Lord of the Dance (musical)
Michael Flatley found his first fame starring in Riverdance, but he left the show in late 1995 due to conflicts over creative control.
The show begins with the little spirit playing “The Lord of the Dance” melody, solo, on tin whistle, before the dark forces come and take over the Celts.
The stories are based on ancient Irish folklore and some biblical references; the title itself, along with the main musical theme, is taken from a contemporary hymn.
Seconds later, masked figures cloaked in black and bearing torches arrive and stand as statues while ambient new age music plays.
A terrifying performance of "Warriors" with suspenseful music follows, with dark lord Don Dorcha doing an introductory dance before being followed by his troupe.
That November, Lord of the Dance expanded operations by forming several troupes of dancers which would tour North America and Europe.
The first Feet of Flames concert which premiered on July 25 that year, was made as a one-off performance of Lord of the Dance, held before 25,000 people in London's Hyde Park.
The show's stage, measuring 180 feet (55 m) wide, borrowed set designs from the original Lord of the Dance but adds multiple levels for the finale.
The concerts in Dublin, London, and Berlin were filmed for a 3D concert film entitled Lord of the Dance 3D, later released on DVD and Blu-ray on 28 June 2011 under the title Michael Flatley Returns as Lord of the Dance in US and Canada, and 4 August in Australia, 12 September 2011 in the UK and October in Germany, France, Benelux and Scandinavia.
The character of Don Dorcha was remade from a simple warrior and rival clan leader to an undead, demonic, humanoid/cyborg hybrid with new supernatural powers.
Anne Buckley performed with the show until the Feet of Flames 2001 tour, at which point she left and has since recorded a solo album.
2001 21 January to 22 December: Germany, France, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, England, the Netherlands, Japan, Russia, Estonia, Belgium.
2002 16 February to 31 December: France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Lebanon, England, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, 2003 1 January to 16 December: France, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, 2004 13 January to 19 December: Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Switzerland, France, Greece, Czech Republic, South Africa, Israel, China.
2005 12 January to 31 December: Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Macedonia, England, 2006 1 January to 26 June: England, Chile 2007 Troupe One – 1 March to 22 December: Poland, United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Greece 2010 – Tour with Michael Flatley – UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria 2015 – Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games had temporary shows at the Playhouse Theatre, London and at the Lyric Theatre, Broadway and two touring casts elsewhere at the same time – one was in Sydney, Australia and also in Auckland, New Zealand, the others were spread across Europe.
The European tour included countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Poland.
