United Kingdom Aljaž and Janette A Evening to Bear in mind: Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, 20.5.2025. (JPr)
A lot has occurred for married dancers Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara since I final noticed them in Southend-on-the-Sea (as Aljaž named town!) in December 2023 (evaluate right here). That was not lengthy after the delivery of their daughter Lyra, and whereas Janette was nonetheless presenting Strictly Comes Dancing’s It Takes Two on BBC Two and co-hosting the Strictly Reside tour, Aljaž had stepped away from ‘to give attention to different commitments’. A kind of, after all, was being a brand new father. Now solely 17 months later a lot has occurred and Aljaž made – because the good-value shiny memento brochure explains – ‘his triumphant return to Strictly Come Dancing in 2024, and made all of it the best way to the ultimate along with his companion, Tasha Gouri. On the dwell tour that adopted, they gained virtually the entire 35 reveals and had been topped the Strictly Come Dancing Reside Champions.’
In the meantime Janette is at present within the midst of a six-month tour of the UK and Eire of the musical Chicago (evaluate right here). Janette says ‘You don’t get main girls like Rosie too usually. She’s sort of fragile and darkish and susceptible and attractive. I’m actually proud to have come full circle again to musicals.’ Janette at present has 4 weeks off for the 21 A Evening to Bear in mind reveals. (Curiously, primarily based on Aljaž’s singing of the Frank Sinatra/Rely Basie basic ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ there simply is likely to be one thing in musicals for him too.)
I should be sincere and comment on how there are simply too many Strictly Come Dancing-related reveals as of late; it appears each different week one or two of its dancers are getting their very own present. Make the most effective of it whilst you can as a result of tickets gross sales for a few of these have been lower than stellar, I’m advised; with solely Anton Du Beke, Giovanni Pernice (individually or collectively), the Reside tour and, after all, Aljaž and Janette able to really filling theatres it appears.
The USP of A Evening to Bear in mind is the involvement of pianist and vocalist Tom Seals and his band (an distinctive quintet of musicians). He’s a reputation new to me, however assume Jools Holland, whom he usually performs duelling piano reveals with. As Janette explains within the programme: ‘Aljaž and I hadn’t danced to dwell music for ages. It’s a very totally different feeling from dancing to a backing tape … Now we’re occurring the highway in a present with Tom and his band. And it’s going to be just a little totally different. It gained’t be nearly dancing though we’ll have 4 different skilled dancers performing with us. It should even be in regards to the music and the temper it creates.’
There was an uncommon begin to the present with an offstage announcement that the viewers might do all of the filming and take all of the pictures they wished so long as they had been aware of individuals round them. To be sincere, everybody – no less than round us – was very restrained and respectful.
On a easy set which created a classy Las Vegas dinner cabaret vibe and with frequent modifications of costumes – so sparkly I felt I wanted sun shades – this was a superb present of songs outdated and new, nice music, glorious dancing and good humour. The charismatic Aljaž and Janette are the celebs after all however Tom Seals and his musicians, versatile vocalist Jill Marie Cooper, and 4 terribly gifted dancers made this, nicely, A Evening to Bear in mind. A one level Aljaž says how their dancers are ’younger, recent, they’ve all had some sleep they usually’re not touring with the mother-in-law!’ There was loads of satisfying banter between Aljaž, Janette, Tom and his band with loads of laughs from Tom himself. This included when he says how he will get ‘to tour the world with my greatest pals, however they’re not right here’, in addition to tongue-in-cheek humour once we be taught the unique singer of ‘Fever’ was Little Willie John and an (apparently) unscripted second when Aljaž says how straightforward it’s to get a ten on Strictly with the foxtrot, although Tom hears ‘tan’! However, we acquired an attention-grabbing lesson from Tom in how on the piano the left-hand bass line is the ‘Boogie’ and the riffing right-hand is the ‘Woogie’, one thing he learnt from Jools Holland apparently.
All of the songs we heard got an enormous band therapy (‘a jazz and bluesy spin’) with preparations by music director and trumpet participant Jack Tinker. They ranged from American requirements (equivalent to Sinatra’s ‘That’s Life’ and Judy Garland’s ‘Get Completely satisfied’) to Teddy Swims’s very current ‘Lose Management’ (splendidly sung by Jill Marie and expressively danced by Aljaž and Janette): with a lot else together with Beyoncé (‘Loopy in Love’) Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor’s ‘Marvin Gaye’, Benson Boone’s ‘Stunning Issues’ and Tom’s tribute to Billy Joel. Certainly, standing out amongst every little thing Tom sang was Joel’s reflective ‘Piano Man’ (which I realised owes a lot to Jerry Jeff Walker’s ‘Mr Bojangles’).
Probably the most energy-sapping dancing is by Aljaž and Janette’s quartet of dancers, enthusiastically rockabilly jiving, swinging, lindy hopping, tapping and even road dancing, or in any other case concerned in quite a lot of sometimes Fosse-esque routines. The duets Aljaž and Janette themselves dance are by their very own admission a fusion of Viennese waltz and many up to date – variants of American Clean if you’ll – whether or not timeless or up-tempo. It’s throughout much more romantic Rumba-ish numbers – equivalent to The Carpenters’ ‘Famous person (Don’t You Bear in mind You Instructed Me You Cherished Me Child)’ delightfully sung by Jill Marie – that you just divine what an absolute delight it’s for Aljaž and Janette to be dancing collectively once more for their very own obvious enjoyment and ours too.
By the point many of the Cliffs Pavilion viewers had been on their ft dancing and swaying away to Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington’s ‘It Don’t Imply a Factor’ and watching the whole firm bringing A Evening to Bear in mind to a stamina-sapping, joyful ending: then Aljaž and Janette’s promised return subsequent 12 months can’t come quickly sufficient.
Jim Pritchard
Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara (co-creators and choreography) and Firm (Jill Marie Cooper [vocals], Kiera Brunton [dance captain and assistant choreographer], Natasha Mould, Tonyé Scott-Obene, Nick Godfrey [ensemble]), Gareth Walker (present director and choreographer), Tom Seals [vocals, piano], Jack Tinker [music director, trumpet], Roger Inniss [bass], Vito Vultaggio [drums], Greg Coulson [organ], Chris ‘Beebe’ Alridge [saxophone]), Doug FF Cairns (set and lighting designer), Jon Roache (sound design), Carol Howard (costume stylist)
For extra in regards to the Aljaž and Janette A Evening to Bear in mind tour click on right here.
Featured Picture: Forged of Aljaž and Janette A Evening to Bear in mind © Carys Griffiths
