[Photo provided to China Daily]

She attended a Riverdance summer school in Ireland in 2015.

"Dancing is an important part of their culture," Wu adds.

She joined the Irish dancers she knew for a performance at Century Theater during the Riverdance troupe's China tour this January in Beijing.

She brought three of her brightest young dancers from Chenjinglun to the tour's launch ceremony at the Irish embassy.

Their reels and jigs－though imperfect－won applause from the professionals. That encouraged the children and Wu.

"They gave us all a big surprise," says the Irish embassy's cultural program officer, Bai Han.

"We can't wait to see them onstage in the future."

The young dancers may need a few more years to hone their skills.

But Wu's adult group has already created two Irish dance plays and performed several times.

"The Diary of Love tells the story of a city romance. The Celtic is based our own story of learning Irish dance," Wu says.

Cedro returned to her homeland to get married last year.

But part of her heart remains with China's Irish-dance practitioners.

"I wish for Wu, our dance friends, her students and for myself that this path of Irish dance in China is just a beginning for a wonderful, lifelong adventure."