Lords of the Dance – Flatley’s praise for his Galway composer

They grew up worlds apart but shared a common bond even if they didn’t know it – and last weekend, Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley and one of Galway’s finest traditional musicians reminisced on how it all began….before taking to the Broadway stage and blowing their appreciative audience away.

The Galway musician was Ger Fahy, one of the famous musical family from Ballinakill and composer of the score for Flatley’s new spectacular, Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games.

But before it all went down a storm, the two men – reared on a diet of Irish culture on either side of the Atlantic – took a moment to remember their respective roots.

“The crowds were building in the foyer, and the atmosphere was palpable in all corners of the Lyric Theatre Broadway,” says Ger.

“I took a shortcut to the backstage area to Michael Flatley’s dressing room. We exchanged greetings. Michael reminisced on his early dance classes in a cold hall in Chicago.

“I had a similar introduction to the music world many years ago in a cold hall in Ballinakill. We laughed, I wished him well and then it was showtime,” he adds.

And showtime it was on a night to remember when Broadway was awakened to the blazing dance routines and pulsating rhythms of Lord of the Dance.

“All the work began two years ago on a weekend break, I wrote the music and lyrics for Dangerous Games, the anthem around which the entire show revolved,” says Ger.

Thus began a year-long project culminating in the premiere of Lord of the Dance in London’s Palladium theatre in September 2014 – and taken to new heights last Tuesday week on Broadway.

In his own right, Ger Fahy is one of the most gifted Irish composers of our time. His new score for Dangerous Games is a magnificent piece of work that combines traditional Irish music with an eclectic mix of sounds and styles. His ethnic traditional roots have greatly influenced his present musical style.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.