Flatley gets personal in new show

The dancer relates the story of Ireland and Irish immigration to America.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Always up for a challenge, internationally-renowned Irish dance king Michael Flatley conceived his latest expansive creation "Celtic Tiger" at the expense of another critically-acclaimed project.
"In 2001, I was touring with a show called 'Feet of Flames,' and it was enormously successful artistically and financially," said Flatley, calling from New York City. "We were going to add more shows but in my mind I couldn't continue to perform in one show when I was working on a new piece of art. I knew I would have to take some time off and it was worth it. To me, this is by far the biggest and the best show that I've ever been involved in. It's so much more close to my heart, because of the subject matter as well."
Roots
Flatley conceived "Celtic Tiger" as a celebration of not only the story of Ireland but also the millions of Irish Americans. The second of five children born to Irish immigrants, Flatley grew up in Chicago but was never too far from his European roots, thus experiencing a youth with allegiance to two countries.
In many ways, "Celtic Tiger" defines those allegiances and in the process is different from anything else he's done in the past, including the ubiquitous productions "Riverdance," "Lord of the Dance" and "Feet of Flames."
"Obviously this is much, much deeper," Flatley said. "My parents came to the United States in 1947, with nothing, from Ireland and America gave us a great living and a great start in the world. In fact, the very end of the show finishes with 'Yankee Doodle Dandy,' which is a tribute to America and a way to say thank you."
Now that the show has recently opened to critical acclaim, including a handful of standing ovations at a recent Madison Square Garden show in New York City, "Celtic Tiger" appears to be yet another Flatley hit. Northeast Ohio fans can see what the fuss is all about Nov. 10 at The Q.
And what a fuss it is. Apparently the rehearsal process was a trying and tedious experience for the perfectionist Flatley. Normally taking eight weeks to get a cast and crew up to speed, "Celtic Tiger" required 27 weeks of rehearsal. Despite the setbacks, Flatley never lost faith.
"I can honestly tell you as soon as I had that first number put together, I knew this was going to be a real gem," Flatley said. "That's why I took so long to make sure the rest of it was just as good.'