Michael Flatley
Michael Flatley is an Irish-American dancer who transformed traditional Irish dancing into a popular spectator attraction.
Dancer
July 16, 1958
Cancer
66
Chicago, Illinois
Michael Flatley, an Irish-American dancer, choreographer, and musician, gained international fame in the mid-1990s with his innovative Irish dance shows, particularly Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. His captivating footwork and groundbreaking choreography in Riverdance, which he performed as an intermission act during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, brought Irish dancing to mainstream audiences. Flatley has also appeared in other dance shows and films, such as Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger. Besides his dance career, he has received several music awards, including a Grammy nomination for his album “On a Different Note.” Impressively, he holds a Guinness World Record for tapping his feet 35 times per second during a 1998 performance of “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Michael Flatley’s unique contribution to the arts is his transformation of traditional Irish dancing into a widely popular spectator attraction.