OPENING NIGHT: DIANA ECCLESTON has waltzed back to Wimbledon for the latest TV-linked stage show being performed there this week
Fans of Strictly Come Dancing need to quickstep over to New Wimbledon Theatre this week, where two of the show’s former star professional dancers are appearing in The Last Tango.
TV treat: Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace are on stage for the last time in Wimbledon this week. Picture: Manuel Harlan
Before you get too excited, this is less a reference to 101 things to do with a half-pound of butter and Marlon Brando in Paris, and more about the farewell tour of a couple of television favourites.
Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone are bidding farewell to the stage in a mesmerising follow-up to their sell-out Midnight Tango and Dance ‘Til Dawn shows.
The couple have been dancing together for two decades and have won a host of titles in competitive ballroom dancing. It is their accomplished sexy sizzle which makes the partnership so successful and watchable.
The production won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and you don’t get all that much dance for your dollar. Opening night on Tuesday started 15 minutes late at 7.45pm and it was all over by 9.30pm. But the dance fans were delighted with what they saw.
The ensemble cast in the show is very impressive. Picture by Manuel Harlan
I didn’t expect a story, but there is a rather poignant plot in which and old man sorts through the bits and pieces of his past up in the attic of his home, and these memories are danced out before us down below: the love story of his life.
It begins in the 1930s and takes us through the war years and beyond to incorporate a variety of dance styles as well as the tango and Argentine tango for which Vincent and Flavia are best known. I especially enjoyed her tempestuous flamenco.
Four other couples add to the dance sequences, Teddy Kempner is the man with the memories and Matthew Gent sings most of the songs with a Michael Buble-ish style.
Those who love the sparkles and sequins of the Strictly frocks will be delighted that costume design is all by the programme’s fashion supremo Vicky Gill.
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