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THE show ended with a rapture of applause and the whole audience up and their feet screaming for 'more'!
That's always the sign of a good performance, and indeed it was.
Rhyl Pavilion was the latest stop for the cast and crew of Essence of Ireland, on Sunday, April 18.
The show that promised to be even better than Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, and Spirit of the Dance and having seen all of them, be it not live, I can honestly say it lived up to its hype.
The show was full of incredible dance, song and music, running smoothly from dance act on to renditions of old Irish favourites that had the audience singing and clapping along.
The music and lyrics were courtesy of a live band, made up of drums, guitars, banjo, violin, whistle and of course superb voices!
The talents of lead vocalist Ged Graham and violin player and vocalist Éimear Bradley were easy to see.
And next the dancers, and all I can say is...breathtaking!
As my mother is Irish, and a former Irish dancer herself, I have grown up watching many of my cousins performing, as well as sitting through River Dance and Lord of The Dance on VHS numerous times!
But this was something else.
The gracefulness of the dancers, with their incredibly fast moving kicks and flicks was immense.
Followed by the sudden clicking of heels once the healed shoes were donned, the audience almost fell silent to hear every click of each dance step.
Each dancer was incredible, especially the lead male (Jamie Meek) and female (Jennifer Gainey) - who made each move look easy, and believe me having tried myself - its not!
Between dance performances the audience were entertained by the live band, who had us all eating out of their palm.
With renditions of The Wild Rover, Cockles and Muscles, Danny Boy and The Irish Rover, the whole theatre was clapping and singing along throughout.
I don't think my hands have ever been so pink!
The cast also paid tribute to a number of Irish acts who has stamped the Shamrock firmly on the industry, singing hits by U2, The Corrs and Boyzone.
Essence of Ireland is by far the best live dance show I have seen, with laughter, singing and foot tapping throughout, and that was just the audience.
The show is currently touring the UK until October, visit www.essenceofireland.co.uk for more details.
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