Good stomps out evil in Lord of the Dance (photos)

The central theme is a common one.

Good versus evil.

But the mythical tale presented at the Essar Centre Thursday evening during Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance was far from simple.

Don Dorcha, the Dark Lord, and is band of Warriors rise to challenge to Lord of the Dance as foreseen by The Little Spirit.

At the same time, the love between The Lord of the Dance and Saoirse, the Irish Colleen, is threatened by Morrighan, the Temptress.

After The Lord is banished, his power is stolen by Don Dorcha, The Little Spirit comes to his rescue.

A battle ensues and good eventually prevails.

Everyone lives happily ever after on Planet Ireland.

Whether or not you got any of this story out of the Lord of the Dance performance matters not.

The dancing is what drew 2,500 Saultites to their feet after the beautifully spirited 90-minute display of skill and discipline.

Created, choreographed, produced and directed by Michael Flatley with original music composed by Ronan Hardiman, The Lord of the Dance is celebrating 12 years of continued success and has been seen by more than 50 million people world-wide.