Story
The show takes place in a “Celtic” land called Planet Ireland (or it is sometimes interpreted as ancient/historical Ireland), with much Celtic-themed imagery and music. The story follows Flatley’s character, the “Lord of the Dance”, and his fight against the evil dark lord Don Dorcha from taking over Planet Ireland. The Lord of the Dance defeats the dark lord's invasion with help from a little spirit, a pixie or faerie of sorts. This spirit, who initially appears as some kind of court jester, is eternally positive, dancing and beaming at all times. 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. There is also a secondary theme of “good girl versus bad girl”, or "love versus lust", expressed through dance several times throughout the show. Saoirse, the Irish cailín (normally appearing in white or brighter colours), fights to win the love of the Lord of the Dance against the wicked Morrighan, the Temptress (usually appearing in all red or black dress). 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. Through tales of love, heartache, temptation, peace, battle, struggle and finally victory, the story of the Lord of the Dance’s triumph is told through dance and live music.
Synopsis (original 1996 version)
The show begins with the number "Cry of the Celts". A female troupe sleeps in a semicircle with a girl dressed in gold, known as "Little Spirit" while winds accompany the scene. Seconds later, masked figures cloaked in black and bearing torches arrive and stand as statues while ambient new age music plays. Later, the Little Spirit rises from her sleep and plays the show's theme song on a tin whistle. She then awakens the troupe with magical dust. The Little Spirit leaves with the cloaked figures as the female troupe makes their first dance. Drum beats fill in and the show's main eponymous character, known as "Lord of the Dance" appears and dances before an elated crowd before being accompanied by the entire dance troupe.
After a song by "Erin the Goddess" ("Suil A Ruin"), the Little Spirit activates a mechanical musical doll which then dances with the female troupe led by the lead female protagonist Saoirse ("Celtic Dream"). A terrifying performance of "Warriors" with suspenseful music follows, with dark lord Don Dorcha doing an introductory dance before being followed by his troupe. At the end of Warriors, the Little Spirit plays a trick on one of them. Morrighan the Temptress makes her introduction soon after ("Gypsy").
"Strings of Fire" kicks in with two female fiddlers. Later Saoirse leads the female troupe in fighting Morrighan and later changes to black inner clothing after a fight with the temptress ("Breakout"). They are then greeted by the Lord of the Dance himself and his troupe, who then dances into an a'capella number ("Warlords"). Another song by Erin the Goddess follows ("Gaelic Song")
The eponymous number of the show ("Lord of the Dance") begins with a two pairs of males accompanying a pair of females in an introductory dance before the eponymous character dances to the shows' upbeat theme. The number ends with the title character being joined by his troupe.
2010 Return of Michael Flatley Reunion tour
Flatley's return to performance in Feet of Flames Taipei in 2009 marked the first step to his return in the show.
In April 2010, he announced[clarification needed] that he would be returning to headline the Lord of the Dance show, with performances in Dublin's The O2, Belfast's Odyssey Arena, London's O2 arena, Sheffield's Sheffield Arena, Manchester's MEN Arena, Birmingham's LG Arena, Nottingham's Trent FM Arena, Liverpool's Echo Arena, London's Wembley Arena, Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena in November 2010, with dates also announced in Germany, Switzerland & Austria, the first time he will have done so since 1998.
The show did not use the original stage set design but upgraded it to a modern design consisting of seven erect rectangular screens with a set of stairs also acting as screens. New lighting was introduced and aircraft landing lights were used as stage lights to add to the effect. The reunion tour also featured updated and redesigned costumes from the original show.
The concerts in Dublin, London, and Berlin were filmed for a 3D concert film entitled Lord of the Dance 3D. Later on, the film was 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 3D version of the film was released only in Blu-ray in late 2011.
Tour dates
Michael Flatley starred in the show from 1996 to early 1998 before going on to Feet of Flames.
This incomplete list includes Troupes 1, 2, 3, and 4.
1996 – with Michael Flatley – 28 June to 30 December: Ireland premiere, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand
1997 – with Michael Flatley – 3 January to 27 November: United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia
1998 – 11 January to 10 December: England, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Austria, France, Norway.
1999
9 January to 19 December: Israel, Germany, England, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Portugal.
2000
26 January to 16 December: Japan, South Africa, France, United States, Germany, Argentina.
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.
2022 - 25 Years of Lord Of The Dance United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy
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