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The Irish dance spectacular Riverdance will finally be staged in Beijing this week, after being postponed due to the SARS epidemic early this year.

It will close the first Beijing International Drama Festival, with six performances starting from Thursday.

Principal dancer Joanne Doyle and her partner Conor Hayes paid an advance visit to Beijing at the end of last month.

At the Beijing Academy of Dance, they demonstrated dance steps to some 20 fans, from three to 70 years of age, selected at random from 500 applicants who wanted to dance with the pair.

Hayes, who pursued his passion for teaching dance across Australia, said: "I would love to come and give dance classes in China. It's a great opportunity to learn about Chinese culture and introduce Irish and other Western dance numbers."

The Great Hall of the People, the venue for Riverdance, has been adapted to suit the production's needs, with a special wooden floor covering the original one, according to Wang Chen from China Performing Arts Agency, which has organized the tour.

Julian Erskine, senior executive producer of Riverdance, said the Great Hall of the People is a good choice, "allowing us to stage a massive theatrical version."

Erskine started work with Riverdance in the summer of 1994 and became full time executive producer for all Riverdance productions the following year.

The veteran producer, who has worked in the entertainment industry across the world for over 30 years, said: "It's an honour to perform at such a prestigious venue as the Great Hall of the People, which is a symbol of glory, echoing the spirit of the show."

Riverdance started as a seven-minute interval show at the Eurovision Song Contest in late April 1994, broadcast from Dublin to more than 300 million viewers in Europe.

The response to the short live performance was so overwhelmingly positive that plans were made to develop it into a full stage show.

Bill Whelan, who composed the original music for the Eurovision Song Contest spot, decided to fulfil a long-standing ambition and incorporate music and dance from other cultures "to reflect the Irish diaspora of the great emigrations of the 19th century."

In February 1995, Riverdance opened as a two-hour show at the Point Theatre in Dublin, produced by Moya Doherty and directed by John McColgan.

Since then, it has spread like wildfire all over the world, delighting people with its wonderful music and spectacular dance steps.

There are currently two Riverdance companies. The Liffey company tours Europe and Asia and the Boyne company tours North America.

It is the Liffey company that has come to Beijing.

One of the company's principal dancers, the Dublin-born Doyle, auditioned for Riverdance a week after receiving her Master's degree in European Social Policy. The sociology major who started to learn dance at the age of four won the audition and became a professional dancer.

Later, her competitive Irish dance career saw her win gold, silver and bronze medals in various championships.

Doyle was in the original stage production at the Point Theatre eight years ago. But at that time, she danced with another 11 girls in the back line.

"Before the curtain went up on the opening night of the show in Dublin, everyone was shaking. We were all absolutely terrified. And it was not just pre-show nerves; it was the fact that no one knew how the audience would react," Doyle recalled.

Although she had never seriously thought about leading the troupe, her talent soon impressed director McColgan, who gave her the principal role in 1996.

As one of the earliest members of Riverdance, Doyle summarizes the show for Chinese audiences. "It perfectly integrates traditional Irish music and contemporary tunes, choral writing, spectacular hard-shoe Irish dancing, Russian and flamenco steps in a way never dreamed before," she said.

"The fundamental attraction is the rhythm."

Doyle's dance partner, Hayes, emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, from Dublin at the age of two. He started to dance when he was six. He has competed extensively worldwide and has won a record 14 Australian Irish Dance Championship titles. In 1996, he became the first Australian to win the Men's World Championship for dance.

He said he enjoys touring with Riverdance around the world. "People from different countries have different ways of expressing appreciation. Some just watch quietly while some dance with us. I had expected Chinese audience to be reserved, but maybe I will be proven wrong. I have seen them so active during our demonstration. So I hope they dance with us during the show, which would feed more energy to perform back to us."

(China Daily 10/07/2003 page9)