Superstar dancer Michael Flatley has revealed that his body has been damaged after decades of Irish dancing.
The 57-year-old told US cable TV show ‘Christmas In New York’ that he was ‘paying the price’ for not doing more to look after himself.
He said: “I’ve always been the one to tell the dancers to make sure they look after themselves, eat properly, not go out too much, stretching properly.
“We have great physios and great people with us to look after that.
“I didn’t have any advice when I was starting out so I did the wrong thing every time. As a result now my body’s paying the price, a terrible toll.”
Flatley had previously said that his spinal cord was in bad shape and that his legs and back had ‘taken a battering over the years’.
Despite the problems he is now facing he remains thankful for all the opportunities that came his way as a result of his talent.
He said: “I wouldn’t trade it for the world, I’m the luckiest guy in the world.
“It will be sad to say goodbye to it. I’ll never be able to replace that adrenalin buzz. But the shows will keep going and I’ll have a little easier time getting up in the morning.”
Flatley has been a household name since 1994 when he performed Riverdance during the Eurovision Song Contest.
Since then he has become the most famous Irish dancer in the world and performed in front of millions of fans in over 60 different countires.
In January he will finally bring his glittering career to an end when he completes a run of shows on Broadway – the greatest place in the world, according to Flatley.
In 2015, Flatley received the ultimate Broadway honour – having a street named after him.
He said: “I wish my father was alive to see it. I never expected in my life. It was such a great honour to have something like that happen.
“I suppose now I feel like I’ve done it all. I can go home now. I’m happy.”
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