Print edition: 
At 25, "Lord of the Dance" star Jason Gorman says he is beginning to feel like one of the old-timers in the famous Irish Dance company.
"The average age is about 22 and we've just hired a bunch of 16-year-olds for the chorus, so I'm now one of the older dancers," says Gorman, a California native who joined the company at 16 himself and took over the lead six years ago. The oldest member of the company is 31 but he plans to pass that.
"I can go as long as my body takes me. I'm very aware of my body and what I can and cannot do. The athleticism and pace of Irish Dance is intense. I've learned to take care of myself as a dancer, so I think I should have another 10 good years."
Gorman will head a cast of about 40, including two fiddle players and a singer, when "Lord of the Dance" comes to Century II on Monday for one performance under sponsorship of Theater League.
The show was created in 1996 by Irish-American dancer Michael Flatley, who established himself with "Riverdance" before launching his own company. His idea was to push beyond essentially a cultural dance variety show to create a linear theatrical story told through dance. He reworked a Celtic legend of good versus evil and set it to music by Ronan Hardiman.
The story involves an invasion of Planet Ireland by the dark lord, Don Dorcha, and his mistress, Morrighan the Temptress. But the lord of light, who is also known as the Lord of the Dance, battles the darkness with the help of a Little Spirit and the support of his love, Saorise (pronounced Sir-sha and meaning "freedom").
"It's a pretty simple story so it's a tribute to Michael's great choreography that nothing has needed to be changed in 15 years. I don't think any other show can say that. It's such a beautiful art form and still as exciting as ever," Gorman says.
But the young dancer notes that his performance is not identical to the original, which Flatley performed for the final time in 2000 before going on to his new shows, "Feet of Flames" and "Celtic Tiger."
"Michael set a very high standard for energy level but he encouraged me to inject my own personality into the character. He did not want a carbon copy. The choreography is the same but there is acting along with the dance to create the character. Irish Dance is mostly from the waist down, but I'm comfortable with upper-body movement because I've had training in ballet, contemporary, jazz and flamenco," Gorman says.
"Michael encouraged me to show my own flair."
A native of Long Beach, where he still maintains a home, Gorman is a sought-after dance teacher whenever he's not on the road with "Lord of the Dance."
"I don't have my own studio yet because I'm still performing so much. We can be out six months at a time, although it's usually one month on (the road) and one month off. When I was younger, I never wanted to be a teacher. But as I've matured over the past five years, I've discovered that I love it," he says. "I was inspired by other dancers and I want to pass along what I've learned. I feel it is my responsibility to give back."
Gorman's own start in dance almost parallels the "I Can Do That" tapper from "A Chorus Line," who follows his older sister to dance class, then takes it over when she gets bored and drops out. In Gorman's case, it was a cousin who wanted to learn Irish Dance.
"My grandparents took me to see her dance and her teacher asked me if I wanted to take lessons. I said 'no' at first, but when my cousin dropped out, I had to give it a try. I loved it and then branched out into ballet, contemporary and jazz. Dance has become my life. I am definitely married to my job," he says.
He has appeared with other dance troupes between "Lord of the Dance" tours, including the Los Angeles Ballet Company, Long Beach Ballet Theatre and a contemporary dance group called RhetOracle. One of his long-range goals is to perform with Cirque de Soleil.
Interestingly, Gorman himself prefers the labor of class and rehearsal to the glamour and glitz of performance.
"As much joy and excitement as I get out of performing, dance for me is more than entertainment. It's in class where I push myself, where I explore, where I learn about myself. It's where I grow."
