She's dressed informally in runners, straightlegged jeans and a brightly coloured top which complements her long, straight, strawberryblonde hair.

At 35 years old she looks disgustingly healthy in a manner only a dancer or an athlete can. She's taller than she looks on TV and thin in a willowy kind of way.

Her eyes are bright, her skin looks perfect and her face glows from the bright lights of the set.

?I'm still coming down off the show, " she explains shaking my hand and guiding me to her dressing room at Ardmore Studios. She's stopped along the way by a young boy asking for an autograph and she happily signs her name and poses for a photograph with him. The producer approaches her and she talks to him for a minute, clearly pleased at how the show has gone. A runner asks if she wants tea and she says she'd love a cup. I notice that she's limping as we arrive in the small but plush dressing room. Oh it's just a little injury, " she says in a gentle New York accent as she waves her hand in the air. It's nothing serious."

Although it's a far cry from Riverdance, which made her a household name in Ireland, Butler is enjoying Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels. ?I think it's brilliant because it's not dancing in a serious way; it's fun, it's respectful and it's for a good cause.

And you know what, all those cynics out there who might say otherwise, I think their comments are very naive."

Although she looks Irish, upon meeting her I quickly realise that Jean Butler is American through and through.

She has that mid-Atlantic confidence that Irish people often lack. She's polite and charming, but in a way that rarely shows vulnerability. Or when she does, she doesn't seem to feel embarrassed.

It's no surprise when you consider that she was raised in Long Island, New York. Her father was American, originally of English extraction, and her mother was from Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo. It was she who sent the young Butler to Irish dancing classes. ?I always knew I wanted to be on the stage, but I never thought I'd be a dancer, " she states matter-of-factly.

?From the age of four I did ballet and tap and at six years old I started Irish dancing, which I preferred. I found it more accessible technique-wise. I also preferred the music. And besides, the tutus didn't sit right on me, " she throws her head back and laughs showing pearly white teeth.

The dancer's first big break came when she was just 17.

Her dancing teacher Donny Golden, well known in dancing circles, asked her to fill the footsteps of Michael Flatley who had been dancing with the Chieftains. He called me up out of the blue and said, 'the Chieftains are doing a gig at Carnegie Hall. Don't mess it up', " she says. There was a moment of 'Oh my God, I'm dancing with The Chieftains', but it wasn't daunting; I had a lot of dance experience."

As a result of that night, she was asked by the Irish trad band to come on tour with them. That led to her travelling the world for three months. Then the months rolled into years. She may appear confident now, but she says she was a quiet teenager and in some ways she grew up while on tour.

I was quite an introverted kid. I wasn't shy; just not gregarious. I used to sit back and watch, but I didn't get in the way. I think the life of an Irish dancer turns you into a disciplinarian; my life was all about practice. There was a bit of finding my feet as a dancer on the road, but it was good fun too, " she hastens to add. As an Irish dancer I had friends all over the world and I used to ring them up and go out with them. They'd come to see me and marvel at my hotel room."

After a few years of touring she began to worry about her future and decided to study drama. She chose London as the venue. ?I wanted to safeguard my position, " she says.

?When I was growing up the Chieftains were as good as it got; there wasn't anywhere for Irish dancers to go. And besides I'd always had an interest in theatre." She settled in the UK but continued to tour whenever she had time off.

Butler's biggest break, however, had yet to come. It was after she'd finished her degree that Moya Doherty approached her to join Riverdance.

Doherty had seen both Butler and Flatley dance separately and suspected there might be chemistry between them. Of course, she was right. Many would say that Riverdancewas the highlight of the dancer's career. It certainly made her into somewhat of a celebrity. ?It was really, really exciting, " she says with emphasis. It's one of those things that will never be repeated because it was an art form that just exploded on to the commercial market and was accepted globally. It was a great job and I always emphasise that it was a job. At the same time I was getting paid to do something I really enjoyed."

So did she get on well with Michael Flatley She waves her hands in the air.

