Michael Flatley Discusses "Lord of the Dance"

Note from Zammi: Transcripts can appear cold. For those who were unable to see this, please insert a lot of chuckles from Michael. He was patient, direct, understanding, and laughed often through the interview.

LARRY KING, HOST, LARRY KING LIVE: He's thrilling millions with his new show, "Lord of the Dance." Tonight, find out why Michael Flatley is such a phenomenon. Michael Flatley for the full hour, next on LARRY KING LIVE.

I'm Larry King and our guest tonight -- great pleasure to have him with us, the "Lord of the Dance," Michael Flatley. What is this that you do? We're going to see lots of examples of it. But what is Irish step dancing?

MICHAEL FLATLEY: Well, Irish step dancing has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years, but just now, is sort of coming into focus, I think.

LK: For you?

MF: Well, I probably had something to do with it, I guess. I'm sure it helped these -- these big shows are coming now into focus all around the world. But Irish dancing is just a very, very intricate entertaining form of dance.

LK: And you discovered this as a boy in Chicago?

MF: Yeah, I did. Well, my parents -- I mean, my family was really into it. My mother was an Irish dancer. Her mother was an Irish dancer and I think a lot of people in Ireland did this form of dance. But it's not something, I'm sure, that would real well known in the Chicagoland area, but our family wanted to keep our ties with Ireland. So, as a result, we sort of followed our roots a bit.

LK: Therefore, I must ask, growing up in Chicago, where did you get that accent?

MF: Well, I spent a lot of time in Ireland too. I didn't grow up 100 percent of the time in Chicago. My parents -- because we were Irish, went back and forth all the time to Ireland. And I spent a lot of time with my grandmother over there. I was very, very close to her and I suppose...

LK: You picked up the brogue?

MF: Yeah, just a little bit. Just like, you know, you see here guys going out for a few beers -- St. Patrick's day -- everybody talks Irish. I think it's something like that.

LK: When did you want to be a dancer?

MF: Well, you know, at the beginning it was hard. My parents, as I said, taught me when I was about 11. I didn't realize really right away that I wanted to do it. It took me a while before it actually caught on. But once it got in -- it got inside me and took a hold, it just never let go. I knew, I guess, when I was a teenager I really wanted to do this.

LK: Really? Were you good at it quickly? I mean, were you kind of a -- for want of a better term -- a natural dancer?

MF: Yes -- well, I mean, I suppose I was. I seemed to pick up the steps really fast and I think it was something that was definitely in my blood. But, yes, I learned really quickly and I started creating steps almost right away after about a year of studying just the basic steps. I began to see things differently. I just -- I think it was something that just was inside me.

LK: So, you're a choreographer as well as a dancer?

MF: Yeah, I am.

LK: Let's show the audience what we're talking about here. An example of Michael Flatley, who's the master of this. This is the Irish step dance. They are currently touring "Lord of the Dance" and of course, there was "Riverdance" -- lots of talk about. But here is a sample of what we mean. Go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ("Lord of the Dance" Clip) (END VIDEO CLIP)

LK: That is very entertaining. Without being too technical...

MF: Yeah...

LK: ...how does that -- that obviously is not typical tap dancing. It's certainly not tango, but it's something -- explain it. What are you doing?

MF: It's really hard to explain it. It's such a different form of dance. It's so different than anything else in the world. It's not really like anything else. 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. Otherwise, you would've just had a hodge podge.

LK: Right, but we see a bit of flamenco. We see a bit of tap, right? I mean, it seems like it's incorporating many things, yet it's older, maybe, than all of them?

MF: It is. I think, you know, although I don't have any, you know, any proof of this, I think Irish dancing probably was a forerunner to tap dancing. And I'm sure they -- that a lot of that rubbed off when everybody came here to the states.

LK: Had to.

MF: Yeah, sure, and the Spaniards, there's a lot of Celts there. So, I think that a lot of it is very, very close. But what you're getting is the same passion, maybe, but it's not really the same dance at all. It's completely different.

LK: If I were to go through Ireland -- through Dublin and areas around -- in the outskirts, would I see people...

MF: Doing that?

LK: ...step dancing? Not necessarily doing that kind of show, but would they be in formation doing those -- a variation of those steps?

