Michael Flatley celebrates 25 years of Lord of the Dance

It's hard to believe that 25 years have passed since Michael Flatley debuted his Lord of the Dance spectacular in Dublin. And sure enough, the show is still going strong despite the pandemic, and Michael will mark the big anniversary on St. Patrick’s Day with a big Lord of the Dance performance in London.

The 63-year-old Chicagoan spoke to our pals at the Irish Post last week about his baby, which he created from scratch after parting ways with Riverdance. He’s obviously and rightfully proud.

"Twenty-five years later, we're still standing. That's a quarter of a century! How many presidents have we been through, how many wars, how many pandemics? But we're still standing! You can't keep the Irish down,” MF told the Post.

"When I first started nobody gave me a chance in hell to last through the opening week let alone through the opening year so it’s a blessing and I thank God every day. My whole goal at the time was to get my own show launched for opening night and I did that, and I honestly feel like every night since then has been a bonus.”

The show will play three nights in London starting on St. Pat’s, and tour across the U.K. till July. There are no plans right now for an Irish date, save for a six-day engagement in Belfast in May, and unfortunately for us on this side of the pond the show isn’t scheduled for a U.S. tour.

"The entertainment business got hit by a hammer," Michael said of the pandemic. "It's been a difficult few years for me specifically because of my attachment to the dancers and how much I love them all.

"They are in peak physical condition and in the peak of their careers, and they've had two years of their careers stolen from them. They can't add those two years on to the end of their careers. They're like rugby players or sportspeople, and you only have a certain amount of years in the business."

Michael isn’t dancing any longer, but there’s a hologram of him at the end of the show.