Lord of the Dance veteran returns to North East with hit show

Oct 8 2009 by Sam Wonfor, The Journal

Chris Hannon was but a teenager when he ran off to join a dancing show which became a global phenomenon. Now in his late twenties, he tells Sam Wonfor why there's still some dancing to be done.

THAT’ll teach me for skim-reading my emails. When I was alerted to the presence of a Geordie lad (or indeed Lord) in the Irish-dancing fest that is Lord of the Dance, I was happy to set up an interview.

But somewhere in between the initial email and the ensuing chat, I’d managed to convince myself that Chris Hannon was a new addition to the troupe, which will be dancing their way on to the stage at the Sunderland Empire next week.

Hence my computer screen’s near miss with a mouthful of coffee when I asked casually: ‘So Chris, how long have you been with the show now?’.

“Eleven-and-a-half years,” came the reply.

A request for a repeat answer offered the same response.

Chris, who is only 27 by the way, has been dancing his heart out in the global dancing phenomenon for more than a decade.

“I never thought I’d still be doing it all this time later,” he admits, speaking from Edinburgh where the show has just opened.

“But then again, I never thought I could make a living doing what I do. When I was young, it was a hobby which I loved, but I never thought I could take it any further. It’s all been a big surprise.”

It was when Chris was just 16 that he won a place in the Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance line-up following auditions which had seen him beat off competition from hundreds of other hopefuls.

Irish dancing had always been part of Chris’s life – his mum and grandma ran the Hannon Murphy School in Chapel House, Newcastle – and had seen him travel the world for a variety of competitions.

But the arrival of Riverdance and the subsequent Lord of the Dance on the global scene opened up a whole other avenue of opportunity.

“It was really exciting – especially being so young as well. Riverdance came out when I was 13 and then Lord of the Dance a year later and I thought they were just mindblowing.

“Until Michael Flatley came along, you really just did it for the craic... then suddenly there were all these opportunities.

“After the auditions we had a six week rehearsal period... and then we went off on tour.”

And that’s been pretty much that ever since.

“We’re on tour for nine or 10 months of the year,” says Chris. “So it’s kind of hard to be based anywhere. Newcastle’s still my home though... you could say I have a long holiday at home once or twice a year.”

Having started as “one of the back line” when he was 16, Chris graduated to principal status around seven years ago.

And now he’s one of the ‘veterans’. He laughs: “There are all these youngsters coming through the doors and I’m starting to feel old.

“There are a handful of us who have been in the show for years... we’re like the OAPs on the road.”

When the UK leg of the tour is finished, and there have been a few precious days off for Christmas, Chris and the rest of the cast will be off to Taiwan to meet up with Mr Flatley for a reprise of the Feet of Flames extravaganza before setting off for Germany and Scandinavia for the next leg of the Lord tour.

“We’ve done around 800 shows in Germany and they are still absolutely crazy about it,” says Chris.

“It’s that kind of show and it happens all over the world.

“Of course we get new people coming all the time too, but there are lots of the audience who come back, and back, and back again.

As does Chris, night after night.... and year after year.

“Of course, when you’ve been doing something for so long, there are days when you feel a bit non-plussed,” he admits.

“But then you get on stage and start dancing, and the crowd start reacting. There’s nothing like it. It’s a brilliant show to be a part of.

“I reckon I’ll be here for a while yet.”

:: Lord of the Dance will play Sunderland Empire from Tuesday until Sunday. Call 0844 847 24 99 or go to the website at www.sunderlandempire.org.uk  to book tickets.