Feet of Flames: the Impossible Tour -- Warriors (FULL) featuring Zoltan Papp

His name is Zoltan Papp – and yeah, he really is *that* good.

Michael Flatley refers to him simply as “The Master” – and now, finally, you get to see why.

Zoltan is the living embodiment of the difference between a dancer and a *performer.* To simply dance the steps is not enough; to simply go through the movements is not enough. To be truly memorable, you have to *sell* the dance. You have to leave the audience thinking to itself, “I don’t know who THAT guy was, but I want to see more of HIM.”

This is doubly true because of Zoltan’s background. This kid from Kistarcsa didn’t formally begin learning #IrishDancing until his early twenties. He had trained in multiple other forms of dancing, but imagine the mountain he had to climb: a completely unknown Hungarian who chose to make a living as a professional Irish dancer, despite starting literally *decades* later than his competitors and having never performed in any competition Irish dancing.

And now, today, a Hungarian in his early forties with no competition background is the senior dance captain for the most commercially successful #IrishDance show of all time.

Like we said: he’s *that* good.

And perhaps because of the mountain he had to climb, he dances with that same chip-on-the-shoulder swagger that Michael Flatley himself embodies. The difference is that Zoltan is tasked with one of the most unique challenges in Irish dancing: he has to be the villain.

Remember the very first time you watched the original #LordOfTheDance? It was frankly a shock when Warriors began and you saw Don Dorcha. It is the moment when the gears shift in the show, the tone becomes *negative,* and you realize you’re seeing an actual *drama,* not just a technical exhibition.

You cannot have a good story without a good villain. If the audience doesn’t buy the villain, then the drama itself falls flat. But when you unleash Zoltan Papp upon that stage, he causes the same sudden involuntary gasp that came out of your mouth the first time you saw Darth Maul unleash a double-bladed lightsaber. This wasn’t an actor who’d learned choreography; this was a *killer.*

Perhaps part of what fuels Zoltan’s performance is that he knows – and we know – that he could easily be the hero. Heck, he could be the temptress. Or the spirit. His range as a dancer, his knowledge of so many different forms, is so expansive that he could easily and *believably* play anything on that stage. But since he is specifically limited to only a portion of his total spectrum as the villain, within that spectrum he pushes the envelope all the way to the cancel postage stamp. If you tell him he can only paint with the color red, he will paint THE REDDEST RED YOU WILL EVER SEE IN YOUR LIFE, WITH EXPLOSIONS, BECAUSE *ZOLTAN.*

No, seriously. Zoltan could turn eating a bowl of cornflakes into an epic life-and-death struggle. With explosions. All of that focused talent, barely contained right under the surface, creates a level of urgency that’s mesmerizing. This is Irish dancing meeting heavy metal.

Zoltan Papp dances almost to the point of self-immolation. And *that’s* what makes him exciting: his willingness to cut *loose.* During his time touring with Troupe 2, he was known for sometimes jumping off the stage and actually messing with the audience. Or he’d grab one of the staves used by the druid girls during Hell’s Kitchen and begin performing a martial arts kata with it.

Long story short: when you see Zoltan Papp performing, you get the overwhelming sense that the universe put him on this planet to do *exactly* what he’s doing – and he’s having the time of his life doing it. His Don Dorcha is Kefka from Final Fantasy VI: the pure bugnuts insanity of a beautifully dangerous fallen angel.

In the twenty-five-year history of the show, the character of Don Dorcha has been immortalized on film by three performers: Daire Nolan, Tom Cunningham, and Steven Brunning. Zoltan now becomes the fourth. It may be strange to think of him as part of the New Generation – he’s a veteran of Celtic Tiger, having performed in Michael Flatley productions for sixteen years – but the simple truth is this: if your shortlist of the most exciting professional Irish dancers in the world *doesn’t* include a fortysomething Hungarian with no competition experience, then your list is wrong. Change it.

At long last, the brilliant insanity of Zoltan Papp has been captured on film.

This is the #FeetOfFlames Impossible Tour.

This is Lord of the Dance.

This is the New Generation.

And this is the Master, Zoltan Papp.

To quote William Carlos Williams: “Hold back the edges of your gowns, ladies, we are going through hell.”

#FollowYourDream

Видео Feet of Flames: the Impossible Tour -- Warriors (FULL) featuring Zoltan Papp канала Michael Flatley