Lord of the Dance (musical)
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- For other meanings, see Lord of the Dance
Lord of the Dance is an Irish musical and dance production that was created, choreographed, produced by Irish dancer Michael Flatley, also its star.
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[edit] Background
Michael Flatley found his first fame starring in Riverdance, but he left the show in 1995 before its debut in London after a disagreement over creative control. Flatley dreamed of putting together a dance show capable of playing in arenas instead of traditional theaters. [1] He soon began thinking of rhythm patterns and steps for an a capella number. This number would later become "Planet Ireland", the show's finale. The show took 6 months to bring it from conception to the stage. Auditions where held in the SFX City Theatre in Dublin.
[edit] Performances
Lord of the Dance had preview shows at the Point Theatre in Dublin from June 28 to July 1, 1996. The show premiered on July 2, 1996. The story follows the character "Lord of the Dance" and his fight against the evil dark lord "Don Dorcha" from taking over Planet Ireland. The Lord of the Dance defeates his invasion with a little help from a little spirit. There is also a story with a "love vs lust" theme expressed through dance throughout the show. "Saoirse, the Irish Colleen" fights for the love of the "Lord of the Dance" against the wicked "Morrigan, the Temptress". The stories are based in ancient Irish folklore.
In March 1997, Lord of the Dance performed at the Oscars. That November, Lord of the Dance expanded operations by forming several troupes of dancers. These troupes would tour North America and Europe. Flatley signed a contract with Disney for Lord of the Dance to perform at Epcot in Walt Disney World in the summer of 1999. Lord of the Dance was asked back next summer in 2000. Troupe 4 performed at Euro Disney in 2002-03. There are currently four troupes of Lord of the Dance productions touring the world.
[edit] Feet of Flames
On July 25,1998 after two years of touring, Flatley created Feet of Flames, an expanded version of Lord of the Dance. Feet of Flames took the dancers from all the troupes and put them together. The show was held in London's Hyde Park. It was supposed to be the last time Flatley danced live on stage, but the show would later go on tour in 2000-01. However the touring production only had one troupe. The show in Hyde park was the last time Michael Flatley danced in "Lord of the Dance", he would go on to do the Feet of Flames World Tour, and now Celtic Tiger.
- Further information: Feet of Flames
[edit] Lord of the Dance today
In 2006, Lord of the Dance is still touring the world. Troupes 2, 3 and 4 are touring around the world. Troupe 1 (the original) is on break, but will come back in October 2006. Michael Flatley is currently dancing in his new show, Celtic Tiger. The Lord of the Dance 10th Anniversary Party was held in June 2006.
[edit] Lead Dancers
Over the years, along with several troupes, the lead dancers have changed.
Original characters (1996 show)
- Lord of The Dance: Michael Flatley
- Saoirse, the Irish Colleen: Bernadette Flynn
- Morrigan the Temptress: Gillian Norris
- Don Dorcha: Daire Nolan
- Fiddlers: Máiréad Nesbitt and Cora Smith
Gillian Norris left the show in early 2000. Daire Nolan left the show shortly after its first run in Epcot in 1999. Nesbitt is now with the Celtic band Celtic Woman. Smith is touring with Flatley in Celtic Tiger.
[edit] Show Acts
Act 1
- Cry of the Celts
- Erin the Goddess
- Celtic Dream
- The Warriors
- Gypsy
- Strings of Fire
- Breakout
- Warlords
- Erin the Goddess
- The Lord of the Dance
Act 2
- Dangerous Game
- Hell's Kitchen
- Fiery Nights
- The Lament
- Siamsa
- Our Wedding Day
- Stolen Kiss
- Nightmare
- The Duel
- Victory
- Planet Ireland
[edit] Tour Dates
Michael Flatley stared in the show from 1996 to early 1998 before going on to Feet of Flames. This incomplete list includes Troupe 1, Troupe 2, Troupe 3, and Troupe 4.
1996 - with Michael Flatley June 28 to December 30: Ireland premiere, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand
1997 - with Michael Flatley January 3 to November 27: United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia
1998 January 11 to December 10: England, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Austria, France, Norway.
1999 January 9 to December 19: Israel, Germany, England, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Portugal.
2000 January 26 to December 16: Japan, South Africa, France, United States, Germany,
2001 January 21 to December 22: Germany, France, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, England, the Netherlands, Japan, Russia, Estonia, Belgium.
2002 February 16 to December 31: France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Lebanon, England, Finland, Russia, Ukraine,
2003 January 1 to December 16: France, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Spain,
2004 January 13 to December 19: Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Switzerland, France, Czech Republic, South Africa, Israel, China.
2005 January 12 to December 31: Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Macedonia, England,
2006 January 1 to February 26: England,
- Further information: Lord of the Dance (musical) tour dates
[edit] Trivia
Lord of the Dance has had its host of parodies, most notably that of Mike Myers on MTV's Video Music Awards, along with spoofs in the comedy movie "Mafia", an episode of MTV's show Celebrity Death Match, an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Disney Channel movie The Luck of the Irish (2001 film), a Dr.Pepper commercial, Web sites, and more.
Dancers complete an estimated 151,200 taps per performance.
Flatley serves as artistic director and continues to oversee all aspects of the show.
More than 1.2 million music CDs and nine million videos have been sold around the world. The video was certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1998 [2]. The Lord of the Dance video was the best-selling Christmas season title in 1997.
In season 4 of Friends, when monica is asked that "According to Chandler, what phenomenon scares the bejeezus out of him?", her correct answer is "Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance!" because according to chandler, "Flatley legs flail about as if independent of his body!"
The show has been performed on six continents and in more than 40 countries, including Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, the Ukraine, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Montenegro, Israel, Lebanon, the UAE, South Africa, Australia, Japan, Korea, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and, recently, on Chile.
