Nowadays, the dance craze is taken over the world everywhere you turn. People are watching their favorite celebrities (from 20 years ago) Dancing With The Stars on television, paying to see them live on tour and even watching reality shows where unknown people compete in who is the best dancing group. But throughout the whole craze, we can't help but wonder who started this insane craze of dancing. On St. Patrick's Day, the world was reminded of exactly who that man is. 

In Lord of The Dance 3D, Michael Flatley, the lord of dance himself, attempts to remind everyone who exactly is the best at dancing. Beginning with an introductory message with Flatley, he explains his past and how difficult it was to bring Lord of the Dance full circle. Taking place at a sold-out arena on his newest tour, Flatley and his group of professional dancers perform their new dancing routine. Flatley and his dancers tell a story of love, mystery and magic without words. Instead, they use their feet and rhythm to describe the tale of a lord fighting for his title of Lord of the dance. 

It's hard to cover this kind of  "movie" mostly because, at first glance, LOTD3D is a series of performances put on camera to exploit the use of the 3D insanity that has taken over movies in the past years. And in ways, that is exactly what Flatley hands us: performances that are slightly enhanced with multiple angles and three-dimension viewing. But at it's heart, LOTD3D is a fun excuse to expand your horizons and thoughts on tap-dancing. True, "tap" is not the only dance on display here, but it stands out as the most impressive. Flatley, along with most of his performers, tap out extremely difficult rhythms with their feet while executing planned choreography with ease. It's incredibly remarkable to think of exactly how long and extensive practice must have been to perfectly execute up to 30 people all hitting the same taps at the precise time. It's no easy feat (feet?) and Flatley makes sure to make that clear. 

While Flatley has revealed an excellent look at the talent that goes into their performances, he is also incredibly self-aware of how good he is. And I mean ridiculously self-aware. The first 10 minutes of Flatley's monologue consist of how he was constantly turned down by others and how he rose up to knock all of the naysayers on their feet. While it is certainly impressive, Flatley refuses for the audience to forget it by consistently mentioning how talented he is. Even during his performance, the self-proclaimed "Lord" prances across the stage and flexes his muscles to the crowd with the smuggest smile on his face. Granted his ego has proof that somewhat excuses itself, but one can only watch a man enjoy the sound of approval for so long. Certainly not long enough for 4 (4!) encores of their final dance. 

The 3D is the interesting factor here. It's certainly the selling-point of this film being made. But does LOTD3D just cash in with the 3D craze or does it use this for it's advantage? Honestly, it's a little of both. The inflated price of 3D will certainly help the profit made by the film, but having the dancers kick and dance right in front of your seat is an experience worth the admission price. The use of 3D here is much better than one finds in most films as of recently. Some films rely heavily on post-production conversion just for a lazy profit (Clash of the Titans, Alice in Wonderland, etc.), but LOTD3D uses a 3D for it's advantage and walks away victorious against most films in theaters right now. 

Even with Flatleys' inflated ego, Lord of the Dance 3D is an enjoyable look at the difficult performance of large-group dancing and how one does not need words to tell some of the more interesting stories with eye-popping 3D to boot. Congratulations on 15 years, Mr. Flatley. Here's to 15 more.