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Michael Flatley retired from dancing and made a spy movie. What’s he working on now?

By Will Cox

Michael Flatley misses dancing.

“I mean, honestly,” he says. “You’re on stage, at the front, and you’ve got 30, 40 dancers behind you … it’s the sound of an army. It’s as loud as an airplane, every one of those dancers tapping as fast as they can, several times a second, hitting the floor at exactly the same time. That’s a buzz. It’s hard to replace that adrenaline rush. It’s a rare, unique, special moment in time.”

Michael Flatley performs at the London Palladium in 2015

Michael Flatley performs at the London Palladium in 2015Credit: Brian Doherty

Flatley is a hard man to track down. We’re initially supposed to talk via Zoom from his home in Monte Carlo, but when we finally chat it’s several weeks later, and he’s in Dublin. He’s warm, friendly, and speaks in an Irish accent which, I hate to say, many suggest is a bit of a put-on, given he was born in Detroit and grew up in Chicago.

In recent weeks he’s been in rehearsal with the 40 dancers in the cast of the world tour of his show, Lord of the Dance, which he choreographs and directs. This new version kicks off in Melbourne in August.

Riverdance introduced Flatley to the world in 1994. It was the intermission entertainment at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. Flatley bound onto the stage in a billowing silk shirt and flowing mullet, smiling, high-kicking, arms outstretched. This was not your typical Irish dancing. It was centuries of tradition given some ’90s razzle-dazzle.

Flatley’s focus has shifted from dancer to impresario, mentor and  entrepreneur.

Flatley’s focus has shifted from dancer to impresario, mentor and entrepreneur.

“And didn’t I get in trouble for it from the purists,” says Flatley. “Oh my God. They were not impressed. ‘Who is this guy from Chicago that thinks he knows better than us?’ I got a hard time.”

Audiences, however, loved it. Riverdance became a full-length show and global touring phenomenon, with Flatley as principal choreographer and undisputed star. Soon after, he fell out with the Riverdance team. He went his own way and created Lord of the Dance. He’s gone his own way ever since, sweeping people along with him.

Flatley no longer performs himself. He hung up his dancing shoes in 2016, aged 58. His spinal column is damaged, as is his left knee, right calf and achilles tendons. He’s had a fractured rib and a broken foot. Most recently, he’s battled cancer, now in remission.

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“I had a lot of miles on me,” he says. “Very, very, very few dancers ever dance past 30 years old. I didn’t actually get my start in the business until I was 35. And I miss it to this day. I miss coming on and stage at the end and seeing thousands of people standing up screaming and clapping for the show.”

His focus has shifted from dancer to impresario, mentor, entrepreneur. He describes his cast as “danceletes” – they’re at the peak of physical perfection, clear of mind and pure of body. They meditate and practice yoga together. “The men are cut and ripped,” he says. “The women are beautifully sculpted.”

But the show’s aim, as he describes it, is far more humble. “I’m in the joy business,” he says. It’s a “good clean show,” he says, “a family show.”

He wants no barriers between him and the crowd. It’s a grab for the widest possible audience. “When people come to my show – and a lot of the husbands probably get dragged to the show – they might have had a bad week or a bad day, but by the end they’re all happy, tapping their feet, clapping, and they go home humming a tune. And that’s a good place to be.”

Flatley keeps busy with many other projects. There are the whiskey brand, the flute album and the abstract paintings, which he creates by dancing across a canvas with paint-covered shoes. There’s his spy movie, Blackbird (2018), which he financed, wrote, directed, produced, and starred in (it was dismissed by critics as a vanity project – but you don’t get to his position without the absolute self-belief required to get past the occasional misstep). All bear his name and his boundless enthusiasm.

“Today’s dancers are far ahead of even the ones 10 years ago,” Flatley says,

“Today’s dancers are far ahead of even the ones 10 years ago,” Flatley says,Credit: Brian Doherty

The latest Lord of the Dance tour boasts new music, new sets and new dance numbers. Most of all, Flatley emphasises the new dancers.

“Today’s dancers are far ahead of even the ones 10 years ago,” he says. “For me now, my dream is making stars of all the dancers. Giving everybody a chance to do the lead, everybody a chance to live their dream.”

Towards the end of the show, the current troupe dance in sync with a recording of the 1996 one. “None of the dancers on stage were even born then,” he says. “It’s really cool.”

But then the kicker – a hologram of pre-retirement Michael Flatley takes the stage. Even a decade after giving it all up, he’s found a way to take centre stage, soaking up the applause.

Does he ever get jealous of his own age-defying digital avatar, out there between that army of dancers and horde of adoring public?

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Flatley laughs.

“I don’t think that’s possible, is it, to be jealous of yourself?”

Pointedly, he doesn’t quite answer the question.

Lord of the Dance is on at Margaret Court Arena on August 30 and 31, Brisbane Entertainment Centre on September 3, Newcastle Entertainment Centre on September 4, and ICC Sydney Theatre on September 5 and 6.

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Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/culture/dance/michael-flatley-lord-of-the-dance-20250707-p5md46.html