Bare chested men in leather pants, women with long tresses and short skirts, lines of dancers stamping in unison - this is the image that Michael Flatley's tap dance extravaganzas evoke. Critics sniff at the shamelessly flashy Vegas-style pageantry and purists are repelled by what is thought to be a bastardized rendering of a once-obscure art form, but millions of fans cheer Flatley's lordly presence. Feet of Flames, recreated for this Taiwan tour nearly 10 years after its legendary premiere in Hyde Park, London, is a dance blockbuster that mixes contemporary choreography, Celtic dance and music with pyrotechnics, explosive visual effects and video displays designed to overwhelm.
Flatley's story is well-known. The son of a Chicago construction contractor who immigrated from Ireland, Flatley was brought up in a house with a solid work ethic and two champion Irish dancers - his mother and grandmother. With an almost manic drive to raise himself up in the world (Flatley once reportedly said that he didn't have time to read anything other than self-help and motivational books) the then-aspiring lad managed to become the first American World Irish Dance Champion at 17. His first big break came when he scored a gig with the Chieftains in the 1980s, which eventually led to an interval act for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The seven-minute prototype of Riverdance performed there was expanded into a full-length production and made Flatley an instant star. Flatley left the production amid a bitter dispute over the copyright of the Riverdance routines and went on to stage The Lord of the Dance in 1996. The rest is history.
Dubbed the turbo-charged reworking of Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames was created in 1998, following the same storyline but doubling the number of dancers and adding new music, numbers, sets and costumes. The dance spectacle is representative of Flatley's updated and popularized version of traditional Irish step dancing.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF KHAM
Credited to Irish parish priests who developed the dance style due to concerns about lascivious bodily display, step dancing involves a stiff torso and rigidly held arms juxtaposed against quick, precise movements of the feet. In the skillful hands of Flatley, the staid dance was turned into a showbiz spectacular glazed with full-on sexuality and expressive choreography.
For those who aren't familiar with the story, Feet of Flames recounts the perennial tale of the battle between good and evil, represented by the Lord of the Dance and Don Dorcha, the Dark Lord. A lusty romance sub-plot spices things up with Irishwoman Colleen Saoirse winning the heart of the Lord of the Dance from the wicked temptress Morrigan.
Flatley himself will not dance in the Taiwan shows, and the lead role will be played by Damien O'Kane, who played Flatley's original role when Lord of the Dance visited Taiwan in 2004.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF KHAM
According to Yang Yu-tsun (楊玉存) of Kuang Hong Arts (寬宏藝術), restaging Feet of Flames in Taiwan after its world tour ended seven years ago was made possible by the almost insatiable thirst that Taiwanese audiences have for Flatley's shows. Lord of the Dance, which was staged here in 2004 and 2005, and Celtic Tiger a year later, all proved enormously successful.
"When Flatley came with Celtic Tiger in 2006, we suggested the possibility of bringing Feet of Flames to Taiwan since so many people love his shows," Yang said. "After six months of communications and persuasion, Flatley finally agreed to re-stage the production in Taiwan."
The two-hour show has cost over NT$100 million to stage in Taiwan, and every effort has been made to match the grand scale of the original London production. Nearly 100 dancers will sashay, prance and leap on the multi-tiered stage against displays of pyrotechnics and rear-screen projections. Around 20 crew members have been flow in from the UK to construct the set with the aid of local theater technicians. The troupe has been rehearsing intensively in Kaohsiung for the last two weeks, but requests for interviews were rejected.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF KHAM
Performances in Taipei and Taichung are nearly sold out. Tickets for the Kaohsiung and Tainan shows are selling quickly. Flatley may have taken his last curtain call as the Lord of the Dance, but the show he created and continues to direct still works box office magic.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF KHAM
Taiwan doesn’t have a lot of railways, but its network has plenty of history. The government-owned entity that last year became the Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) has been operating trains since 1891. During the 1895-1945 period of Japanese rule, the colonial government made huge investments in rail infrastructure. The northern port city of Keelung was connected to Kaohsiung in the south. New lines appeared in Pingtung, Yilan and the Hualien-Taitung region. Railway enthusiasts exploring Taiwan will find plenty to amuse themselves. Taipei will soon gain its second rail-themed museum. Elsewhere there’s a number of endearing branch lines and rolling-stock collections, some
Could Taiwan’s democracy be at risk? There is a lot of apocalyptic commentary right now suggesting that this is the case, but it is always a conspiracy by the other guys — our side is firmly on the side of protecting democracy and always has been, unlike them! The situation is nowhere near that bleak — yet. The concern is that the power struggle between the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their now effectively pan-blue allies the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) intensifies to the point where democratic functions start to break down. Both
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and the country’s other political groups dare not offend religious groups, says Chen Lih-ming (陳立民), founder of the Taiwan Anti-Religion Alliance (台灣反宗教者聯盟). “It’s the same in other democracies, of course, but because political struggles in Taiwan are extraordinarily fierce, you’ll see candidates visiting several temples each day ahead of elections. That adds impetus to religion here,” says the retired college lecturer. In Japan’s most recent election, the Liberal Democratic Party lost many votes because of its ties to the Unification Church (“the Moonies”). Chen contrasts the progress made by anti-religion movements in
This was not supposed to be an election year. The local media is billing it as the “2025 great recall era” (2025大罷免時代) or the “2025 great recall wave” (2025大罷免潮), with many now just shortening it to “great recall.” As of this writing the number of campaigns that have submitted the requisite one percent of eligible voters signatures in legislative districts is 51 — 35 targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus lawmakers and 16 targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The pan-green side has more as they started earlier. Many recall campaigns are billing themselves as “Winter Bluebirds” after the “Bluebird Action”
RSS