DANCE ‘TIL DAWN WITH VINCENT SIMONE AND FLAVIA CACACE
The Bristol Hippodrome
Tuesday 24th – Saturday 28th March 2015
Dance ’til Dawn Family Review
Fresh from the West End, DANCE ‘TIL DAWN is now touring the UK. Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last decade, you’ll probably be aware of Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace, former World Champions who’ve have been dancing together for twenty years and stole the hearts of the British public with their breathtaking Argentine Tango on TV’s Strictly Come Dancing.
A simple whodunnit plot set in 1940s Los Angeles offers the perfect vehicle for showcasing a couple of hours worth of world class dance along with glamorous costumes and a full live band with singers performing iconic numbers, including Cry Me a River, Feeling Good, Moon River and Stand By Me. Whilst Flavia and Vincent are the love interests, they are far too busy wowing us with their moves to speak so the story is narrated instead, in marvelously deadpan style by Private detective Tommy Dubrowski (Teddy Kempner). Lines bounce cleverly between Dabrowski and his comedy counterpart and club owner Lana Clemenza (Abbie Osmon), who is manipulative, seductive, ditzy and funny in equal measures!
STORY SYNOPSIS
In the midst of a Hollywood film shoot, leading man Bobby Burns is murdered and a romance develops between beautiful starlet Sadie Strauss (Flavia Cacace) and her handsome lover Tony DeLuca (Vincent Simone). As a plot to frame Tony DeLuca unfolds, the duo use their flawless footwork and spellbinding choreography to Tango and Quickstep their way out of trouble and into each other’s arms.
DANCING
As you would expect, the dancing and not the plot is the main event. Dance ‘Til Dawn is directed by Olivier Award winning choreographer and director Karen Bruce who also directed Vincent and Flavia’s Olivier Award nominated show, Midnight Tango.
A whole variety of dances including Charleston, quickstep, waltzes and of course Vincent and Flavia’s trademark Argentine Tango are incorporated and flow quite naturally within the storyline – I never feel that a dance has been shoehorned in for the sake of it.
As well as the seriously impressive, pretty and romantic ballroom dances, plenty of humour is injected. The Charleston sequence is great fun with suited and booted men dancing quirkily together. I particularly enjoy watching a couple of giant cardboard boxes trying to escape across the stage. Scooby Doo would be proud of that cunning disguise.
AGE SUITABILITY
I watched Dance ’til Dawn alongside my son and his grandparents.
The eight year old enjoyed the show and admired the skill of the dance performances but I wouldn’t say it grabbed him in the same way as others we’ve seen with more dialogue, intricate plots and popular modern music. I could see his face light up during the fun dances and cleverly choreographed fight sequence and most of the humour was easy for him to follow and was eminently suitable for kids. I would be happy to take any age to see Dance ‘Til Dawn, provided they have adequate interest in watching dance. It’s only approximately two hours from start to end including the interval so it’s not too long to expect small people to sit still!
My parents enjoyed the musical classics as these were the songs they’d grown up with before Rock ‘n’ Roll hit the scene.
THE VERDICT?
Fusing musical theatre, dance, romance and comedy, Dance ‘Til Dawn transports us to a bygone age. Clearly Vincent and Flavia have top billing – when they dance separately it’s impressive and when they dance together it’s seamless but all the dancers are superb in their own right. Their Argentine Tango lives up to high expectations and is a huge crowd pleaser.
Narrator Teddy Kempner’s flat humour grows on me more and more as the story progresses and Abbie Osmon is wonderful as Lana. She manages to demonstrate her tremendous voice and then add a little squeak to remind us of her giddy personality.
We are all blown away by the spectacular dancing of both the stars and the rest of the cast and whilst the plot is simple, it’s presence adds an extra dimension which makes the show easy viewing.
DANCE TIL DAWN
Tuesday 24th – Saturday 28th March
Evenings at 7.30 pm
Matinees on Wed & Sat at 2.30 pm
Tickets: £12.90 – £51.90 – Concessions available at certain performances
Monday – Saturday 7.30pm, Matinees Wednesday & Saturday 2.30pm.
Ticket Prices £20.00 – £75.00
ENJOYED MY DANCE ‘TIL DAWN FAMILY REVIEW? THEN WHY NOT CHECK OUT OTHER SHOW REVIEWS ON PRACTICALLY PERFECT MUMS?
DISCLOSURE: WE RECEIVED TICKETS FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS REVIEW. ALL OPINIONS ARE MY/OUR OWN.
