Riverdance opened in the King's Hall in Belfast last night, having arrived from a sell out run in new York. Tiered seating from Dublin is being used. The gala opening will be on Thursday.
The show will run for five weeks and audiences of 4,000 a night are expected. British Telecom block booked 2,000 tickets for last night's performance.
Ms Julie Erskine, the general manager of Riverdance, said that demand for the tickets "is so great a second Riverdance company will have to go on the road soon".