Lord of the Dance - Observations

I have decided to change the Lord of the Dance review page to one that actually summarizes why I Love LOTD. The web page title may not be appropriate but I didn't want to change the links and confuse people who had previously visited.

What is Lord of the Dance?

For those who may not know about Lord of the Dance (LOTD) and would like to know more it is an Irish show created, developed, and produced by Michael Flatley (from Chicago). I would encourage you to visit the official LOTD web site at http://www.lordofthedance.com/ and prepare to be overwhelmed.

My Experiences at Lord of the Dance!

April 19, 1997 - Pittsburgh Civic Arena (afternoon show)

What a drive! We departed from my parent's house around 11 am for the 2 pm show. We met up with my sister-in-law and her family just outside of Weirton, WV on US route 22. After battling numerous Pennsylvania construction sites and the Pittsburgh Pirates traffic we made it to the Civic Arena at about 1:40. Excitement was certainly building at this point. As we made our way to the entrance along with the rest of the people going to see the show we realized just how much of a population cross-section the audience was. Young, old, and every good aspect of human existence could be found in the arena that day.

Being an engineer I was certain to look around as we walked down to our seats on the floor. The stage and equipment setup was impressive. Oh how I longed to be on the crew. I looked forward to the show even more having seen the production equipment. Taking our seats we listened to the Irish music that played before the show. It was a new and rewarding experience.

When the lights dimmed and the curtains were drawn back serious chills hit my spine. I sat there in awe of seeing the performance live. From that moment on the show was nothing less than fantastic! Every second that I witnessed filled me with incredible energy and continues with me through today.

At the intermission we talked with some people who were seated next to us. It was amazing that most of them had not even seen the video. Some had been able to catch the performance during the PBS pledge drives but the majority were coming to see it blind. This amazed us since the tickets were not what most people would call cheap. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show.

The Pittsburgh crowd was pretty good and we were given several encores but in comparison with the other shows I had not seen anything yet! On the way out after the show I gave the sound and video crew a big thumbs up for a job excellently performed.

October 2, 1997 - Polaris Amphitheater (Columbus, Ohio)[8:00PM]

After my wife and I were able to see Lord of the Dance in Pittsburgh we made plans to take our children if it were to come back to the area. In late July we learned that it would be at Polaris Amphitheater in Columbus. I called to find out when tickets were to go on sale and then waited for the local TicketMaster outlet to go online (August 4). It paid off, I walked away with five tickets for very good seating. We made plans for the trip to Columbus and booked a room at the Sheraton. It turned out to be a good deal. We were able to take a special shuttle to the amphitheater and enter through the VIP gate.

Polaris is a fantastic place. Everything was clean and well maintained in the sections that I saw. The night was cool so everyone wore their jackets. The kids enjoyed the almost festive atmosphere. People were milling around. The curtains were drawn back before the lights went down so we got to see the stage as it was prepared. Interesting. The kids liked watching the people moving things around and getting the stage ready.

When the lights finally went down (about 15 minutes after the scheduled start time, seems to be to let people sit down) the kids were thrilled at the beginning music and witnessing the troupe come out for the first dance sequence. Our youngest kept looking up at the video screen and then back to the stage. It was wonderful to watch his little mind take everything in and make those wheels turn. Thursday's crowd was fantastic and the troupe was right on target with their performance. Everyone loved the "surprise" flute jam from Michael and the band. You could just hear the whispers. Wow!

We noticed a group of people down in the front that were being very vocal about the performance and it seemed to spur on the crowd even more. We all left the performance very excited and exhausted. The next morning while enjoying our complimentary breakfast we met several people from the hotel staff that said they were going to Friday's performance. I was jealous. Later my wife met several people who post regularly on the Lord of the Dance Visitor's book in the hotel restaurant. I went down and chatted with them for a while and they ended up convincing me to come back. I called my brother-in-law to see if he wanted to go again and then called TicketMaster and purchased two more tickets. Things were set for the day.

October 3, 1997 - Polaris Amphitheater (Columbus, Ohio) [8:00PM]

With two tickets for the seventh row in what TicketMaster called "limited view" seating my brother-in-law and I drove back to Columbus. We arrived at Polaris shortly before the gates opened. After waiting for ten minutes the gates opened and we parked the car. I picked the tickets up at the "will call" window and in we went. We shortly found out that the food vendors don't open until 6:30 pm and we couldn't get in to the seats until 7:00 pm because the troupe and crew were performing sound checks and other things. We could hear Anne Buckley singing. What a voice!

At about 7:10 the seating area was opened so in we went. What seats!!! Throughout the performance I could not find what could possibly be obscured. There we were 7 rows back (on the side)! We looked at each other and grinned. This was going to be the performance to remember! Time passed quickly as the crowd started to build. The evening was a bit warmer than the previous night so it was somewhat more comfortable. I walked over to where the VBers seemed to be grouped and talked for a bit before the show. No news had been obtained on where the band was going to play. Soon it was time for the show. I was in my seat waiting, again!

This time the curtain was closed at the beginning of the show. After the announcer gave the (by now standard) introduction the curtains were retracted and the torches became visible. This time, more than in any of the previous shows, I felt my body be overtaken by the show and its energy and emotion. It was almost like I was up there on stage (thanks to the seats). The troupe's performance was spectacular! By the intermission I could hardly stand it. I jumped up and ran over to see if there was any news about the band, there wasn't. So I struck off in search of some of the crew. I met the lighting director and the guy responsible for the vari-lights. They were both very friendly and talked for a bit about the show and what they did. They seemed to be taken by surprise when I asked for their autographs. I got them, cool.

