Irish dance icon Michael Flatley, creator and star of “Riverdance” and “Lord of the Dance” phenomenons, has reportedly undergone surgery for an “aggressive form of cancer.” His team announced the operation and the cancer via an Instagram post. Flatley has reportedly “undergone surgery and is in the care of an excellent team of doctors,” the post reads. While they will be making no further comment at this time they do ask for prayers and well wishes.
Unfortunately, this isn’t Flatley’s first time dealing with this horrific disease. The dancer was previously diagnosed with a malignant melanoma in 2003, which he was able to beat. “A scare like that makes you even more aware you need to live every moment while you can,” he said in his 2006 autobiography, “Lord of the Dance: My Story.”
Flatley was born in Chicago to Irish parents. He first rose to fame in 1994 for a 7-minute intermission sequence for the Eurovision Song Contest. The little ditty called “Riverdance” became such a hit, by the next year, he had developed it into a feature-length show. It opened in February 1995 at the Point Theatre in Dublin. But by October of that year, Flatley was fired after a dispute with the show’s producers.
Undeterred, he moved on to create “Lord of the Dance,” which shattered records around the world. In London, it even set a record-breaking run of 21 consecutive shows at the Wembley Arena. Last year, a new tour was launched to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
Flatley also did a brief stint as a performer on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2007. He returned as a guest judge in 2008. Sadly, he was forced to retire from live performances in 2016 due to several injuries. His last major appearance was in 2017 when he introduced his dance troupe at former US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
He told another source “it was purely by chance” the cancer was noticed. So, please let this serve as a gentle reminder to do at-home screening and see your doctors, regularly.
We wish him a speedy and full recovery.
UPDATE-
Flatley has since posted a thank you.
