Michael Flatley - Host

[waywyrd]

http://www.nbc.com/superstars-of-dance/about/bios/michael-flatley/

"Lord of the Dance" Michael Flatley, creator of "Riverdance," "Lord of the Dance," "Feet of Flames" and "Celtic Tiger," is the most successful dance star in history. The "Billion Dollar Dancer" has performed to over 50 million people in 40 different countries, including over 50 world leaders, and is the only dancer in the world to sell out football stadiums and arenas.

Flatley's achievements and awards are countless and include entries in the Guinness Book of World Records for tap dancing (35 taps per second,) being the highest-paid dancer, and having the highest insurance premium placed on a dancer's legs -- a mind-boggling $40 million. He has been presented with awards for his outstanding contribution to arts and entertainment, including Irish American of the Year, Spirit of Ireland Award, Ellis Island Medal of Honor, a doctorate from Dublin University College, Entertainer of the Decade, plus a Michael Flatley "Lord of the Dance" Day in Las Vegas, to name a few.

Flatley is also an accomplished flutist and a highly successful business man who has created a media empire through his company, Unicorn Entertainment Inc., which is currently planning many exciting new projects including movies, television programs, new shows and much more.

[Google]

 

[brierpatch]

After watching the show last night, all I can say is what a boring host!

[stcroix]

Michael Flatley's voice reminded me of someone all evening-- was driving me crazy trying to figure out who--- and then it hit me: Lawrence Welk! Same calm ah-1,ah-2 type voice. Nice sounding, but just blah. Like the show unfortuately.

[shoepie]

I agree. Boring host. The scoring, oh the scoring. Michael, just show the scores and move on.

[norealityhere]

I didn't watch it last night as he was the one who subbed for Len on Dancing with the Stars for a week, correct? He was extremely boring and monotone on that show, so I didn't want to bother with him on this new one.

[MamaC]

Michael Flatley has turned me off ever since the whole Riverdance debacle. After that his arrogance was monumental!

I have to say that he has simmered down a bit in his old age though! His ego is nothing like it used to be, that's for sure.

[norealityhere]

Originally Posted by MamaC

Michael Flatley has turned me off ever since the whole Riverdance debacle. After that his arrogance was monumental!

I have to say that he has simmered down a bit in his old age though! His ego is nothing like it used to be, that's for sure.

What was the Riverdance debacle? Do tell...

[ness]

Originally Posted by norealityhere

What was the Riverdance debacle? Do tell...

Flatley was the original "Riverdance" male lead, and he helped choreograph and/or completely create some of the original dances for that show, too.

After some kind of run-in with the producers (about money, or whatever), he left voluntarily or was fired. And this was right before the show was to open for the first time in the States on Broadway (I think). IIRC, when he went, apparently, he actually made some sort of statement to the effect that the show would not survive without him.

Well, they replaced him with Colin Dunne, and "Riverdance" went on to rave reviews, etc., then, and is STILL going on, as far as I know right now.

So much for his absence being the death knell of that show.

Not that he hasn't had his own measure of success after it, mind you.

However, I kind of suspect that part of the reason he's coming across as so boring on this show is that while he may have actually been a totally arrogant a$$hole at one point, time, success, illness, and a wife and baby have mellowed him out a lot. And all of that has probably resulted in him taking his gentlemanly side WAY overboard on this show, in an overdone attempt to kind of offset his "jerk" past.

[MamaC]

There is a competition in Europe called Eurovision. Back in 1994, Ireland was the host country for Eurovision. As a filler during the intermission of the show, Ireland used a bunch of champion Irish dancers to do a dance. Michael Flatley and Jean Butler were the lead dancers, both championship Irish dancers, but both Americans of Irish descent ironically.

The crowd loved the dance; it was truly spectacular. Moya Doherty (who produced Eurovision for Ireland that year and was the one who initially contacted Flatley about it) and John McCoglan decided to see if they could pull off a huge stage production based on this little filler. Bill Whelan composed the music for the show. They called it Riverdance....and the rest is history. They put together this show and it was SRO at the Pointe Theatre in Dublin for five or six weeks. Then it was off to London, where they did not know how well the show would be received. The word was out, though, and it was a sell out in London.

Flatley was the lead choreographer and wanted credit for his work. He figured he had done all this work and it was really his show. As in the show would be nothing without his name up in lights (Michael Flatley's Riverdance)and him on the stage as the lead male dancer. When Moya and John said no way, he walked out. This was right before the show was to open in London. They figured they had a huge hit on the hands and could eventually have more than one troupe touring around. While contract negotiations were going on, Moya and John got Colin Dunne on board and told him to start learning the steps, just in case. I really believe that the producers thought that Flatley would stay. But he walked, even though he would have been paid plenty. Flatley thought that only he could be the lead dancer. Colin Dunne learned the steps in two or three days and opened in London on time. Riverdance is still touring around the world today, almost 15 years later. There are three troupes now doing the tours. The show was able to go on without him, and has been very successful.

So he was out of Riverdance, but went on to produce, choreograph, and basically own Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, and now Celtic Tiger. And he had made zillions of dollars as a result. In the fifteen years or so since Eurovision, his knees have given out and he has retired....rested a while and come back again and again. Is he talented? Without question. Did he earn all that money? Definitely.

Before Riverdance, he was working construction in LA and married to a woman who basically supported them. When he went to Ireland to do Riverdance, he was in his late 30s and broke. He could have just gone away, but he decided to try to do things on his own. And he was successful.

Fame went to his head, he divorced the wife, and had a playboy image. Dated a lot of the dancers, models, etc. Now he is married to one of the original dancers from Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger and they have at a son.

The Irish judge on this show, Daire Nolan, used to be the evil Dark Lord opposite Michael Flatley's good Lord of the Dance and also danced in Flatley's Feet of Flames production. And the songs that the Irish Dancers are dancing to are straight out of Flatley's Lord of the Dance shows.

[bbnbama]

Thanks for the insight MamaC and ness...I didn't know that story! I happen to really like Michael Flatley and would love to see him dance!