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Michael Flatley became internationally known for Irish dance shows Riverdance, Warlords, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, and Celtic Tiger. Learn 50 things about the dnacer.
1. Michael Ryan Flatley is an American stepdancer, choreographer and musician.
2. He became internationally known for Irish dance shows Riverdance, Warlords, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, and Celtic Tiger.
3. Michael Flatley is a native of the South Side of Chicago.
4. He is of Irish American background, being born to Irish parents Michael and Eilish.
5. His parents were both Irish-born, but migrated to the United States several years before Michael's birth.
6. Michael Flatley was the second of five children.
7. Michael Flatley has three sisters, Anne-Marie, Eliza, and Thomasina, as well as a brother, Patrick.
8. Michael Flatley began dancing lessons at age 11 and, in 1975, at age 17 was the first American to secure a World Irish Dance title at the World Irish Dance Championships (Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne).
9. Michael Flatley is also an accomplished flautist, having won twice in the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil Concert Flute competitions from 1975-1976 and later in his career released two albums.
10. Michael Flatley In his youth, Flatley also practiced amateur boxing, at age 17 he won the Chicago Golden Gloves Championship title.
11. In dance, Flatley was taught by Dennis Dennehy at the Dennehy School of Irish Dance in Chicago, then went on to produce his own show.
12. After graduating from Brother Rice High School, on Chicago's Southwest Side, he opened a dance school, but later closed it down because he thought he would be a better performer than a teacher.
13. From 1978 to 1979 he toured with Green Fields of America, and in the 1980s he toured with The Chieftains.
14. Michael Flatley received the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship in 1988.
15. In May 1989, Flatley set a Guinness Book world record for tapping speed at 28 taps per second, and subsequently broke his own record in 1998 with 35 taps per second.
16. Michael Flatley 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.
17. Michael Flatley created and choreographed the original Riverdance and led the show to great success as the intermission act in the Eurovision Song Contest staged in Ireland on April 30, 1994.
18. On the eve of the show's first full-length run in London, Flatley abruptly learned he had been replaced by the show producers due to conflicts over creative control. Just eleven day's later after the split he created Warlords followed by Lord of the Dance, which played mostly in arenas and stadiums instead of stage theaters.
19. Michael Flatley also put together a dance production called Feet of Flames in 1998.
20. Titled Feet of Flames: The Victory Tour, he toured Europe in 2000 and the U.S. in 2001.
21. Michael Flatley broke his own record for tapping speed in February 1998, by achieving 35 taps per second.
22. Michael Flatley 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 policy placed on a dancer's legs at $40,000,000.
23. 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.
24. Irish America magazine named Flatley Irish American of the Year in March 2003.
25. 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.
26. In 2006, Flatley released his own autobiographical book titled Lord of the Dance: My Story.
27. Regarding his future, Flatley was quoted in the Celtic Tiger program book as saying, "I will be a dancer until the day I die".
28. In 2007, The Freedom of the City of Cork was conferred on Flatley at a ceremony in Cork's City Hall.
29. In 2008, he was conferred with the Freedom of the Borough of Sligo at a ceremony in Sligo City Hall.
30. The Variety Club of Ireland presented Flatley with their Entertainer of the Decade Award in 2008.
31. In fall 2007, Flatley and a troupe of male dancers performed on Dancing with the Stars in the U.S.
32. In 2008, he appeared as a guest judge on an episode of the show, filling in for Len Goodman.
33. Michael Flatley was also the host of the 2009 NBC series Superstars of Dance.
34. In 2010, he returned to headline the Lord of the Dance show, with performances in arenas across England and Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
35. Lord of the Dance 3D, the film of the return tour, debuted in theaters worldwide in 2011. The movie featured new sets, new costumes, state-of-the-art lighting, pyrotechnics and projections, and it shows the performances from the O2 Arenas of London, Dublin, and Berlin.
36. Also in 2010, Flatley launched The Garden of Music and Memory in Culfadda, County Sligo, the village his father left to seek a new life in America. The ceremony included a speech and an impromptu performance of one of his father's favorite tunes.
37. In 2011, he was inducted into Irish America magazine's Irish America Hall of Fame.
38. Michael Flatley released a flute album titled On A Different Note in 2011. The 25 tracks include airs and tunes he has played in his shows, other traditional tunes, and new compositions.
39. On May 18, 2014, Flatley recorded a one-off 60 minute special entitled Michael Flatley: A Night to Remember celebrating his long career. The show aired on June 1, 2014 and was presented by Christine Bleakley.
40. On October 24, 2013, Flatley attended The Irish Post Awards on Park Lane where he received the Lifetime Achievement Award to recognise the impact of his career as a global dance superstar and entrepreneur.
41. In 1986, Flatley wed Polish make-up artist Beata Dziąba; they divorced in 1997.
42. In April 2006, Flatley spoke about his discovery of a facial skin cancer. He had kept the cancer a closely guarded secret, but said, "I'm completely fine now, thank God."
43. At the 10th Anniversary of Lord of the Dance in June 2006, Flatley was accompanied by dancer Niamh O'Brien, who dances with him in Celtic Tiger.
44. O'Brien had danced with Flatley in Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, and Feet of Flames before they shared the stage in Celtic Tiger.
45. The two shortly thereafter announced that they were dating, and were married in a Roman Catholic ceremony in Fermoy, County Cork, on October 14, 2006.
46. Niamh Flatley gave birth to a son, Michael St. James Flatley, on 26 April 2007.
47. Michael Flatley is an accomplished painter and will have his first show at the Hay Hill Gallery in London on 24 June 2015.
48. On 23 May 2015 Flatley was interviewed by Graham Norton for his BBC Radio 2 show and revealed that he had problems with the T1 and T5, the C3, the L5 bones and the Sacroiliac joint in his spine, a damaged left knee, a torn right calf muscle, two ruptured Achilles tendons, a fractured rib and a broken bone in his foot.
49. Michael Flatley confirmed that he planned to retire at the end of 2015, with his last scheduled appearance in Austria on 5 December.
50. His last appearance in the UK was at Wembley Arena on 4 July 2015.
Source: Wikipedia.org
