Michael Flatley, American-Irish dancer and choreographer
Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer, choreographer, and musician. He became known for Irish dance shows Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, and Celtic Tiger Live. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 million people in 60 countries and have grossed more than $1 billion.Flatley is credited with reinventing traditional Irish dance by incorporating new rhythms, syncopation, and upper body movements, which were previously absent from the dance, as well as including influences from tap and contemporary dance. He is in the Guinness World Records for tap dancing 35 times per second and his feet were at one time insured for $57.6 million. Flatley retired in 2016 due to constant spinal, knee, foot, and rib pain.