Lord of the Dance

So I'm reading his autobiography, so help me god. I've generally been decidedly anti-Flatley, but this has been a bit of an eye-opener.

First, because it made me feel so god-damn guilty for not practising this evening. And absolutely determined to practise all bloody day tomorrow. His work ethic is utterly infectious - anybody reading the book would be motivated to get up and practise, even if they didn't even do Irish dancing. It'd inspire a footballer to go and drill penalties or something; a pianist to go and drill scales. He worked hard and look where he got, look where we all could end up. If I lose this motivation I'm going to be so pissed off at myself which is really why I'm writing this.

Second, because it confirmed everything I'd ever heard first-hand. Over the years I've known, danced with, and been taught by women who've danced in his shows. Let's just leave it there and say it's all true, what they said.

Just before the book got to Eurovision night, I put it down and picked up my phone. I opened Youtube and I searched for the first ever performance of Riverdance. And from the moment Katie McWotsit first opened her mouth it was as much as I could do to keep from crying. Here's a girl who took up dancing post-Riverdance without ever having seen Riverdance. I've seen it tonnes of times since of course, but tonight I think I actually saw it for the first time. How I would have seen it if I'd been a dancer back in 1994, with 15 years experience, wondering what the hell was going on. And for the first time I actually really appreciated it. I've criticised the swag, the bravado, the Trinity-style "I did this first and the world of Irish dancing owes me big time". I still think a lot of it's overexaggerated, dancing didn't necessarily need a saviour and it could really have been anybody, but my god it was good stuff.

It wasn't technically brilliant stuff; the dancers were capable of much more. Today's Riverdancers and LOTDers are capable of much much more than the show's choreography asks of them. But it's crowd pleasing,  it makes old hands cry. Most dancers know all the steps off by heart but sitting down to watch it, seeing it in a new way, it makes me appreciate what he did.

The book asserts that he invented heel clicks, that no Irish dancer had ever raised their arms. Okay love, if that makes you happy, believe it. It still grates that he felt like he was too good for competition style dancing,  that he wasn't comfortable not diluting it with arm movements - the lack of which completely makes it what it is. It grates that I'm now saying he brought us on.

He's not the greatest Irish dancer of all time. He's not the greatest Irish dancer of HIS time. But by god he's the cleverest. He made it by arrogantly thinking he was better than it was. He made it by adding elements to it and changing it from what it always was, day to day, in every church hall in Ireland. But was anybody else really going to do all that? I said above it could have been anybody - well, in the Eurovision it could have been. Right place, right time. Regardless of the book it was Moya Doherty's idea and she could have hired anybody. Colm O'Se. Anybody. But in fairness, it probably wouldn't then have continued for well over a decade.

The style of the shows grates. Why do men not do reels? Why is every big number the same formula? Song, girls light shoe, male solo, group hard shoe? Why do both shows follow the same pattern - group number, song, girls, boys, etc etc etc? Why is it that the shows that branch out and dispense with that formula, are doomed? Why are both troupes still doing exactly the same numbers nearly 20 years on?

Show dancing in Irish dancing isn't perfect. And I feel fairly confident in saying that your Prodijigs, your TapTronics...they're amazing, but they're not actually going to change the game the way Flatley did. It's been done, it can't be redone. I'm sure people pre-Riverdance felt similar, but I wouldn't want those groups to change the game as far as competitive dancing is concerned. The music needs to stay traditional at the very least; if that changes then we really do become parodies of ourselves. We really need to keep the arms by our sides; if that changes then I am 100% out, it will most definitely cease to be Irish dancing. But there's always a place for show dancing, and I for one am quite excited about where Prodijig, TapTronic, hell...even the Flatster himself, are going to take it.

I hope I'm still involved to see the next stage.