Lord Of The Dance Hangs Up His Boots.

At the age of 57, international Irish dance superstar Michael Flatley has retired from active duty. This comes more than 20 years after his unique form of large-scale dance extravaganzas started touring the world. He told David Spicer that he is nursing a long list of injuries from his time on the stage.  This is why he is leaving it to dancers mostly aged in their twenties to star in his new production Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games. Also helping out arevirtual dancers and robots.

David Spicer: How do you feel about retiring?

Michael Flatley:  It is bitter sweet to be honest. It is a sad day to leave something I am so much in love with doing. My passion in life is dancing and creating shows. But I am not leaving completely. The legs have finally given up and said we can’t take it anymore.

In one way it is a happy day. Every morning it takes me a few minutes to straighten my back and my legs when I get out of bed. This is part of life. It’s all good. I have been successful. In my own heart I am happy with what I have accomplished. My dream now is to bring all these young stars into the limelight for the world to see.

DS:  Well you have had a much longer career than a footballer?

MF:  I certainly have, especially when you consider when I started. Most footballers retire by the time they’re 30 or 35. I didn’t even start until I was 35. I have been really blessed.

DS: Now Lord of the Dance Dangerous Game; should the audience be expecting what they are used to or something different?

MF: The audience is going to get something different. It is a reimagining of the original classic show. We’ve got new music, new sound, new lighting, new costumes, new choreography. It is a big bright new version of the Lord of the Dance show. I think people will be really moved by it.

DS: You are using a lot more technology than the early days. Can you give me a sample of it?

MF:  We have high definition screens and holograms - many things that we would have loved to have in the beginning. It will be a little bit shocking but in another way you will be moved that we kept all the really good bits of the original show.

DS: How do dancing robots or animated people dance compared to real people?

MF:  It fits beautifully into the storyline. Kids absolutely love it. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

DS: Is it art or entertainment?

MF:  Both.

DS:  Do you have affinity with Andrei Rieu?

MF:  There are many things about that great man I admire. It is wonderful that he has made classical music accessible to a whole new audience.

DS: What sort of talent have you assembled?

MF:  I think we have the most talented, hungry dancers in the world. When you see 40 dancers cross the stage as fast as they can several times a second on stage, hitting the stage at the same time, it is an awesome sight. I am very proud of them.

DS:  You broke the world record for speed dancing. Do you still hold it?

MF:  I broke it a long time ago and I never looked. If it stood for ten minutes that is great. If it stands forever, even better.

DS: What benefits are there for making dancing popular, particularly for young boys?

MF:  When you see our guys they are ripped and cut out of stone. They work out every day.  All I can tell you is that when the lads come out on stage, the girls go crazy, hooting and hollering. It is a great thing for dancers to feel that and be admired. We now have a waiting list of boys wanting to get in.

DS: What style of dancing is the most physically demanding in your experience?

MF:   I can’t answer that. There are so many styles I have not tried. All I can tell you is our style of dancing is gruesome and brutal at times. Very few of our dancers would make it to 30 years old. Most retire by the time they are 25.

DS: What sort of injuries have you had?

MF:  My spinal column is in a bit of a mess from all the percussion over the years. My T1, T5, C3, L5, my Sacroiliac. I have a really bad left knee - the right one is not much better. I have a terribly torn right calf muscle. I have a fractured rib and a broken bone in my right foot. The Achilles Tendons are in bad shape. It has been a long hard road. But other than that I feel great.

DS:  Is there any place where Irish dancing took off that has surprised you?

MF:  In the beginning every place surprised me that people would say it was so popular - as popular as pop music in some countries. Now nothing surprises me anymore. We have sold out all over the world - Tokyo to Texas and Mexico to Moscow. And we have had the same reaction from audiences world-wide. Sold out football arenas in Hungary and Taiwan. It’s been an incredible journey. We are really blessed.

LORD OF THE DANCE: DANGEROUS GAMES

www.lordofthedance.com

Playing at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney 20 – 25 October, 2015.

Article originally published in the September / October 2015 edition of Stage Whispers.