REVIEW - Lord of the Dance is impressive, thrilling and an awesome example of just how exciting dance can be!

On Tuesday, we were invited to the Palace Theatre, Manchester to watch Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance. Read what our reviewer Leanne Parker had to say about this fabulous show...

I’ve been humming the title track since I was asked to do this review several weeks ago (go on, you know you want to!). It’s hard to imagine that this show is now 27 years old, having celebrated it’s 25^th Anniversary in style in 2022, not least because I remember, embarrassingly too vividly, many hours ‘dancing’ along to it in my parents living room, absolutely convinced that my legs were ‘flailing as if independent from my body’ (thanks for that immortal association with this show, Chandler Bing!) with all the same flair and expertise as the dancers on the screen before me. Just in case you are wondering – there was certainly flailing, butt absolutely no flair involved in that 1990’s living room!

This 2024 production brings a few new and exciting additions to the original. There are some new musical elements, some updated choreography, carefully created costumes, which enhance the fluidity of the dancers, retain their originalitybut without a doubt, take a step forward into a more modern, contemporary era. But probably most impactful, there are new state of the art sound, visual and lighting effects which have transformed this into a thoroughly modern performance, which holds to the older, more traditional elements that fans of Lord of the Dance know and love so well, while thrusting the set into a version for a new generation.

Michael Flatley created the original Lord of the Dance, stepping outof the shadow of the phenomenal success of ‘Riverdance’, to create the full breadth and depth his own vision as the show’sdirector, producer and choreographer.As tonight’s performance opens, we are unexpectedly greeted by the man himself, coming to us from the huge screen which forms the entire backdrop of the stage, as he shares his vision for Lord of the Dance, and the blood, sweat, determination, grit and a single minded, unshakable belief that ‘nothing is impossible’, that has culminated in the ‘biggest dance show in the World’. It’s actually a bit of an emotional start for this marshmallow reviewer! Flatley is a man who has spent a lifetime defying the odds, and fighting for his dreams, and, nobly, the dreams of others, as his commitment to supporting young dancers over the years has repeatedly demonstrated.

And with the introduction film over, it’s time for the show itself. There is a storyline - of sorts – the classic good vs evil, the Little Spirit sidekick, complete with hertuneful recorder,who dreams of the Lord of the Dance and his arch-nemesis, The Dark Lord. The Dark Lord wants to become the Lord of the Dance, and nearly succeeds by tempting him momentarily away from his true love, Saoirse, danced beautifully by Tiernaugh Canning, with the dark and mysterious Morrighan, danced with sass and attitude by Andrea Papp-Kren, who turns out to be working for The Dark Lord. The battle for the soul of Ireland itself, is interweaved with romantic, gentle and haunting moments of music and dance which are very beautiful and give us (and the dance troupe) a moment of slowness and calm in between the epic, showstopping numbers.Songs are provided courtesy of Celyn Cartwright (Come What May, Britain’s Got Talent), who showcases a stunning, hauntingly beautiful, but at the same time, real powerhouse of a voice, joined at one stage by a choir of singers.The music, composed by Gerard Fahy, billed as one of the most gifted Irish composers of our time, is all too familiar. And while we are talking about the music, it would be remiss of me to fail to mention the two talented fiddlers, Helena Gullan and Giada Costenaro Cunningham who take to the stage several times to give excellent performances.

