The lord and dance: Michael Flatley
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 26 December 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Michael Flatley is the most famous Irish dancer in the world, rising to stardom for his leading roles in Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. Colm Flynn travels to meet Flatley at home, where he reflects on the highs of his remarkable career and the personal experiences that shaped his outlook on life and faith. Born in Chicago to Irish parents, Flatley grew up surrounded by music, dance, and the values of hard work and perseverance. His groundbreaking performance in Riverdance at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 brought Irish dance to a global audience, and his later productions redefined what Irish traditional dance could be. In recent years, Michael Flatley’s life was upended when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. He describes the diagnosis as a moment that forced him to re-examine what truly matters: family, love, and belief in God. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Heart and Soul, exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:09.0 | I can't explain it. There was something in the air that night. It was just something in the air that night. |
| 0:13.4 | And it was the first night ever that I was allowed, use my arms and my facial expression and my body and my acting and my passion. |
| 0:24.3 | But it was like you were bursting and ready to release this new act into the world. |
| 0:28.2 | I'm telling you, Colm, I felt like a loaded gun. |
| 0:30.8 | I was so, you know, wound up and ready to go. |
| 0:34.1 | This was my chance. |
| 0:38.0 | This is the moment Irish dancer Michael Flatley's life changed forever. |
| 0:43.4 | He was performing live in front of 200 million people during the Eurovision Song Contest, |
| 0:52.0 | showcasing a style of Irish dancing the world had never seen before. |
| 0:58.8 | And it made Michael Flatley a global superstar. |
| 1:02.7 | Next guest is the biggest selling dance star. |
| 1:05.6 | Total spectacle, Lord of the Dance, Michael Flatley. |
| 1:08.8 | The show River Dance became a global phenomenon, and Michael Flatley was the star dancer. |
| 1:15.6 | No legendary Michael Flatley. |
| 1:18.0 | But show business is ruthless, and almost as quickly as he had begun, Michael Flatley was out of Riverdance. |
| 1:27.6 | And my posters are 100 feet tall with my picture on it, and I get fired the night before, |
| 1:34.5 | and I am out of the show. |
| 1:37.5 | But after a bold comeback, he went on to achieve even greater success with his own show, |
| 1:47.1 | Lord of the Dance. His performances have been seen by more than 65 million people worldwide. He has toured over 60 countries and played |
| 1:54.4 | thousands of sold-out shows. And at one point, he became one of the highest earning performers in the world. |
| 2:02.5 | I drank it up. I ate it up. I enjoyed every glass of wine, every kiss, every seat on the private jet. |
... |
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