Celtic Tiger Live

Celtic Tiger Live or more often known Michael Flatley's Celtic Tiger or just Celtic Tiger was an Irish dance show.

History
Michael Flatley, known for Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames, created Celtic Tiger which debuted in 2005. After being retired for four years, Flatley announced he was going to tour with a new show. In the summer of 2004 Flatley started the rehearsals of a new show in the SFX Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. In the autumn of 2004 the rehearsals moved on in the Shepperton Studios in London. Michael tried his best to keep the details including the name of the show a secret. Michael announced on his website in April 2005 that he was going to have a preview show of his new show Celtic Tiger in June 2005.

Celtic Tiger had its first performance at a private, invitation-only performance at the NIA Birmingham, England on 17 June 2005. The show was first performed for the public on 9 July 2005 in the Puskás Stadion (formerly the Népstadion) in Budapest, Hungary. Another preview show was planned for Prague in the Czech Republic, but at the last minute that show was cancelled due to the venue (which included a massive stage specially built for the show) was unsafe for the dancers.

The next show, a preview show for the US tour, was held in Worcester, Massachusetts, on 24 September 2005, followed by a gala performance in New York City's Madison Square Garden on 27 September 2005, the show's official US premiere. The show then toured through Canada and sections of the US, with the final 2005 performance at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia on 26 November 2005.

Celtic Tiger started its European World Tour on 20 April 2006 at the Point Theatre in Dublin. That show was the first time Flatley had danced in the Point Theatre since he debuted Lord of the Dance. On 15 November 2006, the Autumn and Winter tours for the Celtic Tiger tour of Europe and Asia were cancelled when Flatley was hospitalised for a viral infection for two weeks. Flatley claimed in his website that he would release future touring dates in early 2007 but never did.

Meaning
In the press release announcing the European preview of the show, Michael Flatley explained 'Celtic Tiger portrays the oppression of the Irish people through the ages and the tiger symbolises the awakening of their Spirit and their struggle for freedom. Celtic Tiger is my finest work to date. Budapest is one of my favourite cities in the world and I can think of no greater place to preview my new show."

Credits

 * Director – Michael Flatley
 * Producer – Michael Flatley
 * Choreographer – Michael Flatley
 * Leading role – Michael Flatley

Numbers
Act 1 1. The Heartbeat of the Tiger 2. Dancing in the Dark 3. St. Patrick 4. The Sleeping Tiger 5. The Vikings 6. Celtic Fire 7. The Garden of Eden 8. The Redcoats 9. The Famine 10. Four Green Fields 11. Bloody Sunday 12. A Call to Arms 13. The 1916 Rising 14. The Banshee 15. A Nation Once Again

Act 2 16. Freedom 17. A New World 18. The Last Rose 19. Celtic Kittens 20. Capone 21. Forever Free 22. Cowboy Cheerleaders 23. Yankee Doodle Dandy 24. Celtic Fire II 25. The Celtic Tiger 26. Encore - Yankee Doodle Dandy Reprise

Cast

 * Michael Flatley
 * Thomas Badger

Dancers

 * Lisa Anderson
 * Thomas Badger
 * Desmond Bailey
 * Lynsey Brown
 * Cherie Butler
 * Ciaran Connolly
 * Martin Connolly
 * Siobhan Connolly
 * Arlene Cooke
 * Sarah Doherty
 * Alison Epsom
 * David Folan
 * Odette Galea
 * Jason Gorman
 * Damon Griffiths
 * Cassandra Halloran
 * Louise Hayden
 * Mark Hennessy
 * Niall Holly
 * Laura Jones
 * Joanne Kavanagh
 * Megan Luke
 * Maeve Madden
 * Debbie Maguire
 * Rachel Martin
 * Owen McAuley
 * Kathleen McCarthy
 * Brian McEnteggart
 * Leigh Ann McKenna
 * Kevin McVittie
 * Niamh O’Brien (later married to Flatley)
 * Damien O’Dochartaigh
 * Roisin O’Donnell
 * Andrew O'Reilly
 * Ian Oswald
 * Zoltan Papp
 * Gary Pender
 * Chris Piper
 * Katie Pomfret
 * Sarah Redmond
 * Margaret Revis
 * Sarah Spratt
 * Keagan Van Dooren
 * Bryana Verner
 * Scott Walker
 * Stephen Walker

Band

 * Jason Duffy — Drums and Percussion (DVD)
 * Gary Sullivan -Drums and Percussion (Canada & US tour)
 * Declan O'Donoghue — Drums and Percussion (tour)


 * Niamh Gallagher — Fiddles
 * Maire Egan — fiddles (DVD)


 * Aongus Ralston — Bass Guitarist (tour)
 * Gavin Ralston — Guitar (DVD & tour)


 * Cora Smyth — Fiddles (DVD & tour)
 * Brenda Curtin — fiddles (DVD)


 * Niamh Gallagher — fiddles (DVD)
 * John Colohan — Guitar (DVD)

Vocalists

 * Una Gibney (DVD & tour)
 * Paul Harrington (DVD and tour)