AN Irish tap dance was staged at Qingdao Opera House recently. The 90-minute performance kept the eudience enthralled.

    “Dance of Desire” features well-known Irish and world champion dancers and a selection of Ireland’s finest musical and vocal virtuosos. It is the highlight of the winter season and unlike any other show of its genre.

    This pioneering dance production has been a great success since it was first performed in Dublin in 2003, captivating audiences with entirely original music and choreography as well as imaginative stage design.

    The story, which features traditional Irish music fused with flamenco, Latin American, Middle Eastern, ballet and ballroom, is adapted from the Celtic legend “The Fate of the Children of Lir,” a tragic tale about four children who are banished to a lake by their evil stepmother and turned into swans.

    In the original story, the curse takes 900 years to break, which results in the children’s deaths because they are so old after returning to their human forms. However, the dance version features a twist in the ending that tells a happier, more crowd-pleasing story. Having already toured Paris, New York, Seoul and Sydney, “Dance of Desire” had undoubtedly brought the same universal appeal to its Qingdao debut. (Jane Lai, Xiaomi)