3:54pm Tuesday 21st April 2009
Celtic Journey takes its audience on a dance adventure across the globe. Geoff Billingsley urges you to go along for the ride.
Devised and directed by leading choreographer Sarah Dean, Celtic Journey takes us through a global celebration of dance, suggesting it all somehow points back to Irish dancing.
It all starts on The Giant's Causeway and a wedding - the Queen of the Fairies is getting hitched up to the King of the Scots. Momo Yeung as the Queen was a bit scary actually but, hey, that's me.
We then go off to Ireland's Ross Common, then Madrid where the comparison between Spanish and Irish dancing is perhaps at its closest. Russia and Zimbabwe are also featured as a breathtaking first half ends.
As well as six excellent principal dancers the cast is swelled by around 100 children who were selected via local auditions in January. Their inclusion is a master stroke and they were as disciplined and professional as some of the more seasoned performers I have seen.
India, Brazil and the United States are cleverly included in part two with a rip-roaring Dublin-based climax. This is the third and final showcase of Celtic Journey and I certainly hope this polished version gets the national chances it deserves.
It's not too often you get to see such quality of dance presented in a magical story which includes so many young children, all working together so well.
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