You know what?" she says, her New York accent more pronounced. I'm asked that in every interview I do and yes I do, but I don't know what Michael's doing now. I wish him the best but that was another time."

She makes the point that she only spent three years with Riverdance but they were three intense years. There were sacrifices to be made. My whole day was geared towards working at night, it was tough on the body and I didn't really have a life outside of that world. Of course it balanced out in the end, but there were only a certain number of years that I was able to sustain that. And then at 26 I suddenly went, 'Okay I want a life.'" Burnt out by the experience, Butler gave up Riverdance without any notion of what she might do. She did some auditions and landed bit parts in a number of films but she clearly missed the dancing. She did another show with her former dance partner Dunne. Dancing on Dangerous Ground was more of a theatrical production and smaller in scale than Riverdance.

Years of performing were beginning to take their toll, however, and she knew she needed a break. She decided to enrol in a master's degree in contemporary dance at the University of Limerick.

At that stage in the game I knew in my heart that doing another big show was not the right move for me. I needed to refuel as a dancer and as an artist. There's an enormous amount of stress and pressure that goes into performing in a show. My 20s were basically about giving as a performer and I was pretty exhausted by the end of itf there was nothing really left."

The course proved to be the tonic that she needed. Mary Noonan, who became my director, had a unique approach to dance. She took me, my baggage and my technique on board and that made the course accessible, " she says, explaining that as an Irish dancer her muscles are developed a certain way that wouldn't lend them to every type of dance. Ballet, for example, is out of the question. She does, however, enjoy tap dancing on occasion.

Although her life has become less hectic than it used to be, Butler dances at least three or four times per week in order to keep her body in top-notch condition. She does exercises everyday, runs, uses the gym and attends Pilate classes.

?If I haven't danced for a few days I get very grumpy, " she laughs. I turn into a bull. I think I feel better in general when my body has been challenged."

Part of the problem with being an Irish dancer is that there are only so many gigs available to her. Many of them are a little conservative for her tastes. ?It's really hard to find interesting things to do as an Irish dancer because you hit up against a preconceived notion of what people want to see."

She admits to being a workaholic and says she finds it difficult to relax partly due to the sporadic nature of the work which means she rarely has a routine.

As a disciplinarian I have to be doing something all the time. It's a fault and I'm aware of it, " she adds. ?Sometimes I work solidly for six weeks and on other occasions I might work on a Saturday and a Thursday for example. So what do you do in between Then there's the whole Catholic guilt thing that slips in, 'Will I go the gym No, I'll take a day off. No, I'll go the gym."

When she does attempt to relax she spends time with her husband of five years, designer Cuan Hanley. If Cuan has a day off we go to the museum, take a really long walk, catch a film or cook a nice meal. But if I'm on my own it's a lot more difficult. Mind you, a bottle of wine always helps, " she giggles and then back-tracks. ?But not on my own of course."

Butler and Hanley have yet to start a family. When asked if marriage has changed her life, she thinks for a moment.

?It hasn't really changed my life; if anything it's just made it more consolidated. I'm with someone and that's one thing I don't have to worry about anymore. It's one thing ticked off. It's a comfort."

The couple divide their time between New York and Ireland which suits both of their careers. I'm a bit of gypsy.

Because I work freelance I can live anywhere. I love New York and I love Ireland, so why choose between them?"

She adds however that she has only a handful of family members living in Ireland. Her grandmother, who had reached the age of 99 last Saint Patrick's Day, passed away very recently. I was particularly close to my gran, " she says looking a little sad and for once letting down her guard.

She was brilliant. She'd had the hardest life; she lost two children and her husband died when she was 60. All of her children had to emigrate to the States and she lived on her own till she was 97.

Yet she was still the happiest, warmest, most positive person you could ever meet, " she muses. Sometimes my remote control just switches to negative or cynical; it's easy to go that way, but when I was around her I was reminded not to be that way."

But was she like her grandmother She thinks for a moment before cocking her head to one side. I don't know, but I aspire to have many of her attributes."