Vincent and Flavia - 'The Last Tango'

Hi all,

I know most of you won't already have been to the see the show yet so I'll try not to go into too much detail but some spoilers are unavoidable when doing a blog post, so if you don't want to know ANYTHING at all then best to wait until after you've seen the show before reading any further.

As always I had been dying to see this new creation from Vincent & Flavia, and couldn't wait for it to get to my neck of the woods so decided to make a 'weekend away' of it, and visit my friend Holly so that we both could go and watch it together at the Birmingham Hippodrome.

Anyway, on with the show and first things first, let's talk a little about the creatives. Once again the beautiful set is the work of Morgan Large, who has been part of the 'team' in all 3 of V&F's shows and coupled with gorgeous lighting from James Whiteside (who I think has also worked on all 3 stage productions) the perfect atmosphere is set which compliments the storyline perfectly. Adam Spiegel produces the show and Karen Bruce directs and co-choreographs with V&F to create their most intimate but in my opinion, best show yet.

Photo Credit : Manuel Harlan

To give a brief outline of the story, it begins with George (Teddy Kempner) who we see climbing the steps with the intention of packing up the attic. Reminiscing through the years while picking up some dusty long forgotten treasures he stares at his reflection in the mirror....enter a much younger and very dapper version of himself (Vincent) and the very beautiful Sally (Flavia).

A chance encounter over a dropped pair of gloves, followed by another meeting at the seaside while having fun with friends, leads to a beautiful courtship between George and Sally... fish and chips on a park bench followed by romantic dinner dates in expensive restaurants, lavish parties followed by cosy Christmases (which include a very festive range of knitwear and ever increasing amounts of Xmas stocking hanging on the fireplace - one of my favourite moments ),  all had me smiling from ear to ear at the happy moments, laughing out loud at the funny moments, and crying buckets at the sad moments.
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(George) - Photo credit Manuel Harlan

('Young' George & Sally) - Photo credit Manuel Harlan

Vincent & Flavia treat us to many solo numbers some of which are old familiar favourites from their time on Strictly and are so good to see again, especially in a whole new setting. There are also many new numbers like a  Viennese Waltz/American Smooth to 'At Last' which was absolutely gorgeous, and lots of others which are absolutely stunning but very poignant and will have you in floods of tears. Again I won't say too much about them for fear of spoiling as my words just wouldn't do them justice. They have to be seen with your own eyes to be appreciated.

Two routines that I just HAVE to talk about in a little more detail though are Flavia's Flamenco and of course the one everyone is waiting for, the Argentine Tango finale.

Firstly, the Flamenco.... this is danced early in Act 2 of the show and had the audience mesmerised. When I first learned that Flavia was going to be dancing a Flamenco I couldn't wait to see it. I just knew it would be an incredible moment in the show and I wasn't disappointed. The audience were enthralled by it and it is hard to believe that it was a brand new style for her and not one she had been practising for years. The whole atmosphere of the dance with the music, the lighting, the sound of the clapping, the sound of the feet tapping.... and the most gorgeous red dress, make this a definite WOW moment. Flavia is absolutely on fire and the audience loved it every bit as much as I did.

Photo credit : Manuel Harlan

Secondly, the brand new Argentine Tango finale..... You might think that you've seen the very best that V&F have to offer when it comes to dancing the AT as we have had the privilege of watching them perform a huge number of different variations throughout the years, but think again... YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET until you see this one! The entire audience held their breath I am sure from beginning to end and I'm almost certain that no one would have dared to even blink for fear of missing a single step. It was literally JAW DROPPING! And just FYI, I plan on bombarding the BBC with emails over the next few weeks in the hope that they will invite V&F onto SCD to dance this so that the world can see it... it has to be done! ;)

Photo credit : Manuel Harlan

Like I said though, those are just a couple of the fantastic routines that we see and V&F are supported by an incredible cast who don't put a foot wrong on stage, and are every bit as beautiful as they are talented and have some lovely group numbers both with V&F and on their own (including a very energetic swing/jive number and many others)

Photo credit : Manuel Harlan

Photo credit : Manuel Harlan

There are live musicians treating us to the most wonderful music, and a fab selection of old familiar songs (Beyond The Sea, When I Fall In Love, Moondance.... to name just a few) with Matthew Gent's gorgeous vocals and the occasional number from the amazingly talented Rebecca Lisewski who is also a brilliant dancer within the ensemble.

I also have to give a special mention to the costumes. The show goes through the decades starting with the 1930's and we see some beautiful ones for all of the cast but in particular the dresses for Flavia are just stunning. These were designed by Vicky Gill (DSI) and with the help of Caroline Hannam (head of Wardrobe) the cast are all very in keeping with the time period and the whole look of the show is visually gorgeous.

So, all in all I can't say enough how much I loved this show.  I saw an article about V&F just recently saying they are 'hoping to be the next Fred and Ginger' .... I'd say they have been there and done that already.
They have long been considered  one of the very best dance partnerships in the world, but since embarking on their own theatre tours, they are now amazing storytellers too and have learned great acting skills along the way.

I can't bear to think right now about this being their 'Last Tango' as they have been a joy to watch and support throughout the years, and although they say they are only 'putting away their suitcases and not hanging up their dancing shoes' they will no doubt be less accessible than they have been for the past few years where they have always been very generous with their time after shows, signing autographs and having photos taken. I will miss them tremendously and just hope that we still can enjoy them in some capacity once their touring days are over.

Bring on the movies I say ;)

Dilly
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Visit the website for more details of dates/venues and for more info on the cast and creatives :
http://www.thelasttangotour.co.uk/