjames56 yeah and really the Riverdance singers in this video look kind of like the elves.

[Mendisal]

could it be Richard Templeman? the actor that bring voice to Kain

[birdistasty]

I was under the impression Liam Neeson did all the narrating...

I can't find anything on IMDB for sure, so who knows?

[reelirishboy5]

The narration was done by an Irish actor named John Kavanaugh :)

[teababe9]

the lafy looks old for the part but she is a really good dancer

[teababe9]

What is the name of the song please tell me

[phoenixpax]

Shivna, from Riverdance. It's on the riverdance cd.

[JizzGoblinJr]

Shivna, Shibne... Will thoust get on a steed? I may or may not...

[phoenixpax]

I'm eating my heart out with envy for those spins! I'm trying to learn something remarkably similar to what she's doing around 3:05 for my martial arts (a "spinheel" kick), and it is devilishly hard. I keep, well... falling over. And my toes keep catching on the mat. I think slippers like those would help.

[clodikins]

Fouette turns they're called

[hermionefan3]

Those are ballet shoes that she's wearing, by the way ;)

[blackbloodcrazy2]

i love this song! im learning how 2 sing it 4 my church

[bullettheblue]

I always knew there was more to Riverdance than what we got treated to on PBS or on their tours. It is nice to see the story represented for once! I could always see something historical and something mythological in it, but could only pinpoint a few things. Now it's starting to become clearer. Go raibh maith agat!

[birdistasty]

It really does depend on what company you see...

I saw Riverdance live a couple of years ago in Hershey, PA. First off, the band was hidden off behind stage right (right behind where I was sitting), and the troupe was a lot smaller than what you saw on the PBS show. Secondly, the tour we saw did NOT have Shivna in it, though it did have an additional Spanish-themed song/dance.

It's sad to see that their touring their last tour in the States as we speak :-(

[Patrick779]

@birdistasty Did you see Riverdance at The Hershey Theatre? I was just wondering because I saw it at Hershey Theatre and it did have Shivna in it when I saw it.

[wolfofdarkness371]

i love this song, i learned the words from listening to it so much,

they performed brilliantly.

[bklny]

thanks for the lyrics though they're a bit difficulut to pronounce for me snif !

[torycat]

Just Beautiful! I Love This!

[sonata4eva]

thank you, valita0000:)

[valita0000]

My very great pleasure.I find Irish to be a strange language, despite having heard a great deal when my grandparents were alive.

The language in "Shivna" is an *old* (really old!) form of Irish.

[reelirishboy5]

It's hard to find another person who appreciates the Irish language nowdays. Kudos Valita!

I had three great-aunts, Areleen, Naimh and Colleen, who inspired my love of Ireland. Irish lullabies, wives tales, and good ol' soda bread!

[valita0000]

Thanks, reelirishboy! :-)

I am sure your aunts called you "alannah" (precious).

I was FAR more likely to be called "bain-sidhe" (banshee) by my grandmother! As I am sure you know, a banshee makes a great deal of noise (from ban [bean],a woman,and shee [sidhe],a fairy; they wail when death is in the house).

Alternatively, she called me "amadon" (fool) a LOT! If she was speaking in "the English" this girl from the Gaeltacht would call me "idjit".

I was a REALLY bad kid :-)

[riperianenterage1213]

Its gaelic. :)

[xadnder]

I dunno. The music is good. I've always loved it. But the dancing? I mean the dancers are obviously quite talented, but the choreography, i thought, was pretty poor. I'm not a dancer or a dance aficionado. But I thought it was something an undergrad would come up with.

[valita0000]

I have to agree with you about the complexity of the dance...it's not very challenging. It DOES reflect the story of Suibhne Geilte quite well.

Cursed by Ronan Finn, Sweeney madly leaps from spot to spot, like a bird.  After seven years of madness, his reason briefly returns.

The dance in "Shivna" shows the White (Moon) Goddess taunting Sweeney into a contest of leaping. As Sweeney leaps along after the Goddess, he again takes flight and returns to madness.

[valita0000]

This is a song about Mad Sweeney (Suibhne Geilte, in Irish). Suibhne is pursued by a mill-hag who asks him to tell stories of his madness--he is still under the curse of Ronan Finn, and so his torture continues. During the verse, he wills the hag leave him in peace: "O hag, wilt thou go on a steed?"

(Note by Valita: Ronan was a Christian bishop who legend says cursed Sweeney to madness for throwing sacred books into a pond. Riverdance refers to this as "Cross and nail banished my comfort")

[kazekamiteras]

I so want to do this at my school, is there like an instructional video of how to do this dance??? (probably not)

[sonata4eva]

Could somebody translate the lyrics into English? Please!

[valita0000]

First verse:

A Bhennáin, a bhúireadáin;

A bhéicedáin bhinn,

Is binn linn in cúicherán

Do ní tí 'sin ghlinn.

O little stag, thou little bleating one;

O melodious little clamourer,

sweet to us is the music

thou makest in the glen.

[valita0000]

A dhragnéin,a dhelgnacháin, (dil, dol,doh,roh day) A mhinéin na chonaire A dhriséoc,a dhruimnechóc A chaillech,a chuirrechennach in raga for ech? O little blackthorn, little thorny one) O minen of the pathway O briar, little arched one O hag,O round-headed one wilt thou go on a steed?

[valita0000]

Third verse:

Is mé Suibhne sirthechán;

lúath reithim thar gleann;

Nochan é m'ainm dligthechán;

mó is ainm dam Fer Benn.

(Fer Benn is a proper name meaning the "Man of the Peaks" or "Antlered Man" (a mixture of man and beast)

I am Suibhne, a poor suppliant,

swiftly do I race across the glen;

that is not my lawful name,

rather is it Fer Benn.

[riperianenterage1213]

you found these online...

[boisei0]

WOW, This is really great

[Taldorna]

Sweet! I <3 it! I have the CD but I've never seen this dance before!

[sjaeckh]

I like the original better! And their singing is better in the original too...

[baritone101]

Very cool

[hannahcran]

thank you so much!!!!

ive never seen the dance b/c i only have an old vhs of riverdnace. wow!

[xGaelicx]

I've been looking for this forever! Thank you!!! Such an amazingg dance. The song is sooo cool, too.

[atheatergeek]

Thank you so much for uploading this! I have spent about 3 months looking for this!! Thank you!!!!

[livvy7678]

whats so amazing?

[noahc93]

everything... the gaelic lyrics, the awesome moscow folk ballet, the, um, fog.

[noahc93]

AAHH! I LOVE YOU FOR POSTING THIS!

[dejpau3825]

Thanks for posting this! I've been looking for it forever!