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or MICHAEL FLATLEY 101 New/Revised This is a list of Frequently Asked Questions on Michael
Flatley and Lord of the Dance. The "quotes" are taken
directly from interviews with MF - both in print and on video.
While every attempt has been made to get the most accurate
information, there could be some discrepancies. Last things first: NEW SHOW: "Celtic Tiger" premiered July 9 in Budapest. The U.S. premiere was at Madison Square Garden Sept 27, 2005. The DVD and CD are out and for sale. What is 'Feet of Flames?' It is a spectacular new and updated version of 'Lord of the Dance' with new numbers, music, costumes, sets, and 100 dancers. High points includes the famous 'Flute Jam;' a solo Slow Air flute number by Michael; and an outstanding new solo number by Bernadette. Very worth the buy! The video and CD of Feet of Flames is now available at most video/music stores. If you cannot find them they can be purchased through Shamrock Imports. What are the 'monks' chanting in Feet of Flames? Absolutely nothing one could decipher. The words are nonsensical and no particular language. (At least, none we know of.)
There are currently two troupes of LOTD: Who is Michael Flatley ? Michael Ryan Flatley was born on July 16, 1958 (just before noon) in Michigan. He was raised in Chicago's Southwest Side. He was the second of five children, AnnMarie (Annie) being the eldest, then Michael , followed by brother Patrick and then Eliza and Tomasina. His parents are Michael and Eilish Flatley, who emigrated from Ireland in 1947. His father came from Furteen, County Sligo. His mother from County Carlow. Stats: Height: 5'9" tall, Weight: 159 lbs., Hair: Blonde Eye color: One blue, one green .
When did he start dancing? "I was only four years old when my grandmother, a champion Irish dancer from Carlow, Ireland, taught me my first steps," "It wasn't until I was 11 that my mother — also an Irish dancing champion — took me, my brother and three sisters, to classes." However, he was discouraged because he was told he was too old. MF says: "But my mates were in the classes and there were girls, and I'd never seen such a thing, so I tried it." He did well, with hard work he became the first American to win the World Irish Dance Championships at the age of 16. (1975) Who were his dance teachers? He was taught by Mary and Dennis Dennehy at the Dennehy School of Irish Dancing in Oak Lawn, Chicago. After graduating from Brother Rice High School, Flatley briefly ran a dance school, but according to Mary "it wasn't his bag.'' Then he started his own business, Dynasty Plumbing. He plays the flute? ‘"My one diversion is the flute," he says. ‘"I carry it in my suitcase wherever I go, and take it out when I want to unwind and get rid of some stress." He won the All-Ireland Flute Championship in 1975. Does he have a flute CD out? YES! It's called 'Michael Flatley" and
there are some original composations on it by him. It's very good, though
probably not in your local stores. You can obtain it through Shamrock Imports. [Note. As of 6/99 this is
no longer in stock at Shamrock. It is very
difficult to find, and they will not be producing it anymore. (Find someone who has it, has a CD burner, and beg.) He boxes? Yes. He was harassed by some local kids in Chicago and got his butt kicked on a number of occasions. He says, "I had never told my parents about the fights before because I didn't want to upset them, but it's hard to hide if you're bleeding. Dad vowed this was never going to happen again and took me and my brother off to boxing classes. He also achieved the Chicago Golden Gloves Amateur Boxing competition in 1975 (135 pound /novice division) Was he in National Geographic? In the January 1991 issue of NG there is an article entitled "Masters of Traditional Arts". MF was the youngest recipient ever, who was named to the National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1988. Did he break the Guinness book of world records for fasting tapping speed? Yes. He has broken the World Record twice. Back in 1989 at 28 taps per second, on March 26, 1998 at 35 taps per second. Did he ever work with the Chieftains? In the early 80's he toured with the Chieftains and he danced while they played the music. ."From the start what Michael was doing was brilliant," says Chieftains leader Paddy Moloney. "I could see he was not going to settle down with us." Of that experience, "That was my training ground," he says. "They were so much fun. Going out performing every night in different cities, testing against the audiences, was a great way to find what worked. Doing that for ten years, it became easy to know what would work. What exactly is this new form of dancing? According to MF: "It's really hard to explain it. It's such a different form of dance.... What I'm doing there is an accelerated version of Irish traditional dancing and at the same time, I have incorporated the upper body movement and all of the arm movements, but it's not done like ballet. It's not done like tap, and it's not done like flamenco. It's something that I had to create from scratch because nothing else would have fit there." "I just saw it differently. I wasn't comfortable with it. I just hated to be told you can't do that, you just can't do that. It seems so unnatural. If you meet Irish people they seem so outgoing. They seem passionate and, you know, they have so much fire and drive and determination, and love and laughter. How could they want to dance with their arms at their sides? It didn't make sense to me. I'm sure some of the purists might shoot me for saying it, but it's true. It just felt wrong, and since I was a little boy I always dreamed to do it completely differently, just to be so different than the way it was. I loved what was there, but I always saw more.. ." When did he first get noticed? "One day I was digging ditches, the next day I was on stage at the Hollywood Bowl with the Chieftains. " Then in 1993 Moya Doherty saw him in the show "Mayo 5000" for President Mary