Of course, in the end, true love prevails and good overcomes. But to be honest, the story doesn’t always tell itself well as the performance progresses, and without reading it in the programme or knowing it beforehand, I suspect there would be many audience members who hadn’t a clueabout the plot and, perhaps controversially, I’m not sure it matters. After all, we came for the dancing, and the dancing delivered.I read somewhere that the original production contains around 150,000-foot taps on the stage – after witnessing the dizzying speed of the dancers this evening, I would suspect there are even more than that in this version! Having only EVER seen Flatley perform the title role (and only ever on screen), I wasn’t sure how anyone else would manage to do what he did. After all, Flatley just *is* the Lord of the Dance. I need not have worried. Matt Smith propelled himself onto the stage like dynamite, immediately receiving whoops and applause from the audience. It was as close to watching a young Michael Flatley as you can get!Smith is an absolute spectacle. It’s easy to see how he has won multiple British, National, Great British and All Ireland Awards, and how he was ranked second in the World. Not only is he exceptionally talented, but he is also a through and through showman, much like his mentor, the original Lord, and he works the audience from start to end. Smith is very, very good, and he knows it, but the clear joy he feels for what he is doing is palpable and makes him incredibly likeable. 

Cassidy Ludwig plays the Little Spirit, a role she originally performed in Taiwan in 2020. She is light on her feet, quick in movement and wit, with an infectious, childlike cheekiness which is fun and endearing throughout. The Dark Lord, played by two times World Champion Joseph Howarth and his Army bring a menacing atmosphere to the performance space.Howarth gives a great performance, throwing out some incredible solo sections during the dances.

It must be said, the entire dance troupe on the stage this evening is remarkable. Their energy and passion for this form of dance is crystal clear and transmits through every piece. Taught by Flatley, the undisputed King of Irish Dancing, they move with a rhythm and vibe that feels trademarked to him, merging in other forms of dance to create a fusion of movement that is breathtaking at times. They command the stage, sweeping us up in the excitement, emotion and their sheer enthusiasm for what they are doing. They are a credit to Flatley and to themselves.But, despite all of this, I have to say that something just feels - missing. 60 MILLION people have seen this show, in 70 Countries and in over 1000 venues. So maybe I just went in too focused on what I expected to see.  Perhaps the scale of the show, much smaller than the 100 strong dance troupe that performed ‘Feet of Flames’, the original ‘Lord of the Dance’ on the 55 metre wide stage in Hyde Park for the VHS I saw many years ago, makes it seem like a scaled back version of a show which I remember as being electric, stirring to the point that you felt the urge to stand and clap and shout. This doesn’t feel like that in the same way somehow. The dancersarea smaller cast than I perhaps expected. Make no mistake, they are incredible. I mean, they really are. The level of skill on that stage is exceptional. They are impossibly precise. They are slick. They are a team, moving at lightning speed and never missing a single beat. At times, it is thrilling. And they know how to work an audience – a skill they have clearly learnt directly from *the*Lord of the Dance, Flatley himself, who despite not being on the stage, is very, very clearly (and literally when you factor in the opening and ending appearances) all over it!

To me, I suppose the show just felt a little, disconnected, a bit piecemeal rather than a fluid tale from start to end. And perhaps seeing such an iconic show after all these years, for the first time meant that I had built it up to impossible expectations that just were not quite met and comments from other audience members near my seat, and as we filed out at the end, gave a similar impression. At the same time, just at the points I’d start to feel that lull, I’d repeatedly, suddenly find myself swept up in a large all-cast piece that would sweep me back up into the thrill of it all. I whooped, I cheered, my heart raced, and I felt swept away at moments, as did the audience around me. There were several moments of exhilaration. And the Grand Finale left me marvelling. This was IT. This was *the* feeling I’d come for. And I did jump up, clap and shout. I think I just feel like I’d like to have felt it *more*.

Overall, this is an impressive, thrilling, awesome example of just how exciting dance can be that just falls short in a few places here and there. The machine-gun precision, the foot-tapping music, the pure spectacle of the full-troupe dancers is mesmerising. As the title song about Smith’s character exclaims, ‘I am the Lord of the Dance, said he, And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he’ and so he did. He leads the dance troupe with magnetic force and carries us into the rousing world of Irish Dancing at its absolute best and I for one, loved it! 

WE SCORE MICHAEL FLATLEY'S LORD OF THE DANCE...


Lord of the Dance is on at the Palace Theatre, Manchester until August 18th


BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE!