After students stop dancing at the Bryce Jordan Center this weekend at the Penn State Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, Eisenhower Auditorium will be filled with another form of movement.
“Lord of the Dance,” Michael Flatley’s Irish dancing show, is being performed there at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Flatley’s show tells a basic tale of “good versus evil,” Tom Cunningham, a dancer in the show, said.
The storyline is based off of traditional Irish folklore.
Laura Sullivan, marketing and communications director at the Penn State Center for the Performing Arts, said the show involves two main forces: the Lord of Darkness and the Lord of Light.
“[The show is] told through music and dance and song,” she said.
Cunningham said the show is very basic, an aspect that allows the audience the ability to easily connect with it.
“You’re dragged along with the show,” he said. “[Lord of the Dance] is very energetic.”
Because it is an athletic show, Cunningham said many of the dancers have been dancing for years. Cunningham has personally been dancing since age 5, he said. Most of the other cast members started at a similar age, he said.
“[Irish dancing] requires a lot of hard work and dedication,” Cunningham said.
He said this type of dancing is a style that he grew up with.
“Lord of the Dance” was created in the 1990s, debuting at The Point Theatre in Dublin in 1996.
It has toured in 60 different countries and been to every continent. The show has been revamped recently, Sullivan said.
“[It’s been] freshened up this year,” she said. The production has new costumes this year as well, she added.
The show, though focused on dancing, also involves live music, Cunningham said.
“It’s a big production,” Sullivan said. “It’s been a favorite of people for years.”
Erin O’Brien, president of Penn State’s Irish Dancing club Rince na Leon, said she is “thrilled” that “Lord of the Dance” is being performed at Penn State.
O’Brien (senior-telecommunications ) said she has seen the show once before, and couldn’t wait for a second chance to see it.
“As soon as I found out it was coming, I got tickets,” she said. “It’s a really good show.”
O’Brien said that the performance has a balance between the male and female dancing, something she thinks is neat. Typically in Irish dancing, females have a more “gentile” role, she said.
“[Lord of the Dance has] good, high quality dancing,” she said. “It’s energetic and upbeat.”
Tickets are still available and will be sold at the door. They are $58.25 for orchestra and grand tier and $48.25 for balcony seats.