MF: You could. You wouldn't see this in a normal -- you wouldn't really see it in a pub setting. You'd probably see people doing traditional Irish dancing. Mostly it's the youngsters doing that sort of thing.

But you know years ago, Larry, this type of dancing was done in country halls and at weddings and at different parties and different get-togethers, and people sort of danced more with their heart than I think they do today. And what we tried to do or what I tried to do, certainly, as a choreographer and with the show, was to bring back that feeling -- more than just a dance itself; more than be real specific about the type of movements that had to be involved. I was more interested in bringing back the love of dance and a passion that was there all those years ago, that had somehow been lost recently.

LK: What was your break? How did we get to know you? Was it "Riverdance?"

MF: I suppose "Riverdance" was the biggest exposure that I would have gotten on a worldwide scale. I was with the Chieftains for many, many years.

LK: Rock group?

MF: They are an Irish traditional group that have won so many Grammy's -- I lost count.

LK: You sang with them?

MF: No, I danced. I danced with them.

LK: Although they sang?

MF: No, they are musicians.

LK: Just musicians and they won Grammys.

MF: Yes, they did, yes.

LK: A dance group that did records?

MF: Well, they are an Irish traditional music group and they do a lot of records. They've done them with Mick Jagger and they've -- Van Morrison, they've done them with many big stars. But they are a wonderful, wonderful group.

LK: So you left the Chieftains?

MF: I did.

LK: To start...

MF: To create a seven-minute interval piece called "Riverdance."

LK: That was used where?

MF: In the Univision song contest April 16, 1994.

LK: One does not forget dates when something big happens.

MF: I suppose not.

LK: What happened at the song festival?

MF: Well, just -- at one time, I bombed. I mean, 300 million people saw it. All the different countries in the world -- all over Europe were watching it, and I don't think they were expecting what we were going to deliver that night. We were just supposed to be an interval act, but I had different ideas. I -- I was a long time at the bus stop, Larry, and it was my turn.

LK: You knew that, that seven minutes would click?

MF: Damn straight.

LK: We'll be right back with Michael Flatley, the noted dancer, choreographer; the Irish step. We've got lots more to show you too. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LK: We're back with Michael Flatley.

How did "Riverdance" lead to "Lord of the Dance?"

"Lord of the Dance," by the way, let me give you some statistics here. It opened in Radio City in the United States, sold out 13 consecutive performances, traveled U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, grossed $100 million, booked through March of next year in arenas from 20 to 30,000 seats. On home video it has sold millions of copies. 40 dancers are in the cast. ICM, which also represents some things I do too -- ICM is putting together a movie deal for you. We'll talk about that. How did "Lord of the Dance" begin? MF: Well, it began when I left "Riverdance," and decided to go out on my own. I just had so much more to say as a choreographer and as an artist. I wanted to go so much farther with it. "Riverdance" was just the beginning of what it is I was trying to accomplish, and what it is I was trying it do.

LK: "Riverdance" was that seven-minute thing?

MF: Yeah, it was a seven-minute segment that we turned into a show that toured around the world, but --

LK: Why weren't you happy? You were the choreographer for that.

MF: Yes, I was.

LK: What was the difference between that and "Lord of the Dance"?

MF: Well, "Riverdance" was the first step, so to speak, it was like doing a first film and a second film, but the producers felt it was important to incorporate all the different nationalities and different countries in the show, and that the Irish part would be of the show and sort of encompass the whole thing, but it won't be an entirely Irish show.

LK: You didn't agree with that?

MF: No, I didn't at all. I believe Ireland can stand on her own two feet, and 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, I just -- there was so much more that could have been done that I think I needed to go out on my own to do that.

LK: So "Lord of the Dance" is your baby?

MF: That's right.

LK: You hired the dancers?

MF: Yes.

LK: You choreograph the entire show, pick the music?

MF: Yes.

LK: And dance in it as well?

MF: Yes.

LK: It a lot to do?

MF: Yeah, it is, but it's what I love to do. It's what I live to do.

From beginning to end, for better, or for worse. When you're doing a project like this, there has to be somebody who handles it and sort of has a central focus. If you have too many people making decisions, and too many people putting in different flavors, then you lose the focus of what it started out in the beginning to be.

So it is a lot of things to do, but in any business or in any thing like this, always there's so many things to do, but I love it. I live for it. That's why I get up in the morning for Larry.

