GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.–A stream of passion flows through Riverdance, and it’s just as powerful and impressive as when the Irish step-dancing show first toured in 1996.

The 20^th Anniversary Tour — which opened this week at DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids and will return to Detroit’s Fox Theatre June 3-6 — boasts snappy new costumes and bold, colorful video backdrops. But the attraction, as always, is the mesmerizing choreography, precision performance and amazing talent of the ensemble.

This is the fourth time Broadway Grand Rapids has brought Riverdance to Grand Rapids. BGR executive director Mike Lloyd says the first week-long presentation in 2000 set a record for ticket sales which has only been broken by Les Miserables. Tuesday’s opening performance was about two-thirds full. The enthusiastic audience of about 1500 eagerly clapped along during the second half and rose for a standing ovation at curtain call.

The Irish roots of Riverdance glow as green as shamrocks, but the show has always encompassed a variety of dancing styles including flamenco, Russian folk dancing and urban street tap. The first half has a primitive almost tribal vibe. The numbers are dark and mysterious with the dancers’ expressions always serious. These dances are more fighting than celebrating: fighting against the elements in “Thunderstorm” or against enemies in “The Countess Cathleen.” In a bright red dress, flamenco soloist Marita Martinez-Rey scorches the stage with her “Firedance.” “Shivna,” a medieval myth of madness, is depicted in a muscular modern dance of leaps and twirls. Only in the final number of the first act do the performers begin to smile and interact with each other in the celebration of dance.

The second act is much more relaxed and friendly with Irish step-dancing morphing into an American square dance. The women wear swishy skirts with a pioneer flavor and the men don vests. One of the highlights of the evening is a tap dance competition between a trio of Irish dancers, including the dashing lead dancer James Greenan, and a pair of urban street tappers, Michael Everett and Christopher Broughton. Although there’s no dialogue, the often humorous one-upmanship of their feet-feats speaks volumes. The three couples of the Russian dance troupe are also amazing with crossed-arm squatting kicks and high-flying air splits.

A new number, “Anna Livia,” is a welcome addition to the anniversary tour. The show strives so hard for variety that it’s wonderful to have one more display of the toe-tangling Irish fast tap that we came to see. This one features the women, with lead dancer Maggie Darlington, in sparkly powder-blue costumes, fast-tapping and high kicking with trademark grace and precision.

The video backgrounds for each number are bright and bold, although round moons or suns dominate way too many screens. The lighting, especially for the room-shaking “Thunderstorm,” is dramatic and edgy. The set itself is framed in retro-modern geometric shapes that look like something from the big band era repainted with new-age granite design.

The musicians seem to hold higher prominence in the new staging, with tin whistle, fiddle and sax seated on one side of the video screen and a huge flashy drum set on the other side. Each of the musicians has a solo spotlight or two and even the drummer, Mark Alfred, escapes his drum cage to march around the stage playing bodhran. Matt Bashford lays down his tin whistle and picks up the Uilleann pipes for a couple haunting numbers. Various members of the company serve as backup singers with an ethereal soprano solo in the opening scene and other numbers. Baritone Michael Everett also gives a stirring presentation of “Heal their Hearts” in the second act.

The disembodied voice that recites lines of poetry to string the dances together has always been a little melodramatic, but 20 years later in the age of hashtags and tweets it seems even more so. The dancing, however, is timeless. It’s not a pun to say “Riverdance” has legs. Any show that explores dance into time primeval isn’t going to be outdated in a couple of decades.

“Riverdance” will be presented through Sunday, April 17, at DeVos Performance Hall. Performances are 7:30 p.m. April 13 and 14, 8 p.m. April 15, 2 and 8 p.m. April 16 and 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. April 17. For tickets visit ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-745-3000.