Producer/Director : Michael Flatley

Reviewer : Stephanie Rowe

The Public Reviews Rating:

For more than a decade Lord of the Dance has thrilled audiences worldwide. The fast paced dance which in places has more than 150 taps per minute holds audiences spellbound from its modest beginning to its high kicking fast moving finale.

Directed and conceived by Michael Flatley – Lord of the Dance takes you on a journey through Irish Folklore where good ultimately conquers evil. A colourful harlequin style sprite introduces us to the Lord of the Dance who fights hard to resist the temptation of evil to stick to the path of purity and rid the world of Don Dorcha.

Both of the male leads performed with energy and vigour throughout and certainly had the audience

entranced from the off, a shame that at times this was spoilt by an over confidence and egotistical air punches after several of the dances. The female members of the company danced gracefully and with dignity, with a breathtaking energy you really are left breathless as you are taken on an emotional rollercoaster of dance – this is only built upon to reach a climatic and exhilarating finale which is worth the admission price alone.

Lord of the Dance uses video projection, pyrotechnics and lavish lighting – bringing the original show bang up to date and feeling as fresh as when the first troupe of dancers took the show to the masses. However there are times when this can overshadow the hard work and effort put in by the company. The music is also of particular highlight throughout and helps lift the evening immensely.

Lord of the Dance is a fantastic evening of dance entertainment in a genre that is difficult to master, but here the company pull it off with aplomb and despite the niggles mentioned above will leave you high kicking and shimmying down the road long after you have left the theatre.

One final note to the producers of Lord of the Dance – please provide cast/company details so due credit can be given to those who truly deserve it.

Runs until Sat 18th February

Tags: Dance, Irish Dancing, Liverpool Empire, Lord of the Dance, Michael Flatley, tap