Michael Flatley Michael Flatley Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is a former Irish-American dancer, choreographer, and musician. He became internationally 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. He is in the Guinness World Records for tap dancing 35 times per second and his feet were at
Mike Rafferty (flautist) Mike Rafferty (flautist) Mike Rafferty (1926-2011) was an Irish traditional flute player. Rafferty was born on September 26, 1926 and grew up on a farm in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, Ireland. He learned music mainly from his father, Tom "Barrel" Rafferty who played the flute and uilleann pipes. Rafferty emigrated to the United States in 1949 and settled in northern New Jersey. He became known in the Irish traditional music scene in greater New York City and appeared at an extensive array of concerts and festivals all over US including the Smithsonian Institution’s Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife in 1976, and