The second half lived up to the performance level of the first and more. Siamsa was absolutely fabulous. I am so grateful to Michael and Ronan Hardiman for the dance and the music. This one number seems to contain more absolutely pure and positive energy than any other in the show. The dancers really look like they are enjoying this dance. I do find it interesting that the Michael/Band jam session was added immediately prior to Siamsa. Anyway, the rest of the show continued to get even better and by the end I couldn't wait to get back out to the front of the amphitheater to wait for Michael and the troupe.

Unfortunately, neither Michael or the bus carrying the troupe stopped after the performance. Then we learned that the band could get a place booked to play so that was out for the evening. However, a great member of the security staff let us know that some of the troupe were going to be at Banana Joe's in Columbus. We struck out for the bar with a detailed city map of Columbus in hand. I had the misfortune of saying, "Why don't we see if the troupe's busses are over at the hotel complex." John agreed and we went. BIG MISTAKE! The busses weren't there. We got lost trying to get back to Interstate 71 and lost nearly fifteen minutes. Once we found I-71 we proceeded to exit it too soon and got ourselves lost somewhere else in Columbus. By the time that we figured out where we were and where we wanted to go nearly 45 minutes (total) had passed. So now in quick succession we went out onto I-71, down to the correct exit, started the search for Banana Joe's, saw a bus that looked like the troupe's bus but wasn't, saw a big black limo (much like the one Michael was supposed to be in when he left the amphitheater, looked for parking spot, passed up one, came back around and took it, walked down to the corner to go to the bar, saw the big black limo (stopped right in front of us for a traffic light) leaving, stood in line to get in the bar, had a policeman tell me that "He" just left, wanted to have a breakdown right there on the sidewalk!

Yep, we missed meeting Michael at the bar by less than five minutes. In fact, had we taken the parking spot the first time we probably would have met him as he was leaving. Oh well. We showed our ID and entered. Several of the VBers showed up. I walked around through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd looking for the dancers. I saw a group of younger people standing around a corner of the bar. It was them! I finally realized this and went over. I recognized Sharon O'Brien because of her shorter hair. Wow, what a build she has. I asked for her autograph. She signed my program and then passed it on to the others at the bar. Turns out that I got to meet about eight or so of the troupe. I also met Cora Smyth! After John went over and met Cora we decided to head for home (a two hour drive) since it was nearly one in the morning. We should have stayed!!!! I swore to myself that if given the chance with troupe 2 members, I would not leave until the bar closed. We made it home and collapsed.

October 10, 1997 - Gund Arena (Cleveland, Ohio) [8:00PM]

Now it's the following week and I am having severe LOTD withdrawals. I checked out the dates in Cleveland and found that seats were still available. I called and purchased tickets for the Friday evening show for the family. (I shouldn't have) After a long trip up to Cleveland we made it to Gund (a nice arena). Once inside I knew that I had made a mistake. After seeing the show at Polaris there was no way this could be as good. It wasn't. The troupe and show were very good as always but the atmosphere was completely different. I didn't feel like I was really involved. I think that it comes from the basic large size of the arena. The seats were to the side and up in the first section but reflection back to the performance that we saw in Pittsburgh (when we were on the floor, close to the stage) made me realize that it wouldn't really matter where we were sitting.

Gillian did not dance the part of the Temptress this evening. I don't know the name of the woman that did dance but she did an ok job. unfortunately the dance was not nearly the same as the ones Gillian did. Gillian was so much more alluring and seductive in her dance. Like I said earlier, the show was great and for people who hadn't seen the show in a different venue I would imagine it was impressive. Now I am hoping that Troupe 2 will come back to Polaris in 98 for an encore!

General Thoughts and Impressions

Nothing, I repeat NOTHING, has ever captured my attention, emotion, etc. like Lord of the Dance has. Since the first time that I saw Michael Flatley and the RD troupe I had the feeling that more was going to come from this man. Lord of the Dance is a gift that I think the world should treasure. The positive energy that comes from the show, crew, and troupe has no equal. I hope that the world continues to respond to the troupes as they tour with an equal amount flowing back to the dancers.

One final note, if you enjoy reading what others are saying about the show then follow the links on the official Lord of the Dance page to the Visitor's Book then click on the small here that is underlined at the bottom of the Visitor's Book comment form to view what other people have entered (if they don't change the base file names all of the links on my page should work). It is a world of its own. Go there, I think that most will enjoy it! After reading what people have written add your own comments!!!

While you're here please take a moment to leave a message in my Visitor's Book and let me know what you think of the website. This way to the Guestbook. I also have a page with some pictures from Audra and Alayna (new musicians) performance that they gave here in Athens, Ohio. You might find it interesting.

I hope that you didn't miss it but the Russian Olympic (I think) skaters (pairs) just performed to a nice mix of the music from Lord of the Dance! It showcased the music pretty well. The performance was not as energetic as we've come to expect when listening to the music but it was nice.

Stay Tuned

I will be adding to my Lord of the Dance pages. In particular I will be posting scanned versions of the autographs that I received so that others may have a copy for their own (I've also sent a copy to Jeremy (UK) so you might see them on his site as well). They really will be showing up, SOON!

I also want to talk about the geometric patterns that Michael Flatley uses in his choreography but haven't had the time to sit down and really reflect on it.

Last Updated on: 03/14/00 11:29:01 PM by Robert Thomas