Michael Flatley, best known as star of the Riverdance show, has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of cancer.
A post on the Irish dancer and director’s Instagram account said: “Michael Flatley has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. He has undergone surgery and is in the care of an excellent team of doctors.”
Featuring a photo of Flatley looking out to sea, his team said no further comment would be made and asked people for their prayers and well wishes.
Flatley rose to prominence after a seven-minute performance during the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. It went on to be expanded for the theatre show, Riverdance, which combined traditional Irish music and dance. It premiered at Point Theatre, Dublin, in 1996.
He went on to create stage shows including Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger. Lord of the Dance had a record-breaking run of 21 consecutive shows at the Wembley Arena. At the time, in the late 1990s, Flatley’s legs were insured for £25m.
The dancer retired due to injury after a performance in Las Vegas on St Patrick’s Day in March 2017. Lord of the Dance did a 25-year anniversary tour in 2022 to raise money for the humanitarian effort in Ukraine after the invasion by Russia.
Flatley has previously had skin cancer after being diagnosed with a malignant melanoma in 2003, after it was spotted by a viewer on MTV. He has previously raised money for cancer charities.
Speaking about his treatment for cancer, he told the Irish Independent: “It was purely by chance that it was noticed. I had never even noticed it … it can be a frightening place to be.”
The 64-year-old was born in Chicago to Irish parents who had emigrated to the US in 1947. He went on to take Irish dance lessons in the city, and later toured with the Irish folk group The Chieftains.
Flatley has raised money for cancer research and has ties to the cancer charity Breakthrough, where he was an ambassador for an initiative in 2021 that created a virtual 33rd Irish “county” of 200,000 people representing cancer survivors in Ireland.
Since retiring he has gone on to write, direct, finance and star in a spy film, Blackbird, in 2018, which was released in cinemas last year.
• This article was amended on 12 January 2023 to clarify that Michael Flatley was internationally renowned for his performance in Riverdance, but he did not produce the show.
