Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...The core audience is, for sure, those who love Irish culture and who fell for "Riverdance" two decades ago and who perhaps now have kids and grandchildren of their own. Especially on a North American tour, the show can't just afford to be some kind of global mush. You can see the influence of "Stomp," "Noise/Funk" and other such groundbreaking variety entertainments, but the Irish dance still is in the foreground. As it should be, to my mind."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...Heartbeat of Home will most definitely surpass any expectations you will have if you are a fan of Riverdance. But for you known edification, do not think of this as a mere dance show or sequel. Rather, Heartbeat of Home a honest reflection of an ever changing world demographic that is best embraced and understood through the performing arts. To that end, Heartbeat of Home is a stand alone knockout."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...As performed by 37 supercharged performers, including 10 musicians, this Latin-Afro/Cuban/Irish amalgam of step dancing, mambos, salsas, lambadas, tangos, breakdancing, and showcase solos pours its heart out through its limbs. Brian Byrne’s supple score–an inexhaustible, neo-New Age outpouring of Afro/Celtic/Euro pop–is played by competing combos on bandstands that revolve around Alan Farquharson’s set as if to globalize harmony."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Heartbeat of Home is a refreshingly new take on Irish step dancing in that it has the manic energy and style but with more pizazz, improved Irish styles with smart inclusion of other sounds and dance styles. The result is a dramatically exhilarating new show with hints of the glory of Riverdance. Doherty and McColgan have another hit on their hands. The dancing go on..."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Everyone should be congratulated for this athletic and artistic achievement. The men - led by Bobby Hodges, Angelo Gioffre, Renako McDonald, Kieran Donovan, Curtis Angus, and Ryan McCaffrey - are all individually brilliant and collectively five-star. The women, though somewhat overshadowed by the men's brilliance - are wonderful as well: Clara Sexton, Emma Watters, Clare Craze, Teneisha Bonner, and Rocio Montoya lead the way. Fred Nguyen gets in some nice comic relief."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...This dance spectacular is about all of those who bring traditions from their home-land to their lives and is filled with music that brings us to the heart and soul of Afro-Cuban music and dance, Spanish/Latin and of course the traditional Irish folk with the high kicking , tap dance that we have grown used to over the years, but with a new vibrancy ( and the arms seem to move in this decade of change)."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...“Heartbeat of Home” indeed is a “Riverdance” for our time. It omits the plummy and sentimental recitations that I found tiresome and gets right to the point—showcasing a company of exceptional performers displaying their brilliance in one dance tradition after another. Maybe veterans of previous “Riverdance” visits might prefer more Irish stepping ensemble excursions and less modern dance/semi-ballet, but that’s just personal preference. Clara Sexton and her colleagues couldn’t be better, and they all seem to be having so much fun, maybe even as much fun as the cheering audience."
