Lord of the Dance Tour in Croatia

Michael Flatley’s Irish dance and music spectacles have had a large following in Croatia over the last few years. The latest Croatian tour of the Dangerous Games production proved that Irish culture remains well-appreciated here as the cities of Split, Zadar, Zagreb and Rijeka hosted the show in mid-October. More than 10,000 people witnessed the four shows. Ireland’s Ambassador to Croatia Tim Harrington was in the audience at the Zagreb show on 17 October.

“It was a wonderful performance which brought across Irish dance at its most vibrant and modern”, said Ambassador Harrington. Everyone left the Zagreb show as enthused as Ambassador Harrington with many attempting some of the dance steps that they had just witnessed.

This production features new staging, costumes and mesmerising choreography in which the cast of 40 performed Irish songs and dance that electrified and brought Croatian audiences to their feet. The show mixed the best of tradition with modern-day excitement.

Ambassador Harrington and his wife Majella O Doherty hosted a reception at the Irish Residence in Zagreb on 16 October for the Dangerous Games cast to show their appreciation for the Lord of the Dance. Seven cast members and Peter Mersey, the tour leader, were able to take time away from preparations and joined the Ambassador and his guests. At the reception, cast members said that they were impressed with the positive reactions of the Croatian crowds that interact well with the dancers. This, of course, makes performing more rewarding.

This is the fifth time that the Lord of the Dance tour has come to Croatia. Previous tours took place in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. With the success of the shows over the last few years, we can expect that Michael Flatley’s celebration of Irish culture will return to Croatia in the not-too-distant future.