Romanzo d'infanzia (A Childhood Tale) The Ark, Dublin

The opportunities for Irish children to see professional dance theatre created especially for a young audience are relatively rare and the Italian Compagnia Abbondanza Bertoni's production of Romanzo d'infanzia (A Childhood Tale) in the Ark on Saturday proved what a wonderful viewing experience this can be. The 55-minute performance by dancers Letizia Quintavalla and Bruno Stori completely captivated children and adults alike.

The contemporary tale of how stressed-out parents can unknowingly leave their children feeling neglected and unloved was skilfully expressed through a seamless combination of movement and dialogue. Quintavalla and Stori moved easily between the roles of parents, son Tomaso (10) and daughter Nina (8) as the story demanded. The dialogue was in English and beautiful choral music and contemporary Italian songs reflected the children's heightened emotions during their escapes - both real and imagined - from the family home.

The absolute highlight of the performance occurred in the midst of Tomaso and Nina's imaginings of how, if they were parents, they would look after a baby. When their imagined infant gets lost, the dancers begin a frantic search throughout the theatre which involves scrambling among the audience to uproarious laughter.

However, the moral of the tale is ultimately a sad one, as the children decide to leave home. The piece ends poignantly with Tomaso and Nina's parents reading a giant-sized letter from their offspring which becomes a screen showing black-and-white footage of two children running along a seashore. Thumbs up to the International Dance Festival for bringing such a superb children's production to Dublin.

Romanzo d'infanzia is on today at 7 p.m. in Stranmillis College Theatre, Belfast as part of the city's Young At Art Festival. To book, tel: 048-90384385