An Interview with Lord of the Dance

I had reached out to a dancer in Lord of the Dance who had taught workshops around the east coast to young dancers. I had hoped he would respond as he had been very active in multiple dance schools around my area and luckily for me, he did! This dancer had requested to remain anonymous for his career as he wanted to be completely honest with his answers and his feelings towards the Irish dance world and Lord of the Dance. I had emailed this dancer back and forth for about a week as his schedule is typically busy between practices and workshops but I was grateful that he was able to take the time out of his week to answer a few questions.

I have combined the emailed throughout the week to form the interview.

The Interview 

Erin: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions! I'll start off with asking you how old you were when you started dancing and what made you want to start?

Interviewee: No problem! I was about three years old when I began and I barely remembered it. My mother was the one who signed me up so I have her to thank for my career.

Erin: I feel as though most Irish dancers start very young but I know that's not always the case. You danced at the "anonymous" school of Irish dance in Maryland for 16 years and danced along world champions but you never decided to compete yourself. Why was that?

Interviewee: I prefer dancing as a form of art rather than a competition. I wanted to compete with no one else other than myself as I grew as a dancer. It would have been personally unhealthy for me to compare myself to other dancers. I also wanted to pursue a career in Lord of the Dance and the performance style and competitive style were just too different for me.

Erin: I know many dancers, alongside myself, who agree in that competitive dancing wasn't meant for them. You started dancing for Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games in 2015. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience dancing with Michael Flately and possibly acknowledge the problems with Lord?

Interviewee: Michael Flately truly is one of the best Irish dancers in the world and I have high respect for him. As he gets older, he only appears at the end of his new show in the finale so I appreciate how most of the show is about the dancers as a whole and not just him. It is no secret that Lord of the Dance is sexist and as the show grows, it doesn't seem to leave its sexist ways. Riverdance has an ideal balance of male and female leads where women are empowering rather than submissive as they are in Lord. It bothers most of us in the show that the women still have to wear significantly less clothing than the men as well as the fact that they have to dance in hard shoes with a lifted heel which is extremely uncomfortable to dance in.

Erin: I am glad you brought up the sexism in Lord  because that is something that hasn't gone unnoticed in the Irish dance community as you are well aware. It is refreshing to hear a dancer (especially a male dancer) in the show itself bring it up as it seems that no one in Flately's inner circle will discuss the matter. There isn't much information about it on the internet either. It also angers many in the Irish dance community that the number Breakout hasn't been changed throughout the years. This is something I wanted to bring attention to in the interview as you are aware this is going to be shared. What are your future plans with Lord and do you intend on staying?

Interviewee: Sexism in Lord is something that I will never let be brushed over. As you mentioned with Breakout, it is completely unacceptable to have our female dancers strip their dresses off on stage. It is a male dominated show and it is clear it makes many people uncomfortable in the audience. As for my future plans with Lord, I hope to move on to Riverdance where the Irish dance isn't taken over by crazy light fixtures and special effects for the sake of a dramatic story of good and evil. The original Lord did not need editing and more drama and although I respect Flately as a dancer, I think he let the money get to his head.

Erin: Your responses are great! I am so glad you discussed the sexism and some of the problems with Lord so that my audience understands that there are some issues with the show that come with its success. Maybe it's time a new show along with Riverdance gave Lord a run for it's money! It was eye opening to hear that even the dancers in Lord see the problem with the show. Thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions.

Although the dancer wished to remain anonymous (it is clear why), I appreciated his willingness to be completely honest about the show Lord of the Dance. He believed it was important to bring these issues into the public eye more. Hopefully this helps facilitate a discussion in the Irish dance community.