Celtic Tiger Live

For the nickname for Irish economic growth, see "Celtic Tiger"

Celtic Tiger Live or more often known Michael Flatley's Celtic Tiger or just Celtic Tiger was an Irish Dance show.^[1]

History

Michael Flatley, known for Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames, created Celtic Tiger which debuted in 2005.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4] 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 a people 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." ^[5]

Credits

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

Numbers

Cast

• Michael Flatley
• Thomas Badger

Dancers

Band

Vocalists

• Una Gibney (DVD & tour)
• Paul Harrington (DVD)

Tour dates

• 17 June – NIA, Birmingham, England — DVD filming by David Mallet.

2005 World Tour-North America (Preview Shows/United States/Canada).

• 9 July – Nepstadion/Puskás Ferenc Stadion Budapest, Hungary — second DVD recording, concert and rehearsal scenes on DVD.
• 24 September – Worcester, Massachusetts.
• 27 September -Madison Square Garden, New York .

2005 Celtic Tiger North American World Tour.

• 24 Sep – Worcester, MA-USA.
• 27 Sep – Madison Square Garden, New York City.
• 29 Sep – Montreal, Canada.
• 3 Oct – Halifax Metro Center, Halifax, Canada.
• 5 Oct – Corel Center, Ottawa, Canada.
• 6 Oct – John Labbat Center, London, Canada.
• 7 Oct – Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, Canada.
• 11 Oct – MTS Center, Winnipeg, Canada.
• 12 Oct – Credit Union Center, Saskatoon, Canada.
• 14 Oct – Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary, Canada.
• 15 Oct – Rexall Place, Edmonton, Canada.
• 17 Oct – GM Place, Vancouver, Canada.
• 18 Oct – Save on Foods Memorial Centre, Victoria, Canada.
• 20 Oct – Everett Events Center, Everett, Washington, USA.
• 22 Oct – Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA, USA.
• 25 Oct – HP Pavilion, San José, CA, USA.
• 27 Oct – iPayOne Center, San Diego, CA, USA.
• 29 Oct – Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, CA, USA.
• 30 Oct – Glendale Arena, Glendale, AZ, USA.
• 3 Nov – Savvis Center, St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
• 4 Nov – Iowa State Center, Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA, USA.
• 5 Nov – Qwest Arena, Omaha, NE, USA.
• 8 Nov – Target Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA
• 10 Nov – Gund Arena, Cleveland, OH, USA.
• 11 Nov – Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
• 12 Nov – Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH, USA.
• 17 Nov – Bradley Arena, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
• 18 Nov – All State Arena, Chicago IL, USA
• 22 Nov – Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT, USA.
• 25 Nov – Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
• 26 Nov – Patriot Center, Fairfax, VA, USA.

2006 World Tour-Europe-Summer (Europe and Asia).

Date Venue City/Country.

• 20 April The Point Theatre Dublin, Ireland.
• 22 April Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England.
• 23 April Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, England.
• 26 April Wembley Arena, London, England.
• 27 April The NIA, Birmingham, England.
• 28 April MEN Arena, Manchester, England.
• 29 April SECC Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1 May Sportpaleis Antwerpen, Belgium.
• 2 May Sportpaleis Ahoy' Rotterdam, Netherlands.
• 6 May König-Pilsener-Arena Oberhausen, Germany.
• 8 May Schleyerhalle Stuttgart, Germany.
• 10 May Color Line Arena Hamburg, Germany.
• 11 May Hallenstadion Zürich, Switzerland.
• 12 May Stadthalle Wien, Austria.
• 15 May Schleyerhalle Stuttgart, Germany.
• 16 May Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany.
• 17 May König-Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany.
• 19 May Forum Copenhagen, Denmark.
• 20 May Löfbergs Lila Arena Karlstad, Sweden.
• 21 May Oslo Spektrum Oslo, Norway.
• 23 May Globen Stockholm, Sweden.
• 25 May Hartwall Arenna Helsinki, Finland.
• 3 June RDS Dublin, Ireland.
• 10 June Chung Shan Soccer Stadium Taipei, Taiwan.
• 11 June Chung Shan Soccer Stadium Taipei, Taiwan.
• 13 June Chung-Chun Stadium Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
• 17 June HKCEC Hall 3, Hong Kong, China.

2006 World Tour-Europe-Winter.

The Cancelled Tour.

• 14–15 Nov Vorst National Brussels, Belgium.
• 17 Nov Hallenstadion Zürich, Switzerland.
• 18 Nov TUI Arena Hannover, Germany.
• 19 Nov SAP Arena Mannheim, Germany.
• 21 Nov Olympiahalle München, Germany.
• 23 Nov Arena Leipzig, Germany.
• 25 Nov Velodrom Berlin, Germany.
• 26 Nov Schleyerhalle Stuttgart, Germany.
• 27 Nov Kölnarena Köln, Germany.
• 28 Nov Color Line Arena Hamburg, Germany.
• 5 Dec MEN Arena Manchester, England.
• 6 Dec Wembley Arena London, England.

References

External links

• Celtic Tiger Live – Homepage