LK: I understand. Was it a hit from the start?

MF: Yes, it was. We had a tough start because we opened in Dublin, and it was --

LK: Better please them.

MF: Oh, yeah. That was the tough place, but I was adamant about opening in Dublin because it's an Irish show. It had to be born out of Dublin. So we had to face some tough critics. Ireland has, maybe, the toughest set of critics in the world.

LK: Really, I didn't know that.

MF: Particularly when it comes to this sort of stuff.

LK: Do they treat you well?

MF: They were fair. I think overall, we got the good ones outweighed the bad ones, and I think that's always good. You know, we were coming on the heels of "Riverdance," which was a big success for me, and then to be going on my own, they probably thought I was a little cocky so I took a little stack over that. But all in all it was good.

LK: You are a little cocky, aren't you?

You're determined. Cocky is a bad word. Cocky is treated as negative.

MF: Sure, I'm very determined person.

LK: You're goal oriented.

MF: Yeah. I have -- there's a fire that sort of burns in me to do this sort of thing, and I can't explain it, but it's in there, and it makes me want to do it.

LK: People with the fire can never explain it.

MF: No.

LK: Let's see another example from "Lord of the Dance," of the brilliance of Michael Flatley. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ("Lord of the Dance" Clip) (END VIDEO CLIP)

LK: The crowd really gets involved, right?

MF: They don't hate it.

LK: No, they are screaming, because they like one girl over another. There's a story going on.

MF: There's a story there. Those are the two female leads in the show. One of them is Bernadette Flynn (ph), the blond girl, and the other one is Gillian Norris (ph), and she is more of a temptress.

LK: She's out to lure you away from your true love.

MF: Yeah, that's what it is.

LK: The crowd wants you to return to the true love.

MF: I'm not sure.

LK: Do crowds, generally, get involved like this?

MF: They do. It's amazing. I have never seen people react to a show the way they react to this. We're very, very lucky.

LK: It's described -- someone said that Irish step dancing is very rigid, requiring dancers -- I'm reading from the way it's supposed to read -- hold their arms tightly at their side, and keep their upper torsos as motionless as possible, but you broke that tradition and began using the arms.

MF: That's right.

LK: Why?

MF: 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.

LK: They use their hands.

MF: 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.

LK: Were you looking for dancers? Obviously, everyone doesn't grow up doing Irish step dancing.

MF: Right.

LK: Do you find adaptable? Do many girls and men adapt to it, who are doing other kinds of dancing?

MF: Sure, everybody it seems, particularly, now, everybody wants to do this type of dancing.

LK: It's hot.

MF: It is, it's really hot. 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. It's a discipline. It's been around for hundreds of years, so I need specific types of dancers that are trained in a specific way.

LK: We'll be back right with more of Michael Flatley and more of Irish step dancing. The show "Lord of the Dance" is selling everywhere, and the video is available, too.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LK: We're back, learning the art of the Irish step dance.

Now, it is a little different. This is a regular pair of tap shoes. We might call these "Gregory Heinz-type" tap shoes. He's the most famous, I guess, of our current tapsters. This is the taps. This is an Irish step dance shoe. Can you tell us the difference, Michael?

MF: Sure. This is custom tailored and designed for my type of dancing. It's made by Freed's of London.

LK: Freed's of London.

MF: That's right. The heels are made in New York City and I had to finally get these heels made of aluminum, because the other ones just keep on coming apart and falling off. I had them made of wood, different plastic ones. You can see the beating that these takes. These are only a few days old.

LK: Really, look at all the beating from hitting the ground like that, right?

MF: Yeah.

LK: And on the bottom this is just plain tap in front, right?

MF: This is a new style tap that was designed, again, in New York City by a man named Robert Rail (ph), and those taps are great because they don't come off as frequently as the other taps. Those are the ones that I use.

LK: All the dancers wear these heels, male and female?

MF: The dancers mostly dance in fiberglass heels and toe pieces. I, specifically, wanted these because of the speed i dance at.

LK: But the heels are all high.

MF: Yes.

LK: Whereas the traditional tap would have this kind of heel?

MF: A much flatter heel. That's right, yeah, but I tend to use my heels an awful lot more than, perhaps, the average tap dancer might.