Robinson. A couple of days later a phone call came from Ireland from producers, Moya Doherty and John McColgan, and they hired Michael to help create and dance in a seven minute segment called Riverdance to be performed for the 'entertainment' section of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. (Not part of the competition.) Yes, he danced with Jean Butler. That was April 16, 1994. From there they went on to create Riverdance into a full-fledged dance show. What happened with Riverdance? In October 1995, less than 24 hours before the London opening, Michael was let go for refusing to relinquish his choreographic copyright. "I really thought they would cave in at the last minute. But my lawyer rang me and said, 'Michael, it's time to put the chairs back on the tables.' I couldn't believe they were doing that to me. He asked me what I wanted to do. I just said 'It's over man' and put the phone down. My first thought was for my parents - they had lived every minute of Riverdance with me. They were so proud of what I'd done and I knew they'd be devastated. But my Father said, 'Michael, look inside your heart. You created Riverdance. We know it, Ireland knows it, everyone knows it. You can create another one.' It was exactly what I needed to hear. It's times like that when you get squeezed out that you have to decide what to do next with your life. For me, it was a bit like being hit when I was a kid. You feel stunned, and then you suddenly snap out of it. Now I look back and thank God I didn't sign that contract. I couldn't sign away everything I had worked for." How does MF feel about Riverdance now? He's proud of it. He's been quoted as saying, "Aside from the history of the show and what happened and all the rest, I still wish them the best. Don't forget, I poured my blood, sweat and tears into 'Riverdance,' and I can only love it because I'm the guy who built it." How did "Lord of the Dance" begin? Just a week after his split from Riverdance, Michael sat bolt upright in bed and started tapping out a rhythm. "The hairs stood up on my neck because I remembered an idea I had had before. It's now featured in the Hell's Kitchen as part of my new show. I immediately began work on Lord Of The Dance, fired by the thought that I wasn't going to let the Riverdance experience beat me." Lord of the Dance was born. "I always wanted to have a full Irish show, and put a production together with a story, and I wanted to go a little more high-tech, little more modern, incorporate a lot of rock into the music to make it more entertaining, and have a broader base, broader appeal for a younger audience, as well as an older audience. You know, there was so much more that could have been done that I think I needed to go out on my own to do that." How long did it take to create LOTD? "We were 8 weeks from the table to the stage. We didn't have a lot of money to throw around. " ( MF invested ALL of the money in creating LOTD.) Has he "paid his dues?" He recalls "I've worked on building sites with my dad on and off for years in all weathers from 40 below zero to 110 in the shade.Ř From plumbing to laying bricks and digging trenches." It's taken years for MF to be able to support himself as a dancer. Not even his critics can accuse him of being lazy. How did he choose his dancers for his show? MF: "I was looking for the greatest dancers in the world that were trained in Irish traditional dance so I could mold them in the new form of dance that I'm doing now. I was able to take that and teach them to use their bodies and teach them to be more passionate and not be afraid to be themselves." "We had all the auditions in Ireland, but they came from all over the world. We have dancers in the show from all over Ireland, all over England, Scotland, Australia, Canada, the U.S. They're all of Irish descent. They had to be the cream of the crop in what they did already in Irish dance. Most of my troupe are world champions in Irish traditional dance, but they're young enough to be trained to use their entire bodies, and they were accomplished enough with their footwork, so it made it much easier for me to do this. " How old are the dancers? The average age is about 21, 22, but the range is from 17 to 28. The two leading ladies started when they were 16 years old. (Bernie and Gillian.)"Flatley's got the best Irish dancers in the world,'' says Mark Howard, a choreographer and former step-dancing world champion - is also from Chicago. Howard says the 40 dancers in Lord are superior to those in Riverdance; he also says Flatley was brilliant to hire Dubliner Marie Duffy, a legend among step-dancers, to help him choreograph the show. What is the hardest number in the show? MF: "I'd say the opening number because it is so long. We are out there for fifteen minutes straight. That and the finale, that is really exhausting. Those are the hardest." When and where did LOTD first open? Michael has said June 28, 1996, but a fan that was there, says July 2nd , and then July 6th for the taping. Why in Dublin? MF: "I'm an Irish-American, it's an Irish show and it must be born out of Ireland. We had offers that would have guaranteed me my money had I opened in London, I had loads of places that would have been better suited to me financially, but it was imperative that we started the show there. We owed them that respect absolutely." What is this show about? MF has said: "I believe people don't want to have to think their way through a show. You know, if you're going out to enjoy yourself, there are certain type of plays that you might want to go to that are like that, but not in a dance show. I don't think it's necessary and certainly there's no hidden messages or secret meanings or anything in our show. It's a very, very simple story line. And what gets you here is the overwhelming good energy of the dancers. Night after night, we pump it out there to the audience. Night after night, they give it back ten times. " Are MF's legs insured? MF's legs are insured for $40 million. It is a common practice with