Michael Flatley

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Michael Flatley.

Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958 in Detroit) is an Irish-American step dancer from the south side of Chicago whose parents were from County Mayo and County Carlow. As a very young child, he moved to Chicago, the city he considers his hometown. He began dancing lessons at 11. He became the first non-European to win the All-Ireland World Championship for Irish dance in 1975. He also trained as a boxer and won the Golden Gloves Championship in 1975. His first teachers were his mother and his grandmother Hannah Ryan, an Irish dancing champion. After high school graduation, he opened a dance school.

Contents

1 Professional Career
2 Awards and Recognition
3 Personal Life
4 External links

Professional Career

His first professional break came when he joined The Chieftains for tours in the 1980s. He 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 due to creative disagreements [link], Flatley began his own show, Lord of the Dance. In 1998, Flatley put together a dance production called Feet of Flames, a version of which toured Europe and the US in 2000 and 2001.

Flatley's newest Irish dance show is Celtic Tiger, which opened in July 2005. The show explores the history of the Irish people and Irish immigration to the US and fuses ballet, jazz, and cheerleading styles. In addition, some traditional elements are conserved , such as Michael's flute performance and the finale of line of dancers.

Awards and Recognition

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, the youngest person at that time ever to receive this accolade. In May of 1989, Flatley set a Guinness Book world record for tapping speed at 28 taps per second; when this record was broken, he set another record in February of 1998, by achieving 35 foot taps per second[link]. The current record holder is James Devine, at 38 taps per second [link]. 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 [link].

Personal Life

Flatley was engaged in 2002 to Lisa Murphy, but the relationship ended in April 2006 [link].

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

External links

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