LK: I bet you would. Do you have to replace the heels a lot?

MF: Constantly. My shoes don't last me more than two weeks when I am touring ever.

LK: Let's watch another scene from "Lord of the Dance," and we'll have more questions from the master of it Michael Flatley -- Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ("Lord Of The Dance" Clip) (END VIDEO CLIP)

LK: People are having a good time. There is a touch of a lot of -- there's a flamenco touch, when you look to the side and put the hands on the hips, that's a little Jose Greco, right? I remember Jose Greco, and he would do that.

MF: Yeah.

LK: Looking for the heel of his shoe, right?

MF: I think all different artists express themselves through whatever they feel at the time. It's not something that you plan. It's something you do when you're out there.

LK: What's the toughest part of mastering this dance?

MF: Oh, it's endless, endless hours of working with your ankles. The pain in the joints, your knees, your ankles, your hips just doing it over and over. I'll take one piece there that's 30 seconds long with those dancers and spend eight hour on it. We'll do it over and over and over again, probably break for lunch for maybe 20 minutes and come back and start again the same piece over and over.

LK: It's got to be, to go through that, fun.

MF: Oh, yeah. It's the best feeling in the world.

LK: The fun of it is what when you've got it down?

MF: You're out on stage, the music is blaring, the crowd is screaming, the lights are flashing, your heart is pumping, the sweat is flying and it's the greatest feeling in the whole world.

LK: Is it tough to teach it in combination, when you have as many dancers as you have on stage there?

MF: It's the hardest part, but it's the most magical part, you know? If you think about it for a second, you've got 40 dancers that are out on stage dancing, touching the floor at exactly the same time, through the entire number, exactly at the same time. So --

LK: It's like a precision drill team of the Marines Color Guard?

MF: Absolutely right, absolutely right, and It's come so far, even in the last two years. The work that they are doing right now is so intricate, compared even to what I did in "Riverdance." It has gone so far because it's moving at such a pace right now. It just keeps on evolving constantly.

LK: Are you a taskmaster? Are you tough?

MF: Yeah, I suppose I am, yeah.

LK: Because I remember, I read somewhere that you -- you're very particular about what you want. You change, you go through people, right?

MF: Yes, I do. Well, I do what I feel is necessary to accomplish the task at the time, and, you know, there's things in life, no matter what it is you are doing, somebody has to get it done. Somebody has to get it done, otherwise it all stops. So there are decisions that I make that maybe not everyone will agree with, Larry, but I think anyone who is in this position, or in a position like me, would have done the same things. You have to.

You know, it's just part of getting to the next step, getting to the next level and it's not easy to do. I'm not the most popular guy in the world sometimes when I have to do that, god knows. But it's still -- looking back I have no regrets. I made the right calls at the right times, and that's why we're here.

Right now, we're on the last leg of the world tour. I'd imagine that I'll continue dancing in this show at least until maybe St. Patrick's Day next year, the 17th of March, and that might be the end of it for me, and I'll --

LK: Really, out? Could there still be a "Lord of the Dance" without you?

MF: Oh, I think so very definitely.

LK: Is there another people you've groomed to be a lead and go out and do the show, and you could do other things?

MF: Absolutely. I have got some fantastic young guys coming up. I think, they are all eager, they are young and fantastic shape, and I built a show so that several people could do the lead. It's not a one-man show by any means. We have an extremely talented team of people. I have got an eight-piece band that have brought music so far into the future. Ronan Hardiman is our composer, entirely original score.

LK: All original?

MF: All original. There's only maybe two numbers in the whole show that weren't original, because I specifically requested them. But the two female leads, I mean, people scream every night they go on stage. Anne Buckley (ph), our soprano singer, two violin players, that are just out of this -- like a couple of little rock stars every time they come out on stage, and not to mention the 40 dancers, they are top class, best in the world.

LK: Our guest is Michael Flatley, "Lord of the Dance". We'll be right back. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LK: Our guest is Michael Flatley. He stars in choreographs "Lord of the Dance." He'll be doing lots of other things as well. This has become kind of a major craze for one of a better word. Are you in competition with "Riverdance" now?

MF: No, absolutely.

LK: Are they still out doing their thing?

