CHINA: For many of the Chinese people in the audience, the Irish Festival of Arts and Culture was their first experience of theatre, music, writing, dance and art and Ireland. They loved it.
Not normally given to wild displays of appreciation, the audience whooped and cheered at the end of a terrific performance by Camerata Ireland, with musician Barry Douglas conducting, on the final night of the festival in Beijing at the weekend.
Rapt audience reaction has been a feature of the festival in Beijing and Shanghai, since the opening night earlier this month when audiences stood up in their seats to sing along with traditional group Altan.
"We've been so well received. Ireland has really left an imprint here, which is a difficult thing to do, but we managed because of the quality and diversity of the artists," said Donal Shiels, the festival manager.
Mr Douglas said he was delighted with the reception for the Camerata Ireland performance at Beijing's Poly Theatre, which featured a romantic mix of Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Kinsella and Beethoven - as well as a convincing rendition of 'Danny Boy' as an encore.
The festival is the centrepiece in a cultural exchange programme between Ireland and China, and will run in Ireland in the summer and autumn.
Organisers spared no expense and brought 270 people to China for the festival, including performers, technicians, journalists and civil servants.
The Chinese audience was particularly inspired by the Gate Theatre's staging of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, directed by Walter Asmus and featuring Barry McGovern as Vladimir and Johnny Murphy as Estragon.
Beckett's play has become a cult favourite since it was performed in Beijing in Chinese in 1998.
"The reception for Godot was stunning, a real highlight," said Mr Shiels, who works as a producer and promoter.
Irish music, contemporary and traditional, was represented by Belfast DJ David Holmes, The Frames, Donal Lunny and Mary Black, while Irish literature was showcased in an anthology of Irish writing published to coincide with the event.
There were readings by poets Paul Muldoon and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, recitals by pianist John O'Conor and exhibitions by sculptor John Behan and performance artist Amanda Coogan.
Irish choreographer Liz Roche presented a groundbreaking collaboration with the National Ballet of China and Coiscéim Dance Theatre presented their dance piece, Mermaids. Louis le Brocquy featured with The Táin Tapestries, which incorporate the retelling of the Celtic epic.
The festival had a rather inauspicious start when the opening act, the Chieftains, were forced to pull out at the last minute because of Paddy Moloney being ill, but the Riverdance troupe and Altan stepped into the breach.
Mr Shiels was confident the Chinese festival in Ireland, which will showcase Chinese art, cinema, Chinese opera and dance, would be a success.
"Irish people want to see Chinese culture and arts. They will bring the colour, music and dash of their performance and it should contrast nicely with what we have to offer," he said.