Thanks to a Eurovision win in 1993 by Niamh Kavanagh, Ireland got to play host to the famous song contest in 1994 and in line with tradition, was expected to put on the ‘half-time’ entertainment. Keen to impress, the organisers wanted to create a show that people would really remember, incorporating the very best of Ireland’s musical and cultural heritage.

Enter Michael Flatley. Although born and raised in Chicago, Flatley had already made a big name for himself in Irish Dance circles, having become the first non-European ever to win the Irish Dance World Championships in 1975. He even broke a Guinness World Record in 1989 having knocked out an incomprehensible 28 taps per second.

The seven minute Irish dance spectacular created for Eurovision was the catalyst to global success for Flatley, showcasing his undoubted talent as both a choreographer and dancer. Audiences simply couldn’t get enough and flocked in their droves to see the full length Riverdance show that spawned from the Eurovision number. Flatley went on to create and star in many other amazing shows including Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames. These shows were so big that in many cities, they played in arenas instead of theatres to meet the demand. All this made Flatley a multi-millionaire who reportedly insured his dancer’s legs for a whopping forty million dollars.

Flatley’s brilliance completely re-invented Irish dancing, taking it from the twee domain of mop-haired little girls, to the hottest, most exciting ticket in town.

Click here to watch Michael Flatley in the Riverdance Finale.

And for that, Michael Flatley well deserves his place in the SK Dance Studio Top 10 Dancers of All Time list.