Flashback to 2000, I’m seven years old sat waiting to have a
movie night with my family. My parents decide on something entertaining and
educational, something that will fascinate the dancer in me for years to come.
I’ve just started tap and ballet classes and am thoroughly enjoying the tap
(ballet not so much).The shoes never left my feet, a fact that drove my mother
mad as I danced outside on the patio whilst she tried to do chores.
On flickers the VHS and the show begins. Loud strong irish
music begins pumping out and a bedazzled man flies across the stage, his feet
clicking away at speed. I watched that whole show spell bound by all the bright
colours, the synchronisation of a team of twenty dancers moving their feet in
unison. I must have watched Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance half a dozen
times over the years, I bet the VHS is still in the cupboard somewhere.
So flash forward a few years and I’m told that I am going to
be reviewing the opening night of Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games at the
Sage, I’m instantly hit with Irish pride.
Upon arriving at the Sage, we headed round to the stage door
for the first exciting part of our evening- interviewing the dancers
themselves! We were taken onto the stage where the leads were arranging
everyone for a rehearsal.
We spoke to Mary Mirasola, who performs the part of Morrighan
the Temptress and to James Keegan who will be dancing the role of the Lord of
the Dance tonight. After a chatty
interview we leave them to carry on with their rehearsal.
8pm arrives and we take our seats, perfectly positioned at
the end of the row so I can get a clean look at the entire stage and for some
photos. The stage darkens and a huge ticking clock appears and an impatient
little boy waits for the clock to tick around. A good minute goes by of just
ticking, creating tension and excitement for the show ahead. The little boy is
actually Michael Flatley’s son, and soon Flatley himself appears and hoists his
son up to make the clock strike 12. A voiceover appears letting us know that we
are about to watch the most successful dance show of all time and you can hear
the excited chatter as city after city flashes up on the large screen.
A story of good vs evil, the opening scene is like something
from a cult. Dancers appear in long robes whilst chanting along to a lone voice
singing out ‘Lord of the Dance’. It’s quite an ominous start to a story about
lovers being kept apart by evil.
But the scene is perked up by the arrival of The Little
Spirit, wearing the shiniest holographic bodysuit I’ve ever seen. Playing her
little flute, she flips and dances her way across the stage.
A few moments later, James Keegan flies onto the stage as
the Lord of the Dance. A spotlight lights him up as he shows off his skill as
the Lord, jeering on the crowd for more cheers. Around his waist a shining belt
that reads ‘Lord of the Dance’- the source of his magical dancing abilities. In
a crisp white shirt he stands out from the backing dancers in this forest
scene. James performs solo after solo throughout the night, demonstrating his
skill and 13 years of experience within the company.
A dark stage flickers on to a terrifying closeup of Don
Dorcha as he laughs at The Little Spirit. The bad guy of the show, he has the
crazy maniac thing down with this freaky video that lights up the entire back
screen. He decides to steal the magical belt from the Lord of the Dance and
soon begins to build an army to help him.
Soon after we are introduced to Morrighan the Temptress. She
appears on stage in a red bodysuit and to the loudest cheering of the night.
The dancer, Mary Mirasola, is an American dancer now living here in Newcastle
and around 100 of her family and friends are in the audience to see her dance
this lead role for the first time. Everytime she appeared on the stage they
cheered and hollered for her throughout her time on the stage! You could see
her smile from rows and rows back, it was clear she was loving performing in
her hometown.
Morrighan has the clear role of the sexy lead with her
dances performed to firey backgrounds and incredible guitar rifts but the
entire show has a certain sex appeal.
Michael Flatley made Irish dancing sexy and this was
definitely a tradition carried on in ‘Dangerous Games’. Having a look around at
the audience throughout the show it was clear that there was an older average
age for this show and everytime something sexy happened on stage you could hear
slight gasps and hollering and clapping!
The first shocking scene are when all the female dancers are
wearing traditional irish dress and with a snap the music switches up and they
strip to reveal sparkling black bras and leggings. Not to be missed out, a
military style scene follows with the male dancers ripping off their own
shirts. This show is definitely sexy and not for the prudes!
But the sexiness is not confined to just the dancers, live
singers and violinists appear throughout the show in beautiful, bedazzled
dressers. I was quite impressed with the violinists who danced their way across
the stage in heels whilst playing!
A beautiful songstress appears too and wows us with her incredible
vocal range. Playing the part of the goddess, her voice is definitely stunning.
Taking the stage solo throughout the acts, it is very clear she can hold the
audience’s interest on her own.
As for storyline, it was sometimes a little hard to follow
but did it matter? Nope! It was easy to tell the good scenes from the bad
scenes and you know you are there to witness the skill of these dancers more so
than the story.
By the end of the show, you will have seen the Lord of the
Dance fight for his true love and win. I was so impressed with the dancing, I
can’t quite describe the pride I felt watching and listening to this show.
Seeing the unison within the troupe was something I was in awe of.
The show ends with the infamous line dance, around 20
dancers moving as one. It’s incredible to watch and if you have the chance you
must see it for yourself.
With a bang, the show ends.
Or does it?
A video appears of Michael Flatley, and he splits into 3.
This man set the world record for 28 taps a second, (is that humanly possible?)
and he proves that he doesn’t need any backing dancers. Flatley did it first
Beyonce! An incredible ending that had the entire audience silent and staring,
it was such a showcase of skill it would only have been better if it had have
been the man himself. (But at 58, I think the man deserves a rest!)
I was so grateful to be at the opening night here in
Newcastle and it made a dream come true for me!