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After ten years of bringing Irish dance to the international stage, Michael Flatley returns as he presents an anniversary performance of The Lord of the Dance.
I know what you're thinking: "Lord of the Dance – that's not Ballet, Tap or Jazz!" But, truth be told, traditional Irish dance is the long lost relative of tap dancing. Tap dance was born in the United States of America in the 19th century, but also takes roots from African dance, Spanish Flamenco, Clogging and, of course, Irish Dance.
Michael Flatley is the man responsible for putting Irish dancing on the international stage of popular dance. Although his Lord of the Dance (the "Dance" being Irish dance) is often the subject of parody, Flatley is also responsible for bringing to the public eye a dance form that is now internationally accepted and even cherished.
In 1996, Flatley created and choreographed the Lord of the Dance Irish dance tour, and it quickly became the most popular touring dance production in history and resulted in the Celtic dance phenomenon of the 1990s.
He was born in Chicago, and it came as quite a surprise to many that an American-born Celtic dancer would be the starting point of such a purely cultural dance. Flatley's dance career began at the age of eleven, and he was highly influenced by both his mother and his grandmother, who were both Irish dance champions in their day.
Holding the Guiness Book's record of 35 Irish dance taps per second, Michael Flatley was the first American in history to win the All-Ireland World Championship in 1975. After 19 years of working hard at his craft, Michael Flatley choreographed the renowned Riverdance in 1994, and it is this interval dance act on the show Eurovision Song Contest that paved a way of career success for Michael Flatley and his crew.
The festivities for the Lord of the Dance ten-year anniversary began at the Four Season Hotel in Dublin, Ireland on June 4. Here, ten years of past and present cast members reunited. After this reunion celebration amongst the cast, Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance, a ten-year celebration of popular Irish dance, begins its World Tour on July 6, 2006 in the Municipal Park at Limassol, Cyprus. Below, here is the Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance's European and World Tour schedule. Visit the official Lord of the Dance site for information about the U.S., Las Vegas, Asia and Africa tours.
2006 Tour Dates:
Jul 6-7 Municipal Park, Limassol, CyprusJul 13-16 Estadio Techado, Santiago, Chile
Jul 20-23 Estadio Techad, Santiago, ChileOct 2-8 Manchester Opera House, Manchester, UK
Oct 10-15 Bristol Hippodrome, Bristol, UKOct 16-21 Nottingham Royal Centre, Nottingham, UK
Oct 23-29 Oxford New Theatre, Oxford, UKOct 31 Sunderland Empire, Sunderland, UK
Nov 1-5 Sunderland Empire, Sunderland, UKNov 7-12 Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh, UK
Nov 16 Zenith Omega, Toulon, FranceNov 17 La Palestre, Cannet, France
Nov 18 Nikaia, Nice, FranceNov 19 Le Dome, Marseille, France
Nov 20 Le Millesium, Epernay, FranceNov 22-26 Palais des Congres, Paris, France
Nov 28-29 Parc Expo, Perpignan, FranceNov 30 Patinoire Meriadeck, Bordeaux, France
Dec 1 Patinoire Meriadeck, Bordeaux, FranceDec 2-3 Zenith, Toulouse, France
Dec 5 Antares, Le Mans, FranceDec 6 Zenith, Rouen, France
Dec 7 Zenith, Orléans, FranceDec 8-9 Zenith, Lille, France
Dec 11 Arena, Geneva, SwitzerlandDec 12 Palais des Spectacles, St-Étienne, France
Dec 13 Zenith D'Auvergne, Cournon D'Auvergne, FranceDec 14-15 Zenith, Dijon, France
Dec 16-17 Halle Tony Garnier, Lyon, UKDec 21-24 Croydon Fairfeld, Hall Croydon, UK
Dec 26-30 Croydon Fairfeld, Hall Croydon, UK2007 Tour Dates:Jan 2-10 Plymouth Pavilion, Plymouth, UK
Jan 12-18 NIA, Birmingham, UKJan 19-22 Dundee Cair Hall, Dundee, UK
Jan 31 Bradford St. George Hall, Bradford, UKFeb 1-4 Bradford St. George Hall, Bradford, UK
Feb 5-8 Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield, UKFeb 9-11 Poole Lighthouse, Poole, UK
Feb 13-18 Brighton Dome, Brighton, UKFeb 20-25 Grimsby Auditorium, Grimsby, UK
Feb 26-28 Southend Cliffs Pavilion, Southend, UKMar 7-11 Blackpool Opera House, Blackpool, UK
Mar 14-18 Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff, UKMar 22-23 Stradhalle, Vienna, Austria
Mar 23-24 Salzburgarena, Salzburg, AustriaMar 25 Intersport Arena, Linz, Austria
Mar 27 VAZ St., Polten, AustriaMar 28 Olympiahalle, Innsbruck, Austria
Mar 29 Stadhalle, Graz, AustriaMar 30-31 Festspielhaus, Bregenz, Austria
Apr 1-2 Kongresshaus, Zurich, Switzerland
The copyright of the article Lord of the Dance in Ballet/Jazz/Tap Dance is owned by Melissa Joaquin. Permission to republish Lord of the Dance in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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