The final British tour of Riverdance came tip-tapping to Bristol Hippodrome this week, offering fans one last chance to see the mighty Irish dancing ensemble.

And joining them were two young girls from Hengrove, who were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to get even closer to the action.

Last week, the Post ran a competition in our weekly entertainment guide Crackerjack for one person and a friend to see the show and to join a masterclass with some of the stars of Riverdance, on the stage of the Bristol Hippodrome.

We had a fantastic response, and the name pulled out of the hat was 12-year-old Amy O'Driscoll.

I left a message on the telephone number given and was soon called back by a very excitable Nan, who had entered her granddaughter without her knowing.

So Amy and her friend Emmy Churchley, accompanied by Amy's Mum Claire and Nan, of course, headed down to the Hippodrome earlier this week to take part in the masterclass.

And as this will be the final UK tour of the phenomenal production, which has been delighting audiences since 1994, I decided that I'd get in on the act, too!

"My Nan told us that we were in trouble, and told us to come to the phone and listen to an answerphone message," a grinning Amy told me. "It was you leaving Nan a message saying we'd won the competition to come to the masterclass.

"We've been looking forward to it all week – plus we have the afternoon off school!"

Wearing tracksuits bearing the logo The Quinn School of Dancing, the Hartcliffe-based dance school that both girls attend, Amy and Emmy excitedly took their place on the Hippodrome stage (with a proud Mum and Nan watching from the auditorium).

The show itself, which opened at the Hippodrome last Monday, is a real spectacle with tightly choreographed dancers performing to Bill Whelan's platinum score.

And it's not just Irish dancing, either – there's a selection of world moves from flamenco to American tap and Russian Cossack to classical ballet – all packaged as a glitzy showbiz spectacular that you can't help but enjoy.

Life for Riverdance began as a seven-minute interval act in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest and it received a standing ovation. Due to the unprecedented response it received, the act was developed into a spectacular full-length show fusing Celtic and international music and dance.

The Farewell Tour is the eighth time that Riverdance has performed across the UK, where it's been seen by more than 2.7 million people, in more than 1,000 performances, in 18 cities. Not only that, but the worldwide TV audience for Riverdance has been in excess of two billion people.

One of the show's lead dancers, Alan Scariff, along with dance captain Niamh Eustace and troupe member Rachel Mulvihill, took some time out of their busy rehearsal schedule to teach Amy and Emmy some of the famous Riverdance moves.

Our two winners kept up admirably with the complicated dance steps, and were clearly having a ball as they kicked and turned across the Hippodrome stage.

After an hour of working with the talented professional dancers, Amy and Emmy popped off to change into their Irish costumes, which they wear for exams and competitions.

Then it was my turn to take centre stage (literally). While the girls were off changing, I was taught a few steps of my own by the rather dashing Alan.

I was shown some high kicks and was spun around and around the stage in one of the show's memorable dance moves.

I was loving it – although it's hard to keep up the pretence of a hard-nosed journalist when you're grinning from ear-to-ear and trying to hide your dizziness.

I was enjoying myself so much that Amy and Emmy got changed far too quickly for my liking and I was sent packing to the wings so they could return to the spotlight.

Stunning costumes and fantastic wigs in place, our competition winners performed what they had learned earlier, this time to the pounding music from the show.

"Seeing the show and doing the masterclass will be an experience they'll always remember," smiled their Mum Claire. "For about half an hour after the show on Monday, all we heard from them was 'yap,yap, yap... did you see this?... did you see that?'.

"They'll be floating at their dance class tonight. I'm not sure how much dancing they'll do!"

Amy added: "I had a great time today. I liked learning the Riverdance steps and meeting some of the cast.

"Today was even better than we thought it would be. We've been telling all our friends about coming today – and we've told them that we're going to be stars of the Post!"