Keep Dancing at the New Wimbledon Theatre Review
Keep Dancing
New Wimbledon Theatre
13-17 September 2016
www.atgtickets.com/new-wimbledon-theatre
Reviewed by Louise Watts
My husband and I attended the New Wimbledon Theatre yesterday evening to see the first night of the Keep Dancing tour. Were we disappointed or did it live up to its reputation? You will have to keep reading to find out!
Keep Dancing is being marketed as “The Ballroom Dance Sensation”. Coming as a direct result of Strictly Come dancing, did it have the power to engage the audience for nearly 2 hours with a combination of ballroom dancing and musical performance… the answer to that is ABSOLUTELY!!! An absolutely outstanding opening night of fast and furious dancing which set everyone’s hearts racing. The combination of modern music and songs with older style music suited the dances to a tee!
As for the dancers… wow! The high quality and professional performance was in no doubt when the 10 main dancers entered the stage. Slick, sharp and incredibly well polished, they were dazzling to watch and demanded everyone’s attention immediately! Credit where credit is due and they are certainly due some! Guest appearances by Jay and Aliona (Strictly champions 2015) were a special treat to watch. Jay looked slightly uncomfortable at times which he didn’t need to be as his performance was a delight to watch. They performed several dances and each and every one looked great.
I thought I had seen dancing of the highest quality and then something even more incredible occurred… Robin Windsor and Anya Garnis (Strictly favourites) entered the stage. The dancing reached a whole new level that I didn’t think existed. They were even sharper, even more slick and even more polished (positively shiny!!). I have never witnessed dancing of that quality and I was mesmerised. I could have sat and watched them all night!
Numerous different styles of dancing were performed which also goes to show not only the dancers stamina and fitness but also their flexibility to be able to perform so many different styles of dance at such a high level. My favourites were the rendition of New York, New York where the boys had top hats and canes and the Charleston (always one of my favourites). As if the dancing wasn’t enough, the cast then performed a wonderful “clapping” dance… oh my, how on earth they had the coordination and memory to remember that I really don’t know!
It must be said that the choreography, costumes and set were incredible and of the highest standard. The set housed the percussion – Joelle Barker and Adam Green who delivered an incredible performance and I particularly enjoyed their solo performances where they were really given the opportunity to show their musical ability. The dancers were complemented by a trio of singers – Adam Warmington, Lisa-Marie Holmes and Harriette Mullen. They were also given the opportunity to show off their beautiful voices in both solo performances and group performances. Adam even participated in one of the dances with the dancers… which he carried off very well.
It was lovely to have the musicians, singers and dancers all on the stage together and I liked the way they all interacted with each other to produce an amazingly high quality performance which culminated with the audience dancing in their seats before the finale. As for scores on the doors…. it’s a 10 from me!
The theatre itself is a lovely venue. It has a capacity of 1670 over 3 levels and is actually the 8th largest theatre in London. The building is stunning and is Grade 2 listed. It opened on Boxing day 1910. An interesting fact is that it is the only theatre in Britain which has a Victorian style Turkish bath in the basement… I wonder if it is still used?!
The staff were all very polite and pleasant. There are several bars available to purchase drinks and snacks. One particular feature I liked was the service they call “Ordertorium”, this gives the audience the opportunity to order drinks and snacks for the interval and have them served to you in your seats, therefore eliminating the need to queue at the bar. This can either be done by downloading an app or by making yourselves available to the theatre staff who will then come to you in your seat and serve you. I have never seen this before and thought it was a nice idea.
We were able to park less than 5 minutes’ walk from the theatre and the cost for 4 hours was £6. I didn’t think this was too unreasonable for outer London parking.
All in all we had a wonderful evening of faced paced, furious dancing of the utmost quality which was nothing but a pleasure to watch. Well done to all involved!
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £17.90 to £48.90 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).
Keep Dancing is at the New Wimbledon Theatre in London until 17 September 2016. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 7646.
New Wimbledon Theatre, The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, SW19 1QG | 0844 871 7646