promoters . How long does MF's dance shoes last? A couple of weeks. But he has about 6 pairs at any one time. "Because I click my heels like that, and they just go constantly." The heels are made of aluminum. Who makes his shoes? Freeds of London What does he do with them once they're kaput? Rumor has it that he gives them to charity. What is the symbolism of the unicorn in his business (Unicorn Entertainment) and on the back of his jacket? There was an article written by Larrian Gillespie, M.D., "As if being charismatic wasn't enough, Mr. Flatley has the gift of speaking with his feet. In one step, he mimics riding a horse with his upper body, while his legs gallop like a wild stampede, leaving your ears to listen to his thunderous clipping hooves. "That's why our symbol is the unicorn" he gleefully admits. Is Michael arrogant and egotistical? Seems the only ones that say that are those that have never met him. Those that have met him (myself included) report he is very kind, sweet, gentle, giving and focuses his attention only at the one who is addressing him. He's HUMBLE and VERY APPRECIATIVE of the success he has worked so hard to achieve. About ego and confidence, MF has said: "I think it's something that's inside of you..I mean people constantly, particularly in the press over here, mistake confidence for ego. I do have an enormous amount of confidence and I have that because I work night and day at what I do. There's not a day passes that I don't get in the studio and try to come up with something that is new, and anytime I start to get big ideas, the first place I head to is that old cold studio with the broken down mirrors and the broken down floor. I get in there and it's me against that old mirror for 7 or 8 hrs....and believe me, any big ideas that you have are gone there...it all started there and it finishes there..no matter what anybody else says." Does he really save a seat for his late grandmother at every performance? Yes. Her name was Hannah Ryan - the family called her Annie - and she was also an Irish step-dance champion. Before each performance, Flatley gets down on one knee, behind the curtain, in silent tribute to her. What the heck are the guys shouting in the LOTD show? What does his brother do? His brother, Patrick, lives in Chicago and owns Plumbing Express...give 'em a call when the LOO backs up! Do you have any information on the Lord of the Dance hymn? It was written by Sydney Carter in 1963. Carter died March 13, 2004 om London at the age of 88. Carter did get a small amount of royalty for it. Where are the Michael Flatley and LOTD related chats: There are a couple that can be found off Zamm's Link page" Where can I write Michael Flatley or contact
management?
US Public Relations: European Contact: How can I audition for LOTD? Well, first of all, you
should be trained in Irish Dancing. MF has said: "We get
calls from every different type of dancer, from every different
kind of show in the world. I generally stick with Irish dancers
because they need to be trained in a specific way. Their dancing,
it's an art form and a discipline. I mean, all of the work needs
to be done with your feet crossed, it needs to be done at a
certain angle, with your knees in a certain position, rotating at
a certain time. I need specific types of dancers that are trained in
a specific way." As far as auditioning, it is rumored that when dancers are
needed, MF's people contact the TOP Irish Dancing Schools in the
country and ask for their best dancers. (Ask your own teacher.) Who is Michael's personal assistant? We could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you. [g] Was Michael Flatley married? While touring with the Chieftains, Michael met Beata Dziaba in 1985, a make-up artist then working as a hotel receptionist in London. They were married in Copenhagen in 1986 but separated seven years later. Married for 11 years, their divorce became final in Cooke County, IL 11/23/97. They had no children. How does MF have a girlfriend? What difference does it make...it's none of our business. What are some of MF's favorite films: Michael says,"My favorite movie was 'The Mission' with Robert DeNiro, and I liked 'The Field' with Richard Harris's acting in it. It was brilliant."
What's kind of beer does he like? Guinness. And wine? Chateau Latour. What does he eat? Well, it doesn't seem that he's a health fanatic. He eats a lot because he burns a LOT of calories out there dancing every night. MF has said: "I have steak every day for breakfast when I'm on tour. It's more of a necessity. But I do like it. I love Oriental food. I have to eat everything I can just to keep my weight stable." (Loves dem White Castle hamburgers.) Chess anyone? Yes, MF admits to playing a little chess. Apparently he loves sailing the high seas as well. What does he like to read? Another quote by MF "I only read self-help and motivational books, nothing else," he said. "I inhale them. I don't have time to read anything else. Focus is the key to everything." Some reporter asked him and he named two favorites: Napoleon's Hill's Think and Grow Rich and Arnold M. Patent's You Can Have It All Future Plans 'Feet of Flames' will be re-introduced in March of 2000 in selected locations and Michael will star in it. See LINKS page for Tour Locations and Dates. A book is also been written (titled "Victory," as of the last update) due out in 2000. Update: It's now 2001 and this has been put on the shelf, so to speak. It's now early 2006 and the book IS out! It's called "Michael Flatley My Story, Lord of the Dance. (with Douglas Thompson) The movie is still a go, as of this writing July 2001.
Fans are hopeful that the the reports of a new FLUTE CD (in collaboration with Ger Fahy) will come to fruition. Update: Due Fall of 2004 Michael Flatley's GOLD which has been available to Europe for some time, will be available to the U.S. October 30, 2001. (Description of Gold Video: All Michael's greatest hits plus unseen dances and new versions. Running time approx. 124 minutes.) Tidbits:
That's all folks! |