Strong legs prevent ‘Lord’ from toppling

Friday, Nov. 22, 2002 | 9:25 a.m.

"Lord of the Dance," at the Showroom at The Venetian, is a high-energy production that captures the hearts of millions of fans whose primal emotions are aroused by the sights and sounds of synchronized tap dancing.

Excuse me, Irish step dancing.

Tap dancers use their entire bodies. Step dancers use mostly their legs.

And I'm told there is a plot to "Lord," one that pits good against evil.

There also was a plot to Busby Berkeley's 1940 film "Strike up the Band," which featured 18-year-old Judy Garland singing "Come On, Kids, Let's Put on a Show."

But Berkeley's plots were merely excuses to sing and dance.

The same might be said of "Lord of the Dance," except there is very little singing and a whole lot of dancing, which is fine with me. Dancing is good. It's fun to watch, fun to do.

The difference between a production by Berkeley and this one by Michael Flatley is that Berkeley's is light-hearted entertainment. Flatley's is dark and attempts to present a message.

"Lord" opens with a group of men in black cowls and masks carrying torches as they wander around a stage through a stream of fog. As music plays (sometimes light and airy; sometimes heavy and ponderous) a pixie clad in gold lame is lowered from the ceiling.

According to the show's official synopsis, the pixie is Little Spirit, who "travels through time and space to help The Lord of the Dance protect his mythical people" from Don Dorcha, The Dark Lord, and his Warlords.

The mysterious opening sets the stage for a 90-minute production of thrilling dancing, choreography and visual effects -- but a weak story.

When the flute-playing pixie alights, the dark figures disappear and she spreads gold glitter around the fog. From this seeding of the clouds arises a troupe of female dancers (The Girls of Ireland).

The tale, sort of a Celtic "West Side Story" that pits two opposing gangs, involves the pixie being harassed during her stated mission by the Dark Lord and his posse of thugs (The Warlords) dressed in black and gray camouflage attire.

The Lord of the Dance and his own posse (The Warriors) come to the rescue of the pixie that leads to a confrontation. In the interim, there are a couple of songs and two wandering minstrel-like violinists. Also, there is a dance-off between a woman in white (Saoirse, The Irish Colleen) and a woman in red (Morrighan, The Gypsy Temptress) vying for the affections of the Lord of the Dance.

It has been written that the tale is based on Irish mythology.

While there may be a story, there is no real character development, no reason to strongly like or dislike any of them other than we are supposed to, because the pixie is cute and the evil ones are dressed in black-and-gray camouflage.

There is no emotional connection between the characters onstage and the audience -- other than the dancing.

But that, afterall, is the reason "Lord" has been riding a wave of popularity since producer/director Flatley created it some six years ago.

Flatley is a native of Chicago, but speaks with an Irish accent. His parents were from Ireland and he spent a lot of time there during his formative years, learning Irish folk dancing while growing up.

In 1994 Flatley was the lead dancer in "Riverdance," which he helped create. The production brought Irish folk dancing to the attention of the world.

Two years later Flatley was fired, and he promptly created "Lord of the Dance," continuing to play the lead until stepping down four years ago when the show landed at New York-New York.

"Lord" was evicted from New York-New York in July after MGM MIRAGE, the parent company of the hotel, decided Las Vegas couldn't have too many Cirque du Soleil productions and commissioned another one that will debut next year. And yet another to debut at MGM Grand in 2004.

Thus, Flatley moved his brainchild to the 1,000-seat Showroom at The Venetian on Nov. 1, taking his fans with him.

No one who likes Irish folk dancing should be disappointed with "Lord of the Dance" -- or with "Spirit of the Dance," its competition downtown.

"Spirit of the Dance" opened at the Golden Nugget in August and has been extended to March 7. It is almost a clone of "Lord," except there is even less of a plot -- it is content to merely celebrate dancing.

The question is, is the town big enough for two similar productions?

Ask a magician, or an impressionist or a performer with Cirque du Soleil.