I've never seen a show with only dancing, so I wasn't sure how it would work, so how is it staged? How many cast members are there? How do they make sure that all the audience enjoy it, even those right at the back of the theatre?
I was hoping to see lots of different dance styles I would recognize from the show, as well as costumes changes, a live band and live singers. I was very interested to see how the show was presented.
When I arrived in the theatre I was surprised to see lots of empty seats, given how popular Strictly is. Although I did go to a matinee performance, the evening performances are probably more popular.
When the curtain was raised, I saw four male and four female dancers accompanied by three singers.
The opening number, was set to 'You Should Be Dancing' by the Bee Gees. It was performed under a Strictly type glitter ball was a fast type high energy number, being so upbeat it was a good way to start the show, it reminded me of a Cha Cha Cha routine.
There were three singers who stood on the top platform of the stage, two female and one male. I have never seen a show like this before, so I didn't expect the singers to be involved in the show as much as they were, moving around and even having costume changes. This made every part of the show feel important and showed just how much effort goes into a live performance like this.
The show continued at an incredible pace as whenever a dance/song finished, before the audience have stopped clapping there was a fast transition into the next dance. The dancers barely had time to take a breath, let alone change costumes but somehow they managed it.
The main impact of the show were the sections introduced by the announcer. When he introduced Robin and Anya for the first time, they was a clear sense of excitement and they didn't let anyone down as their first dance took things to a different level, even though everyone in the show was a professional dancer, you could see why these two were the stars of the show.
The announcer then introduced Louis Smith dancing with Anya, it had the same amount of excitement as Robin and Anya's introduction, as Louis was a former winner and had just come back from winning a medal at the Rio Olympics.
Louis appeared four times during the show and it goes to show how huge Strictly Come Dancing is, as a former winner can headline a dancing show. This is one of a number of shows all linked to Strictly that are up and down the country every year.
During the show there was clear themes, such as a traditional ballroom section, followed by a memorable Argentine Tango, which for me was a clear highlight where the dancing and music came together perfectly. This was followed by a 1940's inspired routine with lindy hop and fast paced jive cleverly linked together which brought a end to Act 1.
Act 2 started with a Latin section, which included a song sung in Spanish which I found impressive. The Latin theme continued with a dramatic Paso Doble and an opportunity for the singers to have a solo during the show.
The final appearance from Louis and Anya was a Charleston, this was my favourite routine of theirs. One move in particular, a gymnastic back flip as Anya laid on the stage was the stand out moment of the show.
Up next was a group Charleston, followed by a jazz routine, after that the dancers who were on stage sat on the edge of the stage and started a clapping routine which is a odd thing to include in a dancing show. However I really enjoyed it as all nine dancers were in sync….until Robin made a mistake and was out of time! He gave the crowd a big smile and asked everyone if they wanted to see the routine again but faster. The audience responded and said yes, we got to see the routine again even faster than before!
The final section was a disco medley which had amazing costumes and really brought the show to a great finish. The final message to the audience was the song 'Get On Your Feet' by Gloria Estefan, which is a great reminder of how popular dancing has become.
Now that I've seen my first professional dancing show live, I can easily see how all the audience would enjoy the atmosphere created by the performers, the two hours went by in a flash, I was shocked by how hard the singers and dancers worked and how high the level of performance was.
I enjoyed this show so much, I'd happily go back and see it tomorrow.
WOW! GREAT ARTICLE!