MF: Yes, they are. "Riverdance" is built to do theaters and to do long runs at theaters, so they're playing to the, you know, 1500 to 1800-seat theaters. And it's -- I suppose it would be more of a sort of a variety style show. And ours is more of a dance, rock fusion, I'd say. And we're playing to the 10 and 20,000-seat arenas. But our show was built for an arena tour. So that way, they don't really -- they don't compete. I think they probably help each other.

LK: You work outdoors too?

MF: Yes, absolutely. Sure.

LK: A lot of outdoor work?

MF: Yes. We have been offered some really good ones. We were offered Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

LK: Woh!

MF: Things are really starting to move. The tickets are flying, thank god.

LK: How about moving a troupe around that big?

MF: Yes, it's a big job. No doubt about it. But again, we have got the best people in the world around us. We got seven semis on the road and three buses.

LK: This is a rock tour?

MF: Kind of. Yes, only better.

(LAUGHTER)

LK: Let's watch some more of Irish step dancing. Here is the brilliant Michael Flatley. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ("Lord of the Dance" Clip) (END VIDEO CLIP)

LK: I notice the audience jump up and down. I mean they really get into this. You encourage that?

MF: Absolutely. Why not.

LK: This is not just sit downed and applaud.

MF: No, this is an event. People go out and they want to be entertained. They pay that much money for a ticket and they want to see something spectacular. They want me to walk out of the edge of it. They want me to walk that find line, take chances. Whatever happens. They are happy with it. Whatever it is, they are happy.

LK: Have you fallen?

MF: Oh, man, I couldn't count the number of times I have fallen. Sure.

LK: Any dancer that says they have never fallen is lying, right?

MF: It's what I said.

LK: Or not taking any risks, right?

MF: That's right.

LK: What do you do when you fall?

MF: Just -- there's no point in trying to pretend you didn't fall. No point in trying to pretend you're not embarrassed. I think in many ways, the audience -- they sort of become more closer to you. You know, it's kind of endearing that they know that you're human, that you're willing to take chances, you are willing to make mistakes, but this is live entertainment. It's what it's all about. This is live entertainment. We performed on the Oscars recently. And you name it. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for us.

LK: I wanted to ask you about that night.

MF: Oh, yeah.

LK: What went wrong?

MF: I came flying out. The first thing that happened is the guy moving the camera got in my path somehow. And I knocked him over. He was doing the little hand held thing. And that throws you off a little bit. I slipped a little bit when I was doing my high kicks, but didn't go down, came to the front of the stage. And there was a microphone that had come up for Madonna. There is a little square in the floor. The mike comes up through it. I put my foot through that. They didn't get it on camera. So I just stayed away from it through the rest of the piece. But -- a lot of little things, but you don't notice it. And you what, it's all part of doing it live. It's all part doing it live and being out there every night. It's what I live for. If it was all the same, it would be bored to tears.

LK: That was a great shot for you.

MF: It was.

LK: To be placed on that telecast, so widely seen around the world.

MF: That's terrific exposure. We have come a long way when Irish dancing can be sandwiched between Celine Dion and Madonna on the Oscars. And you have three billion people our there watching it.

LK: Who goes to see it? It would be ridiculous to say it's just Irish audiences.

MF: No. In fact, less than 20 percent of our audience is Irish. We have all nationalities, all races, from five to 85. I know when I go out back, I get into my limo that night and sign autographs, it's every age. Every different type of people.

LK: Blacks, Latinos?

MF: Absolutely. Every different race, every nationality from everywhere. They all react to it the same way. They all love it. You get them up dancing in the aisles, no matter how big, no matter how small. You get them up dancing in the aisles.

LK: So obviously as you say, there's a fire.

MF: There is.

LK: And something infectious in it. And the tango could do that to certain people in completely different way, right? MF: That's right.

LK: The tango is more sensual, isn't it?

MF: Yes, it is. It is, absolutely. I think what gets them with our dance particularly, Larry, is the rhythm patterns, the percussion. It's something that is inside in you. And you just can't get it out. It's always going to be there. It's a common base for people. They hear rhythm, people just want to move to it. I think that's one of the big secrets in there.

LK: Is there -- do you get -- is it painful to learn too? I mean, on your ankles?

MF: Yes, it can be. I mean...

LK: First of all, the heel is an unusual thing for a man.

