Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals: Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

Director: Karen Bruce

Musical Director: Jeff Leach

Reviewer: Aisha Hutchinson

The Public Reviews Rating:

This inaugural show, which comes out of BBC1’s incredibly popular ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, enables some of the shows professional dancers to strut their stuff without being held back by celebrity learners! The 12 week tour showcases many new routines (to a live band) by five professional couples, all well known to the audiences of Strictly Come Dancing.

The show opens with a ‘big’ (well known) song, and fierce dancing full of energy, sparkle and imagination. The show then continues in this style with group and solo dances that demonstrate the professional’s expertise, creative talents and high energy. The performance has a good mix of both Latin and Ballroom dance’s, all of which are regularly performed on the TV show. Key components of each dance can easily be spotted by those who have seen a few series alongside new combinations of difficult moves effortlessly performed by the professionals. From a sensational Waltz performed by Ian Waite and Natelie Lowe, to a raunchy rumba performed by Brian Fortuna and Kristina Rhianoff, all of the favourite dances are included.

The show is presented and narrated by the professionals themselves, more often than not, by the male professionals who are obviously enjoying the chance to add in a cheeky joke here and there. The male judges also make several appearances, re-recorded on screen, to describe a particular dance and heighten the anticipation of what is about to be performed.

As I’d very much hoped for, the costumes, under the Costume Supervision of Su Judd, were creative, colourful and FULL of sparkle. A green half body suite with sparkle and frills, which Aliona Vilani wore during one of her solo dances with Matthew Cutler was particularly stunning. Group costumes complimented both the individual couple and the group with corresponding yet different costumes worn by each couple. The set was simple, with a live band at the back, lights and a large screen which moved from the side to centre stage whenever extracts from the show or judges were presented.

Outstanding cheeky performances come from Ola and James Jordan as they let the audience into the secrets of their marriage, alongside the exquisitely seductive Argentina Tango by Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone. The show is full of breathtaking lifts and fast paced moves. The live singers and band also ‘made’ the show, with fantastic performances. In contrast, the group timing was not great and the judge’s interruptions became a little annoying as they needlessly hyped up the performances a few times too often.

Overall, the show is gorgeous, with toe tapping music, fantastic vocals, extraordinary dancing and sparkling costumes. I had wondered whether the professionals could carry the show by themselves, without infamous judges, charming presenters and beautiful celebrities. However, the professionals are now as well known as many of the celebrities, with lively personalities and good looks, and they can certainly put on a good show in their own right. If you love the TV show, then you will definitely love the stage show and I don’t think you’ll miss the celebrities too much!