Other than the superb footwork and energy of Irish dance and the obvious skills of the young dancers who work so hard putting these shows on, Irish dance as an entertainment form with enough variety of movement to fascinate for more than but for a few minutes escapes me. Perhaps, it would be more apt to say what audiences are getting that's called Irish dance escapes me from the perspective of a full evening's entertainment. Lights change, costumes change (in this case, costumes change not much), the number of people on stage change, the stage-haze changes, but the stand tall, arms to the side, forced smile and fancy footwork of Irish step dance, for me, changes not enough.

Does any of that matter to the packed houses of enthused fans who fill the posh Eldorado Showroom twice nightly? Not one whit. So let's get on with what people see in all this.

Such hugely popular shows as "Riverdance," "Lord of the Dance," and - of course - "Spirit of the Dance" are stocked with world-class Irish-dance competition winners. Obviously, technical expertise exerts fascination with the public and critics alike. When the dancers are on stage doing their phenomenally energized footwork, "Spirit of the Dance" does sweep an audience off its feet.

But even the youngest and best in shape can't sustain miles of step dance and hours of quickly released energy. Which means, on any given night, lead dancers protecting the longevity of arches are switched with such abandon it's impossible to keep track of who's doing what at any given performance.

Nonetheless, Thursday's early performance (7:00 p.m., 4/8/99) had as good a cast as one is likely to find in this Reno-based show.

Mandy Todd is the violinist who plays one jig after another, including - among many others - "Turkey in the Straw." She's very engaging and urges audiences to join her (which they invariably do by clapping in rhythm) in her stint on stage, which is as much about giving dancers a break and making the show longer (and people getting their money's worth) as it is about the traditions of Irish violining. Todd, rivet-studded-leather outfit and all (whatever happened to green velvet), is quite good at what she does.

Tanya Mattos danced the Spirit Ballerina and she's lovely; a distinct improvement over the Angela-Lansbury-in-a-tutu looking Spirit Ballerina I'd seen previously. Mattos isn't given a great deal to do, but she does dance well and she coordinates her Irish-flute finger movements nicely with the show's pre-recorded sound track. She also actually looks like she's singing. Whether or not the solo voices are also pre-recorded, then lip synced, is a closely guarded management secret. The taps, unlike Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" (which are), are not pre-recorded.

Lisa Mathews was the lead female Irish dancer and she's not only terrific at her work, she's gorgeous to look at. Mathews is magnetic, talented and has real star quality. Kirk Taylor is the company's lead male Irish dancer and he, too, is excellent.

For lack of a better-known analogy, the cast's look male-wise is like the thinner members of the "Full Monty" cast. As for the ladies, they have the peaches and cream complexion and healthy outdoors good looks of comely Irish lassies. They, all of them, are a marvelous collection of splendid dancers.

My main complaint about producer David King's "Spirit of the Dance" (for which I seem to be almost entirely alone) is its corny story line. From the death-shrouded spirit looking for her Danny Boy (and uttering barely passable poetry), through the machinations of the white tutued Spirit seeking Danny out, the show goes everywhere - including Spain. The Flamenco section was a welcome respite, a nicely brought-off touch, and a testament to the theater's ability to stretch the imagination.

My second major complaint is "Spirit of the Dance's" new-age sounding musical score by David King and Dave Williams. The musical saturation of Irish dancing is, traditionally, the most "Irish" thing about Irish step dance. John P. Cullinane's comprehensive study of Irish dance indicates that at any given moment Irish dance is a visual outgrowth of what tunes the fiddler (or the pipers or the other instrumentalists) are playing. Well...

Regardless, "Spirit of the Dance" is billed as a blend of Broadway and Irish dance and as such it does fit its billing without quibbling over purist notions. Most important, for huge numbers of people, "Spirit of the Dance" fits into their notions of first-class entertainment brilliantly.

"Spirit of the Dance" is tremendously popular and has what appears to be an open-ended booking arrangement. "Spirit of the Dance" plays twice nightly (except Monday's) at 7 and 9:30 in the Eldorado Hotel Casino's Showroom. For information call 775 786 5700.