Michael Flatley

Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an American dancer. He became known for creating and performing in Irish dance shows ''Riverdance'', ''Lord of the Dance'', ''Feet of Flames'', ''Celtic Tiger Live'' and ''Michael Flatley's Christmas Dance Spectacular''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 million people in 60 countries and have grossed more than $1 billion. He has also been an actor, writer, director, producer, and philanthropist.

Flatley is credited with reinventing traditional Irish dance by incorporating new rhythms, syncopation, and upper body movements, which were previously absent from the dance. He formerly held the Guinness World Record for tap dancing 35 times per second and his feet were at one time insured for $57.6 million. Flatley retired from dance in 2016 due to constant spinal, knee, foot, and rib pain. In January 2023, it was reported that he was being treated for "an aggressive cancer". Provided by Wikipedia