MF: That's right, absolutely. Yes. Although I wear them all the time. I wear heels. I have done through my whole life wore cowboy boots with heels on them and -- but I think most guys would have a hard time dancing in them in the beginning, but then you get used to them.

LK: Now you have got the difficulty. You're very intelligent. You're in Mensa, right?

MF: I am not in Mensa. That's written...

LK: Somebody told me you were a Mensa.

LK: That's written in a lot of stuff. I don't know where they got it. They asked me to speak at their 50th anniversary in London.

LK: Ain't bad.

MF: That's not bad. I'm delighted, but I couldn't do it. That got written up in a British tabloid somewhere and got picked up on it.

LK: And becomes accepted as fact.

MF: That's right.

LK: Why didn't you say it? What do you do though...

(LAUGHTER)

What to you do though when you got a tiger by the tail and you are on tour a craze?

MF: Well, I think -- I firmly believe this is something that has been around since I have been able to trace Irish dance back to the 1400s. I just don't think it's a craze. I think it's rock solid. I think it's like the Bolshoi. I think what we have is built to last. It's got a great foundation. I went back to find something ancient and worked on that and then brought it into the future with me. And I think that this is going to stimulate the younger minds coming up. All different nationalities can do this. I think it's something that is really going to take off.

LK: They'll be -- they'll be places where we'll go to learn to Irish step dance?

MF: I think that's very possible. And also, I think you'll see a lot of the other nationalities going back to their roots and doing a lot with their folk dance and...

LK: African dances from...

MF: Oh, yes. Why not? Absolutely. I think from everywhere. You'll see all the different nationalities doing that. I think that's good. It has more foundation I think that...

LK: Do we know how old dancing is?

MF: I don't know. I wouldn't pretend to answer that one.

LK: I don't know either. Neither of us are Mensa. Mensa is that organization that the top one percent intellectually of the population, so your host is excluded. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LK: We're back with Michael Flatley, the originator of "Riverdance." We can certainly say that. Formerly one of the Chieftains and this Irish step dancing review now called "The Lord of the Dance" is playing to sellout crowds everywhere and video is successful. We called it a craze -- that may be unfair, but certainly you're in the boom here.

MF: It's going well.

LK: Right?

MF: It's going very well.

LK: It's not going bad. Back to your personality. Someone -- one of your previous managers said that if there were three Michael Flatleys, you would sack two of them.

MF: Is that right?

LK: Yeah.

MF: That's good. I like that.

LK: You're tough?

MF: I can be. Well, you have to be. Anybody who is in business knows it's tough out there. It is tough to compete in any field no matter what you're doing. And I demand the best of the people around me. But they know that going in. You know, it's not a secret. I interview everybody -- all of my dancers -- I interview them. They know it's going to be hard. They know that we're going to work 24 hours-a-day. We're going to put in the time until we get what we want. And when we get there, the reward, I think, are all worth it. So, I don't mind them saying, I am a task master. I mean, if I wasn't that tough on myself, I wouldn't have ever gotten this far, Larry.

LK: Do you like choreography as much as dancing?

MF: I love it, yeah. It's a...

LK: Not all dancers are choreographers and some great choreographers are not dancers?

MF: That's very true.

LK: Balanchine was an average dancer, right?

MF: Right, that's right, but I think from my particular type of dancing -- you have to put yourself in my shoes there -- I grew up in Chicago. Who is going to create stuff for me? I had to -- I was in a position where I had to create it myself. And then it got to the point where I could only dance my own stuff because it was so different.

No one else used their arms. Nobody else ever did this, so I had to go back. There's a end piece in the show that's all a capella. And I spent just weeks creating it -- the rhythm patterns -- and I actually went into a room, turned out the lights, and created a lot of it in the dark because I had to force myself not to look at the visuals; only to listen to the rhythm patterns.

LK: Hmmm.

MF: Yeah.

LK: So, you get as much of a kick when they're doing steps and you're not on stage as when you're on stage?

MF: Sure, absolutely.

LK: It's a different kind of kick.

MF: But it's a big buzz. It's a great buzz. Yeah, it's fantastic. Particularly some of those -- the girls that you just saw there. I mean, they're just magic. Those girls are fabulous dancers. Bernadette Flynn (ph), Jillian Norris (ph) -- to be able to take them out and just uncover what -- what it is that they do already. I don't have to, you know, bend them into something they're not. I just take what they're great at; what they excel at and just keep uncovering it, so everyone can see it and teach them to express themselves; just let go, that's all.

