Lord of the Dance
A dance performance reviewed by Alex First
The Aussies and the Irish get along like a house on fire.
Shared values, a love of sport and Guinness aren’t a half-bad starting point.
But, let me cut to the chase – the adoration for what Michael Flatley achieved with his invigorating take of Irish step dancing hits it out of the ballpark.
His latest show, a new production, is suitably named A Lifetime of Standing Ovations.
Flatley isn’t in it in person (although he is by way of a series of video montages), but his legacy lives on.
Incidentally, his last performance was a decade ago, at Wembley Arena in Greater London, when he was 56 years of age.
Flatley’s unmistakable mark is stamped all over this.
The pièce de résistance remains flawless, with lightning-fast-moving feet to a rousing score by 24 exquisite dancers, positioned side by side across the stage.
It sends pleasure signals to my brain every time I see and hear the rhythmic, microphone-enhanced tapping, as if it were the first time.
And I am here to tell you that in less than a year it will be three decades since Lord of the Dance first flew high, quickly becoming a global sensation.
It has now been witnessed and appreciated by more than 60 million people.
Before that, Flatley had a global audience enraptured with Riverdance.
That was originally a seven-minute interval act at Eurovision in Dublin in 1994, which evolved into a full-length stage show.
A Lifetime of Standing Ovations is a two-act, two-hour show (including interval) on a two-tier stage, based around a classic story of good versus evil.
It features, among others, a lead dancer and his all black, helmeted adversary, a temptress and the lead dancer’s one true love, a singer and dual fiddle players.
The storyline emerges from the dreams of a character known as the Little Spirit who has a flute in hand.
The Lord of the Dance represents all things good, but he must fight against evil, in the form of The Dark Lord and his army of warlords.
The action plays out over 26 carefully choreographed scenes to music composed by Gerard Fahy.
Everything about this production is slick and electrifying.
First up is the outstanding individual and formation dancing: simply mesmerising.
The routines are varied, but the cadence is unmistakable. I can never get enough of it.
Heads held high, time and again, the strong cast dances up a storm, led from the front by the enthusiastic Lord of the Dance.
The company is uniformly excellent, forever in lock step. It is quite a workout.
The powerful score is melodious and intoxicating, the singer’s vocals mellifluous, the fiddlers’ captivating, the flautist Little Spirit an ever-present force.
The costuming – gold, silver, all black, black and white, red and black, green and multicoloured – with diamantes glistening, is a showcase of sexy and elegant.
With an ever-changing wardrobe – long flowing gowns, short frocks, masculine and stately – exposed midriffs and chests are there to savour.
The striking video imagery – a mosaic of landscapes, forests, waterfalls, oceans, cliffs, planets, ruins, fire and industrial settings – undoubtedly elevates the spectacle.
Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance: A Lifetime of Standing Ovations is a cavalcade of toe tapping, hand clapping Irish dancing, spirited sound, movement and colour.
Imaginative and energetic, it sizzles and sparkles, and is back to capture Australian audiences anew.
It is on at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne on 31st August, before moving to Brisbane Entertainment Centre on 3rd September.
Next up is Newcastle Entertainment Centre on 4th September and, finally, ICC Sydney Theatre on 5th and 6th September.
To buy tickets, go to Ticketek: (https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=LORDDANC25)
Thereafter, the world tour continues. Scroll to the bottom of this screen to see other locations: https://www.lordofthedance.com/tickets/australia-tickets-cv1buj/
