The very first time I saw Lord of the Dance was in Las Vegas way back in 2003, the Hubby (then the boyfriend) were on holiday and it was showing in one of the casinos so we took the opportunity to see it. Not long after that we saw Riverdance too. I love both shows and since 2003 have seen them both twice.
A few weeks ago we noticed that Lord of the Dance, Dangerous Games was on tour and would be in Nottingham for just 3 days. We don't really have any babysitters available nearby so we wrote it off as a non-starter. Although we would've loved to see it, it just wasn't possible. That is until we thought about it, I mean what was stopping us taking the boys to see it too?
It took just an hour to decide that we would do it and the Hubby bought the tickets. We'd planned it for the last day of the Easter holidays (Easter Monday) and although the boys would have a late night right before going back to school we figured it would be worth it.
Arriving at the Concert Hall
When we take the boys to the Theatre we always try to make sure we don't go in too soon. The last thing we want is to keep them sat in uncomfortable seats waiting for something to happen, that's how you get irritable children. Five minutes before the show started we headed to our seats. In the past we've had issues with LP not being able to see what's going on on stage so this time we decided to take his booster seat (from the car) in to the Concert Hall with us. We sat down and I got LP's seat sorted, he had a huge smile on his face when he noticed he could see the stage without any problems.
After a few minutes the lights went off and the show began and I knew straight away we'd made the right decision.
The show starts
LP's face lit up when he saw the dancers on stage, he watched in amazement as their feet tapped and jumped. A couple of times he couldn't help shouting out as he asked me questions but not once did he take his gaze off the stage. I saw as his jaw dropped when the dancers tapped fast and he really enjoyed the final part of the show. We'd shown him a Youtube video beforehand and he was excited to see it in person.
Dance is the hidden language of the soul
Martha Graham
I was surprised that LP managed to follow the story of the show. It was all dancing so I thought it might pass him by but near the end of the show, as the Lord of the Dance beats the bad guy and the bad guy disappears with the Lord of the Dance's belt, he whispered to me "But what about his belt?!" and I realised he'd followed the story the whole time.
BP was sitting next to the Hubby but he said he really enjoyed it. He was entertained and enjoyed certain parts of the show, like the dance off. One thing he did say was that he was a little bored by the end, which I can understand. However, he did say he would like to see it again.
What we thought
When we decided to take the boys to see Lord of the Dance I wasn't sure about it. I figured we would get to the intermission and they'd ask when we were leaving. They would be bored watching the same dances again and again and say so.
But that wasn't the case at all.
LP enjoyed it so much that he's starting tap-dancing around the house and having tap dance off's with his dad. And BP posted on Facebook about it - almost unheard of! So they must've had a good time right?
Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made.
Ted Shawn
As a mum I wouldn't recommend going to see the show if you're children are younger than 8. LP just turned 8 and he coped okay but a year ago I don't think he would've. For the older boys (like BP) there are parts I'm sure they'd enjoy, like when the women dance in what I can only describe as their underwear (!), although I'm also sure BP would never say that was his favourite part. I'd recommend taking, or buying, snacks while there and definitely take advantage of the intermission. We made LP go to the toilet during the intermission because we knew he'd never last until the end. We also bought them both an ice-cream too.
I absolutely loved the show (and not just because there were topless men dancing!), it's always impressive watching the dancing. Men doing press-ups to the beat of the music, dance-offs, and a very talented lead dancer made the whole evening brilliant. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the dancing, although I would've loved to we were asked not to do it as it distracts the dancers. I was far too engrossed in enjoying the show to take out my phone! I would go and see it again tomorrow if I could.
Would you take your children to see Lord of the Dance, Dangerous Games?