Michael Flatley Tour

Michael Ryan Flatley (born 16 July 1958) is an Irish American step dancer, writer, flautist, choreographer and occasional television presenter who became internationally known through his theatre musicals, Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames. Michael Flatley shot to fame during the interval of the Eurovision Song Contest 1994. Michael Flatley returned to the stage in 2009 for a limited run of the "Hyde Park" version of Feet of Flames in Taiwan. From the south side of Chicago, his parents were from County Sligo and County Carlow.

Flatley began dancing lessons at 11 and, in 1975, became the first non-European resident to win the All-Ireland World Championship for Irish dance. As a trained amateur boxer Flatley was defeated by Kenneth Reed of the Windy City Gym in a Chicago Golden Gloves Tourmanment bout on February 25, 1975. Flatley is also a proficient flute player, having twice won the All-Ireland Competition. In dance, Flatley was taught by Dennis Dennehy at the Dennehy School of Irish Dance in Chicago, then went on to producing his own show.

After graduating from Brother Rice High School, on Chicago's Southwest Side, he opened a dance school.Michael Flatley return was met with multiple standing ovations. Michael Flatley is back to hit the stage in UK this year with "Lord of the Dance". Michael Flatley Tickets are available at Sold Out Ticket Market.

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Michael Flatley Awards and recognition

Flatley was the first American to win the World Irish Dance Championships. He also won numerous All-Ireland Flute Championships.Flatley received the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship in 1988 and was named one of National Geographic Society's Living Treasures in 1991 for mastery of a traditional art form by a living person - the youngest person at that time ever to receive this accolade.

In May 1989, Flatley set a Guinness Book world record for tapping speed at 28 taps per second; he broke his own record in February 1998, by achieving 35 taps per second.The current record holder is Michael Donnellan, at 40 taps per second. The dancer also received Guinness Book recognition in both 1999 and 2000 for being the highest paid dancer, earning $1,600,000 per week and for having the highest insurance premium placed on a dancer's legs at $40,000,000. Lord of the Dance performed a record-breaking run of 21 shows at the legendary Wembley Arena in London in 1998.

In December 2001, Flatley became the first recipient of the Irish Dancing Commission Fellowship award, an honorary degree in Irish dance, and was simultaneously made a Fellow of the American Irish Dance Teachers’ Association. Irish America magazine named Flatley Irish American of the Year in March 2003.

In 2004 Flatley received an honorary doctorate degree from University College Dublin and that same year received the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor in New York On the 3rd June 2007 The Freedom of the City of Cork was conferred on the entertainer at a ceremony in Cork's City Hall. In 2008, he was conferred with the Freedom of the Borough of Sligo at a ceremony in Sligo City Hall.In 2008 the Variety Club of Ireland presented Flatley with their Entertainer of the Decade Award.


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Michael Flatley Personal life

In 1986, Flatley wed Polish make-up artist Beata Dziaba, but the two divorced 11 years later. In 2002, he became engaged to his long-time girlfriend Lisa Murphy, but they eventually broke up.

In April 2006, Flatley spoke about his recent discovery of a facial skin cancer.He had kept the cancer scare a closely guarded secret, but said, "I'm completely fine now, thank God."

At the 10th Anniversary of Lord of the Dance in June 2006, Michael Flatley was accompanied by dancer Niamh O’Brien, who dances with him in Celtic Tiger. The 30-something O'Brien had danced with Flatley in Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, and Feet of Flames before they shared the stage in Celtic Tiger. The two shortly thereafter announced that they were dating, and were married in "a low-key Catholic ceremony" in Fermoy, Co. Cork, on October 14, 2006.

On November 15, 2006, Flatley's publicist reported that he had been admitted to a hospital. According to media reports, he was suffering from a serious viral infection. All his up-and-coming shows for Celtic Tiger were cancelled. He left the hospital three weeks later.

Michael and Niamh became parents to their first child, a son, Michael St. James Flatley, on Thursday 26 April 2007. Flatley's financial worth was estimated at £350 million in a Daily Mail article, and he is known to maintain homes in Barbados, Chicago, France, Ireland and London.

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Michael Flatley Career

From 1978-79 he toured with Green Fields of America, whose members included Liz Carroll, Father Charlie Coen, Jack Coen, Sean McGlynn, Mick Moloney and Bill Ochs, with a slightly less flamboyant Donny Golden dancing alongside Michael. Later he toured with The Chieftains in the 1980s.

He co-created the initial choreography for Riverdance and, with fellow lead dancer Jean Butler, led the show to great success as the intermission act in the Eurovision Song Contest on April 30, 1994. Flatley and Butler then starred in the full-length show that was developed from the original seven-minute act. After leaving the show over creative disagreements,Flatley produced, directed, and choreographed his own show, Lord of the Dance. Michael Flatley did not appear on Riverdance: Live from New York City, he was replaced by Colin Dunne.

In 1998, Flatley put together a dance production called Feet of Flames. He later went on to produce another version of the show of which around 50% of the numbers were different from that of the 1998 show. Still titled 'Feet of Flames', he toured the US in 2000 and 2001.

Flatley's current Irish dance show is Celtic Tiger, which opened in July 2005. The show explores the history of the Irish people and Irish emigration to the US, fusing a wide range of dance styles, including jazz. The show also includes popular elements from his previous shows, such as Flatley's flute solos and the line of dancers in the finale.

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Michael Flatley Introduction

Michael Ryan Flatley (born 16 July 1958) is an Irish American step dancer, writer, flautist, choreographer and occasional television presenter who became internationally known through his theatre musicals, Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames. He shot to fame during the interval of the Eurovision Song Contest 1994.

From the south side of Chicago, his parents were from County Sligo and County Carlow. Flatley began dancing lessons at 11 and, in 1975, became the first non-European resident to win the All-Ireland World Championship for Irish dance. As a trained amateur boxer Flatley was defeated by Kenneth Reed of the Windy City Gym in a Chicago Golden Gloves Tourmanment bout on February 25, 1975. Flatley is also a proficient flute player, having twice won the All-Ireland Competition. In dance, Flatley was taught by Dennis Dennehy at the Dennehy School of Irish Dance in Chicago, then went on to producing his own show. After graduating from Brother Rice High School, on Chicago's Southwest Side, he opened a dance school.



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