Feet flying and hearts racing, the step dancing craze has been growing dramatically in China's capital city since the news broke that the Irish wonder Riverdance was coming to Beijing in early 2003.And although postponed by the SARS outbreak for several months, the eight sold-out shows at the Great Hall of the People in October proved that people's fascination did not fade.

Late last year, another Irish dance group The Spirit of Dance again thrilled local audiences when they performed at the Beijing Exhibition Hall Theater.

Meanwhile, TV shows focusing on Irish step dancing have become popular and many parents send their kids to the Beijing-based Yan Ling Dance School to learn the style of dance.

Yan, director of the school, teaches the young dancers by watching Riverdance and Lord of the Dance videos.

Obviously, the attraction of Irish dance is still powerful for Chinese audiences. And it's the right time for Michael Flatley and his "Lord of the Dance" to tour Beijing.

Enchanting tours

To the many millions of his fans in all corners of the world, Michael Flatley's name is synonymous with the wave of Celtic dance mania.

His swaggering, muscular style, uncompromising precision and spectacular speed -- 35 taps per second according to the Guinness Book of World Records -- brought the mesmerizing magic of Irish dance to the international arena in 1994, at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin and broadcast it to a global TV audience.

Flatley's 7-minute solo performance during the intermission of the contest catapult Irish dancing into the global spotlight and it was later turned into the world sensation Riverdance.

In 1996, Flatley left Riverdance and produced Lord of the Dance, a show featuring more than 40 dancers who deliver an eloquent and stunning interpretation of a classic tale of good vs evil based on old Irish folklore as Don Dorcha, the Dark Lord, challenges the Lord of the Dance.

Comprised of 21 scenes, it is also a passionate love story expressed through dance numbers that transport audiences into a mystical and exhilarating world of intense passion.

Following 18 sold-out shows in Taiwan, Flatley will bring the production to the Chinese mainland for five shows at the Beijing Exhibition Hall Theater from November 17 to 21.

Prior to the shows, Leigh Ann Mckenna and Damien Doherty, the two leading dancers, visited Yan Ling Dance School and met some Chinese tap dancers at a club late last month.

"It is so exciting to see them all performing Flatley's style," said Mckenna, who plays the role of Morriane, the evil beauty who seduces the lord, after seeing the students performing.

"We feel no pressure to perform here, because wherever we tour we have so many loyal fans. We promise to bring the best to Beijing's audience and the entertainment will not be a tiny bit less than our shows elsewhere," adds her partner Damien Doherty who has toured with Lord of the Dance for six years.

Flatley also expressed his expectation to visit Beijing through a message to the Beijing tour promoter company Cangming Culture.

"There's nothing more exciting than to visit a new place for the first time -- to savor your wide and diverse culture, to meet and enjoy new people."

Premiered at the Point Theater in Dublin on July 2, 1996, Lord of the Dance, which is unique for the choreographed precision-dancers, the set design and the visual complexity, has been seen by over 50 million people in 45 different countries on each of the five continents.

In April, 1997, Flatley and his troupe made a scintillating appearance at the 71st Academy Awards Ceremony in Hollywood, Los Angeles before a global television audience estimated at over 2.5 billion.

The next year, Flatley and 120 dancers drove an audience of 25,000 in London's Hyde Park crazy with the ground breaking production. It then packed out London's Wembley Stadium for 21 consecutive nights.

Flatley himself headlined this record-making show for over two years.

"Lord of the Dance is so close to my heart. I love Irish dance and it's the right time to let the whole world enjoy it," says the Chicago-born artist.

Born in 1958, the youngest son of Irish parents who immigrated to the United States after World War II, Flatley spent much of his childhood in their native Ireland, where he developed an affinity for the traditional form of Celtic dance. He started dancing at 4, beginning dancing with a Catholic church groups at 11, and at 17 he became the first American to win the World Irish Dancing Championships.

After his final performance at Dublin's RDS Arena on June 28, 1998, Flatley retired from the stage and works as the artistic director of Lord of the Dance, continuing to keep a very watchful eye on his brainchild and sees it grow into an outstanding successful production with four simultaneous troupes breaking box-office records all over the world. The troupe coming to Beijing is Troupe One.

Continuous creation

Flatley admits that no show can ever rest on the laurels of former glories and become complacent if it is ever to continue to be successful. For that reason he is constantly coming up with new ideas, new techniques and new approaches, with which to spice up each part, to keep it fresh, exciting and original.

He collaborates with a team of professionals including set designers, costume designers, lighting and sound experts, and choreographers to ensure its high standards.

He also regularly tours around the world to hold auditions to find new talent for the show. In Moscow and Budapest, Flatley has set up academies to train young dancers. And during his visit to Beijing, Flatley will discuss with Yan about opening such an academy in China.

The Lord of the Dance troupe features Irish dance champions from around the world, with an average age of 22.

Mckenna, from Scotland but of Irish descent, started dancing when she was 9 and joined Lord of the Dance in 1997.

"I loved it at the very beginning, that was seven years ago and I am still here and still love it!" she says.

"As soon as the music starts, the inspiration is there -- especially if the crowd is appreciative. This just lifts your spirits and you dance as well as you possibly can!

"I have achieved my dream of dancing on stage with Michael Flatley. I have benefited from being taught by Marie Duffy."

Marie Duffy is Flatley's major choreographer of the show.

Duffy's dance experience spans from the age of six as a pupil of the Inis Ealga Academy in Dublin, of which she went on to become co-director.

In 1988, Duffy formed her own dance studio in Dublin and then closed it in 1996 when Flatley approached her with his idea of creating a different, more spectacular dance show -- Lord of the Dance.

"In our show, the dance still has all the traditional basics in footwork, but Flatley introduced upper body awareness. He puts in body movements and facial expressions and created a new style," she says.

"Choreographing the show is an ongoing challenge. We go from show to show and continuously change and move on with the choreography so dancers don't become set in their ways," she says.

"It's a way to keep them motivated." The thousands who have seen the wonder would agree.

(China Daily November 15, 2004)