Michael Flatley

Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an American former professional performer and choreographer of Irish dance. Flatley is credited with reinventing traditional Irish dance by incorporating new rhythms, syncopation, and upper body movements, which were previously absent from the dance. He created and performed in Irish dance shows Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, Celtic Tiger Live and Michael Flatley's Christmas Dance Spectacular. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 million people in 60 countries and have grossed more than $1 billion. He has also been an actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and philanthropist.

Flatley formerly held the Guinness World Record for tap dancing 35 times per second, and his legs were reportedly insured for £25 million. Flatley retired from dance in 2016 due to constant spinal, knee, foot, and rib pain. In January 2023, he was treated for "an aggressive cancer", which is now in remission.

Michael Ryan Flatley was born on July 16, 1958, the second of five children born to Irish parents Michael James Flatley and Elisabeth "Eilish" Flatley (née Ryan), both of whom had emigrated to the United States in 1947. Michael was a plumber from County Sligo, and Eilish was a gifted step dancer from County Carlow whose mother, Hannah Ryan, was a champion dancer. Michael and Eilish met at an Irish dance in Detroit, and were married in that city on August 25, 1956. They eventually had five children: Anne-Marie, Michael, Eliza, Thomasina, and Patrick. When Michael was two months old, the family moved from Detroit to Chicago's South Side.

In Chicago, Flatley began dance lessons at age eleven with Dennis G. Dennehy at the Dennehy School of Irish Dance. He attended Brother Rice High School, an all-boys Catholic private school. In 1975, at age 17, Flatley was the first American to win a World Irish Dance title at Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne, the Irish dancing championships. In 1975 and 1976, Flatley won twice in the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil concert flute competitions.

In the 1970s, Flatley competed in the amateur boxing Chicago Golden Gloves tournament in the 126 pound novice division and won the middleweight division of the Chicago Golden Gloves Boxing Championship. He recorded five knock-out victories. Flatley stated that he continued to flirt with the idea of becoming a professional into the early 1980s, but ultimately stayed with a career in dance. In this early stage of his career he was described as "the white Michael Jackson" by The Hollywood Reporter, the "Rudolph Nureyev of Irish dance" by the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and the Washington Post compared his feet to "the hands of Vladimir Horowitz in power and agility". He later became a philanthropic donor to the Golden Gloves organization. In 2023 Flatley was one of four fighters to be named a Titan of Chicago Golden Gloves Boxing during their 100th Anniversary celebrations.

After graduating high school, Flatley worked in various fields, including as a stockbroker, a blackjack gambler, and a flautist. From 1978 to 1979, Flatley toured with Green Fields of America. In the 1980s, he toured with The Chieftains, though he was turned down when he requested to become a full-time member of the band.

After attracting the attention of President of Ireland Mary Robinson and dance-show producers, Flatley was invited to help create an intermission show for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. He performed in a 7-minute show titled "Riverdance" for the interval act of the contest, which was held in Ireland. After receiving worldwide acclaim, Flatley pushed to turn the show into a full-length production, which became Riverdance. The show was produced by Moya Doherty, with principal choreography and lead performances by Flatley and Jean Butler. It debuted in February of 1995 at the Point Theatre in Dublin.

In September 1995, after the show sold out, Flatley left Riverdance to pursue what would eventually become Lord of the Dance. Flatley had been in a dispute with the Riverdance producers over his salary and royalty fees. He was fired the night before the show was set to begin its second run in London, being replaced by Colin Dunne. He also reportedly did not work well with Butler, though on the split, Flatley said, "I just wanted control over the work that I had created myself. That's all. I don't think that that's too much to ask. I felt like I built it and they took it, and that's the end of it... and it hurt." Flatley paid approximately £1 million to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit from his former manager, John Reid.