LK: We have one more scene to show you from "Lord of the Dance" with Michael Flatley and his troupe -- watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ("Lord of the Dance" Clip) (END VIDEO CLIP)

LK: You have to be in good shape too, right?

MF: Yeah, definitely very good shape.

LK: You lose weight every night doing this?

MF: Every night, yeah, I am probably about five percent body fat. I'd say most of the dancers are about very close to the same. We wouldn't be able to do much work during the day on our feet because it takes so much out of you every night. We've got to eat and drink everything we can get our hands on.

LK: When you were a kid growing up -- and you go to movies and that, who was the dancer you liked?

MF: Oh, I mean, it would be hard not to love Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly and those guys. I mean, they were just extraordinary dancers.

LK: They choreographed a lot of their own.

MF: They did. You know, that's -- that's -- I am glad you hit on that point because a lot of those men did so much of that work themselves. They dreamt it up. They created it. They choreographed it. They molded it. They shaped it. They did it themselves. And I think that, that's a good thing. I don't think that, that should be considered tough or in any way bad.

LK: Gene Kelly was regard as very tough.

MF: Yeah.

LK: ...and a movie director.

MF: As well he should be. You know, he was great. He was a great man and I admire him.

LK: He did some Irish dances too.

MF: Yeah.

LK: A film "Locklomendo" (ph), one of those...

MF: That's right, yeah.

LK: ...Irish stage plays and he was very good, but not -- was he exactly good or not good?

MF: No, he was very good and Cagney is another who did a lot of Irish stuff, yeah.

LK: That's Irish too. Cagney grew up with the Irish spirit, right?

MF: That's right.

LK: Yankee Doodle Dandy that kind of dancer. George M. Cohan.

MF: George Cohan -- that's exactly right; same one, same ones.

LK: What's the part where you're going to branch out? I know there are some announcements coming, but the story of doing film, you yourself acting?

MF: That's right. I am with ICM -- got great people around me now.

LK: They are great.

MF: They really are and they have come up with that...

LK: Don't fire them.

MF: No, I'll try not to as long as they're not named Michael Flatley, are they? [Michal laughs]

LK: You want to be an actor?

MF: I'll try it. I'll try anything once and most things twice. What I really want to do is create a beautiful movie and I'll act in it and I'll dance in it, and...

LK: A movie on this order?

MF: No, it probably won't be along those lines. It'll be more of a love story and sort of a "Rocky" story. Somebody who overcomes things. I'd like to try and encourage people to follow their dreams. You know, when I was little kid at school, I was maybe only 6 or 7-years-old. I used to get in trouble for staring out the window and dreaming. The teacher used to always -- on me, Flatley, what are you dreaming about? Stop looking out the window, but those are the things that I dreamt about those days. Those are the things I am doing today. I'd like to encourage people through film to follow their dreams. Everything's possible and you can do it.

LK: We'll be back with more of Michael Flatley. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LK: We're back with dancer, choreographer, Michael Flatley. How important in choreography in a show like this is the story?

MF: Well, I think it's somewhat important but it's not everything. Our story is a very simple story line. I believe...

LK: Most ballet is too. MF: Yeah, 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. You know, that's what it's all about. When we do our encore, our finale, it's getting to the point now, where we do three, four encores in a night. And we can barely keep up with it, but it's what the audience demands now and it's because they're getting good energy. It's all about energy.

LK: Are there nights it's not there?

MF: So far there is not.

LK: Haven't had any?

MF: So far, we're OK -- no -- it's..

LK: That could happen, you realize, that sometimes, you know, it's a certain night, a certain thing, timing is a little off. Something misses.

MF: Oh, there's tough nights. There's a lot of things can go wrong. There are a lot of things that can happen to you during the course of a night. And particularly if your legs are sore coming to the end of the tour. You know, we're near 200 shows on this tour. Eleven weeks was our last run and that's tough. You won't find any rock band doing that kind of a tour. So, there are times when -- when, you know, you're dancing and you're flying around and we don't go it at 80 miles-an-hour. We go at 110. And everybody is built that way. This whole show is built that way. So, I would foresee problems sometimes that could pop up, but they haven't yet. I think we're just -- all of us -- we're just so into it. Everybody lives for what they do, you know, we all wake up saying, thank god we get to work tonight -- get to dance this way.

