Michael Flatley made his first red carpet appearance since undergoing treatment for an “aggressive” form of cancer - saying “I will beat this”.
The Lord of the Dance star arrived at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin for the 25th anniversary of the hit show.
Flatley hasn’t been seen in public since last year after he announced he underwent surgery for an aggressive form of cancer.
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Speaking tonight on the red carpet, he explained his diagnosis.
He said: “I’m feeling good, I’m feeling strong. They didn't give me much of a chance in 1996 but I'm still standing, I’m a fighter and I’m not giving up here and I will beat this.”
He also teased that when he’s stronger, a sequel to Blackbird could be in the works.
“We’ve had a couple of offers and we'll see now in the next couple of months how I'm feeling but once i get back training and a little bit more steady, anything's possible. but the good news is, I've been offered a couple of things.“
He said he was feeling good and was overwhelmed to be celebrating 25 years of the show.
Crowds gathered to congratulate him on his return to the red carpet.
“Thank god we're still selling out, we're still standing. In the beginning, they didn't give us much of a chance but we're still here.”
Asked how he was feeling, he said: “Feel good, definitely feel good on a night like tonight.
“All my dreams have come true. There really is a God, it's a fabulous experience to be sharing this night and be able to say thank you to Ireland and all of you have been supportive for 25 years and gave us a bit of a head start.
“Going out there against the whole world with our Irish culture and thank you for standing behind us.
“I'm absolutely thrilled, i'm overwhelmed sometimes i wish i could still be out there because i've got too many miles on me. i'm so proud of the dancers out there tonight and what they're able to do.”
He said it feels fantastic to be out celebrating tonight.
“It feels fantastic. It couldn’t get any better than tonight. 25 years and what a wonderful group of dancers that we have.
“It’s 25 years of different iterations of the show. I feel like we’re really at the top now. We’re at that part.
“We got to a level where it is very difficult to imagine where we go from here.
“But I’m blessed we’ve got the greatest team of dancers from the entire world and we’re so proud of them all.
“And one little interesting fact that you might like is that I’m going to have the original cast on stage tonight before the show to take a bow from 1996
“The dream team. And not one of the dancers that are performing tonight was even born when we did that opening night at the Point in 1996.
“I’m so proud of that. I’m so proud of them all.”
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