Lord of the Dance 1996 OG Troupe: Breakout Rehearsal (RARE)

The original #LordOfTheDance was an atomic bomb when it first came out -- and one of its boldest statements is Breakout. There’s a lot happening in this number. For starters, it’s the only dedicated female hardshoe number in the show. It’s also the only direct conflict we see in the first act; by this point, we’ve been introduced to all five protagonists and the main factions, so now we see a clash between Saoirse and Morrighan, setting up the much larger conflict that emerges during Stolen Kiss in the second act. Saoirse shows that she has fire and *sass* in her as well as grace, while Morrighan can only look on in sullen rage. There’s also the meta-story surrounding Breakout as a statement piece. For anyone under the age of 25 who’s grown up in a world where commercial #IrishDancing has always existed, Breakout has some impact -- but for the older generations, it’s a *massive* impact. Remember, pre-Flatley #IrishDance was a sexless, joyless affair; one need only loo