Jason O'Neill and Emma Mannion, both professional Irish dancers with Riverdance, visited an Irish dance class taught by a Ukrainian refugee in Dublin for a special master class on August 30.

The Ukraine Community Center in Rathmines, Dublin shared a positively smile-inducing clip of the two Irish dance pros, who are both starring in Riverdance's 25th-anniversary run at the Gaiety Theater, teaching a 'master class' for the Ukrainian group.

The community center said that the Irish dance classes are free and held weekly with support from the Irish Red Cross.

O'Neill and Mannion's students had a leg up, so to speak, thanks to Ukrainian teen Kristina Bondarenko, who had been teaching the Irish dance classes at the community center in Rathmines.

Bondarenko, who is attending school in Lucan, had been taking Irish dance lessons in Odesa before she and her mother fled for Ireland upon the outbreak of war.

"I do Irish dance just for fun," Bondarenko told the Irish Times.

"It was so funny when my mom told me we were going to Ireland. I was so excited.

"I'm just giving lessons in Dublin Ukrainian Center right now. Every day I'm practicing my Irish dance."

The Ukrainian teen told BBC that she's seen the Riverdance performance three times in Ireland.

"It's so interesting - it's a very unusual dance, it's not like a typical dance," Bondarenko said of Irish dance.

O'Neill, a native of Belfast, pointed out how the storyline of Riverdance could resonate with Ukrainians.

"I think it's just a magical show, it's timeless. It has something for everyone," he said.

"The first half is about myth and legend, and the second half is about departure and discovery - leaving your home, setting up your life. I think a lot of people can resonate with that storyline.

"I think especially being here with the Ukrainian people, they can resonate with that storyline too."

In April 2022, 15 Irish dance schools in Ukraine published an open letter urging the World Irish Dance Association (WIDA) to boycott Russia.

Prior to the Ukrainian Irish dance schools issuing their letter to WIDA, An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), the largest and oldest Irish dance organization in the world, had terminated contracts with Russian enterprises and would not permit dancers from Russia to participate in any CLRG events.

According to Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO), there were 84,613 arrivals from Ukraine in Ireland by June 6, 2023, of which just over 600 arrived in the previous seven days. 

Related: Dublin, Inspiring, Irish Dance