LK: There are no nights when you're dancing and thinking, I forgot to leave a note for the orange juice?

MF: Never, that's a terrible thing. I would never do that. No, I really believe in -- I really believe in the fans. When I am dancing out there, I am in the dance. I am 100 percent focused on what it is I am doing. I have the best, most loyal fan base in the whole world. I would never ever do that. I often think about the old lady that drives up from Cork when we're in Dublin or drives in from Indiana when we're in Chicago -- comes all the way; waits two months to see the show and she's sitting in the back row. There's no time for me to be dreaming about I left the iron on there. It's my job to deliver. That is what I'm paid for. That's what I dreamed -- I grew up dreaming to do that. And she deserves me to dance 110 percent, not 90 percent. LK: You're very audience aware, aren't you?

MF: All the time, sure. The end of the show, particularly, if you see the encores, it's just become a theme.

LK: You have planned encores? I mean, that has nothing to do with the story? You come out and do extra things?

MF: Yeah, we do and the audience gets up and starts dancing. And it's amazing. You see people -- they don't know each other and they're on both sides of the aisle and they get up, next thing you know, they're going around in circles and they're different ages, different sizes, you know -- just dancing and having a ball and to me, you know, that's magic. That is magic.

LK: We'll be back with our remaining moments with the brilliant Michael Flatley, the "Lord of the Dance." Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LK: We're back with our remaining moments with Michael Flatley. When someone gets this wrapped up in something, has it affected your personal life? I mean, does your work become your life?

MF: Oh, yeah, it has to.

LK: So, that's a negative?

MF: It can be. Depends on how you look at it. I try not to look at anything through those lenses, but it can be. It's tough. You know, people say, god that's a fabulous suite. Jesus that's a beautiful car. You know, you take helicopters and jets. Everything is great. I don't see it that way. I used to. But now, you know, you go into those suites alone at night and you break out the paperwork and you start, you know, going through, what are the steps for tomorrow? What's this new piece like? It's not easy. It becomes your life.

LK: But then it's all work and no play?

MF: It can be. You know, I squeeze in as much fun as I can. I mean, but this is my fate. It's what my dream was, Larry, you know, this is bigger than just me. This is way bigger than just me. I have got a hundred people out there that are following me around the world making a living, doing an art form that they love do. You know, it's no time for feeling sorry for yourself.

LK: So, when -- is it true when people are living out their dream, they're often asked this, there's nothing like that?

MF: No.

LK: You pinch yourself all the time?

MF: You should follow your dreams. I can't say it enough for anyone who sees this. Follow your dreams because -- that -- you wouldn't want it so bad if you couldn't have it. The universe gives you those dreams because you can have them. If you're willing to work for it, you can have anything you want -- you can anything you want, that's how I see it.

LK: Are you always looking for original music?

MF: Yeah, Ronan Hardiman -- genius, he's a fantastic composer. That guy is a name you'll remember for a long, long time.

LK: Because this thing is hard to write for, isn't it?

MF: Oh, yes, sure, I'm hard to write for.

LK: You're a little demanding, aren't you, Michael?

MF: You said so yourself.

LK: In other words, you want to see it -- it better be.

MF: Yeah, no, I get along great with Ronan and we work really well together. I show him -- you know, many times, I have done the dance before he does the music. And he comes in and says, all right, all right, I know, I know, you finished the dance already. Then he'll sit down and watch it and write it.

LK: Always thinking of new choreography too, right?

MF: Always.

LK: New steps -- what can I do that's different?

MF: That's right -- every day something new comes up. Has to -- got to keep moving. No time to sit still.

LK: Thank you, Michael.

MF: Thanks, Larry.

LK: Thanks for a wonderful hour. Hey, someday, you could be a star if you don't fall over in the heels. Michael Flatley -- he's touring with "Lord of the Dance." You're going to see a lot more of him and a lot of special places. We hope you've enjoyed this hour as much as we have. Thanks very much for joining us. For the whole crew here in New York and for Mr. Flatley, good night -- let's dance.