Riverdance gets Chinese dancing in the aisles

THE aisles swayed with dancing Chinese people as Riverdance and Altan sounded a lively warning cry that the Irish Festival of Culture and Arts in China is very officially under way.

There wasn't an empty seat in the 1,200-seat Poly Theatre at least there wasn't until about a third of the audience took to jigging. It was odd to see another culture appreciate our sense of craic with such ease.

What was odder still was the fact that not a drop had passed their lips before curtain-up. They're already enthralled, and they're not even half way there yet.