Jan 11

Follow Your Dream, Day #574: Awakenings Past and Present

#LordOfTheDance always begins with the Awakening.

Yes, in the most recent iteration of the show, there are prologue scenes -- but the true kickoff is always when the Little Spirit takes up her magic flute for the first time and summons Planet Ireland into existence.

Planet Ireland: the Little Spirit's dream, wherein everything is her creation, and the plot pivots on that dream becoming a nightmare so that our heroes can overcome danger to restore the world to what it was.

A "simple" story -- but such simple stories hold tremendous power over us. The real world is a place fraught with ambiguity, shades of gray, and dangers all too real; as a result, we a species yearn for escapist stories in which there are clearly-defined heroes and villains, where good wins in the end and everyone leaves feeling uplifted. It is a reminder, a reaffirmation, of all that can be good in the world.

And when the Awakening begins, it is the Little Spirit who beckons you into Planet Ireland, bidding you forget your real-world troubles for a brace of blissful hours and enter a fantasy world where we remind ourselves of how things ought to be.

There's a thrill of excitement when Planet Ireland awakens; that feeling when you're watching in the audience or at home of, "Okay, here we go!"

That feeling is always there on film -- and once the world is done battling the great darkness of this pandemic, it will return to the live stage once again.

#FollowYourDream