A fun and varied night out that is perfect for Strictly Come Dancing fans and those fascinated by the power of dance.
Touring at just the perfect time for Strictly Come Dancing’s return to our television screens, Keep Dancing is a celebration of all things dance, featuring star performances from Robin Windsor, Lisa Riley and Anya Garnis – all of whom have appeared on the popular television show at some point.
Although the show focuses on ballroom dancing, it tends to lean more towards the Latin style overall, featuring several passionate and intense performances – particularly during the very much latin inspired opening to the second act.
But there is also a sense of fun as the routines to ‘Candyman’ and ‘Jump Jive an’Wail’ show, allowing the dancers to really let loose and enjoy themselves with the jive- even if it does get a little bit carried away in places, thanks to Robin Windsor’s over the top characterisation.
It is lovely to see Lisa Riley thoroughly enjoying being on stage and dancing her socks off, showing that her love of dancing has long continued after the show finished. Her smile is infectious and always enhances the performance. Meanwhile it is also great to see Anya Garnia and Robin Windsor doing what they do best in some stunningly choreographed pieces to songs such as ‘A Thousand Years’ which is hauntingly beautiful from beginning to end.
But, the evening isn’t just about the dancing. In fact the show celebrates music that gets everyone dancing and with the performances of Lisa-Marie Holmes, Joshua Moore and Harriette Virginia Mullen, you get a real sense of the era the music and the dance came from, even if structurally within the show the styles jump around from one sequence to the next too much – one minute you are mesmerised by the stylish ballroom style the next watching a much more passionate and dramatic performance which can be slightly confusing.
The other element that was slightly bewildering was the occasional use of a recorded track (who knew Michael Buble was going to be involved with the performance), which could have been sung live and is slightly bewildering to hear.
Yet everything about Keep Dancing is designed to keep you smiling and while it feels slightly superficial, there is no denying that it is a true celebration of dance.
Keep Dancing is on at the New Victoria Theatre until the 15th October. To book tickets visit ATG Tickets.