I have been a fan of Riverdance ever since it first exploded onto the stage at the Eurovision Song Competition all those years ago, so I was delighted when I heard they were doing a 20th anniversary tour (particularly as the previous tour was supposed to have been the “final” one).

This time, I took my two daughters, age 14 and 10, who were entranced from the moment the curtain went up.

Basically, Riverdance is the story of Ireland and its people – the first half reflects the settling of the land and ancient myths and legends, and in the second half we learn of famine driving the Irish out of their home, across the Atlantic to a New World, meeting and integrating with other cultures.

The dancing is absolutely amazing, with excellent performances from the lead dancers, Emma Warren and Ryan McCaffrey, taking the roles performed by Michael Flatley and Jean Butler in the original version. The first act was mainly Irish and highlights for me were Thunderstorm, a powerful dance performed by the male dancers dressed in black against a backdrop of thunder and lightning; Firedance, a flamenco number performed by Rocio Montoya with fire and passion, the balletic Shivna and the original Riverdance.

The second half features my two favourites – The Russian Dervish, a fast-moving acrobatic dance with lots of leaps and spins which had the audience gasping and the Trading Taps routine – a dance-off featuring two superb American tap dancers (Michael Wood and DeWitt Fleming Jr) versus three Irish-step dancers, with amazing footwork in both styles of dance, which had them swapping over at one point, and was hilarious, particularly the facial expressions of the Americans when they were performing Irish style.

I liked the way the musicians are an integral part of the show, sitting on stage and each with their own solos. The singers were equally as good, with beautiful spine-tingling harmonies.

This show is spectacular, full of energy, power, precision and unbelievable footwork – the noise of 20 pairs of feet stamping and tapping in unison is incredible, accompanied by memorable music. There were more than a few people humming the tunes as we left the theatre, as well as a few little girls practising their steps in the aisle (the next generation of Riverdancers?).