REVIEW
✭✭✭✭✭ 5/5
HERE COME THE BOYS
STRICTLY COME DANCING STARS ALJAŽ ŠKORJANEC, GIOVANNI PERNICE AND GORKA MARQUEZ ANNOUNCE 38-DATE TOUR FOR BRAND NEW SHOW ‘HERE COME THE BOYS’
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend on Sea
28th July 2019
✭✭✭✭✭ 5/5
HERE COME THE BOYS
STRICTLY COME DANCING STARS ALJAŽ ŠKORJANEC, GIOVANNI PERNICE AND GORKA MARQUEZ ANNOUNCE 38-DATE TOUR FOR BRAND NEW SHOW ‘HERE COME THE BOYS’
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend on Sea
28th July 2019
Once upon a time on the BBC there was a programme called Come Dancing. It was a showcase for ballroom and Latin dance. It was very popular through the 1950’s-70’s, and then it began to struggle, and its audience dwindled, until it was finally axed from a “graveyard” slot in 1998. Its number was up.
Moving forward to 2004, late one night in a smoke filled BBC office, some clever TV exec, looking for a new Saturday night family entertainment show to give X Factor ( or was it Pop Idol back then?) a run for its money, said, “Wait a minute?! Why don't we revive Come Dancing again? “Are you serious?” said the rest of the execs, “bring that old dinosaur back again? Are you crazy?” “No!” said the exec with the idea, “we can give it a sexy makeover, jazz it up a bit, and we’ll get celebs in who haven’t a clue how to dance, get professionals to teach them how to do it, have a vote to eliminate one each week, then at the end, we’ll have a winner!! “
Thus Strictly Come Dancing was born, or re-born, and the rest, dear reader, is dance history. The programme wins huge figures every Saturday night, and has grown; during the last fifteen years it has become a national phenomenon. It is essential viewing as we follow our favourite couples to see one of them is crowned champion a week before Christmas.
Many of the professional dancers have launched shows on their own as a result, and regularly tour up and down the UK to packed houses. I myself have seen a fair few of them, but nothing quite prepared me for the latest of these shows to hit the stage.
Moving forward to 2004, late one night in a smoke filled BBC office, some clever TV exec, looking for a new Saturday night family entertainment show to give X Factor ( or was it Pop Idol back then?) a run for its money, said, “Wait a minute?! Why don't we revive Come Dancing again? “Are you serious?” said the rest of the execs, “bring that old dinosaur back again? Are you crazy?” “No!” said the exec with the idea, “we can give it a sexy makeover, jazz it up a bit, and we’ll get celebs in who haven’t a clue how to dance, get professionals to teach them how to do it, have a vote to eliminate one each week, then at the end, we’ll have a winner!! “
Thus Strictly Come Dancing was born, or re-born, and the rest, dear reader, is dance history. The programme wins huge figures every Saturday night, and has grown; during the last fifteen years it has become a national phenomenon. It is essential viewing as we follow our favourite couples to see one of them is crowned champion a week before Christmas.
Many of the professional dancers have launched shows on their own as a result, and regularly tour up and down the UK to packed houses. I myself have seen a fair few of them, but nothing quite prepared me for the latest of these shows to hit the stage.
HERE COME THE BOYS featuring three of the most popular male professional dancers, Giovanni Pernice, Gorka “the corker” Marquez, and Aljaz Scorjanec, arrived in Southend on Sunday, for the last two shows of a long tour. Let’s be honest, there is nothing the ladies, and
most gay men, for that matter, enjoy more than the sight of a buffed lad or three taking to the stage, and Sunday night was no exception. The excitement in the audience was palpable.....we were all buzzing, and those boys did not disappoint.
The show began in an unexpected way. A grungy looking man appeared, who is NOT one of the dancers and for the next ten minutes or so, he set up the show with a frankly jaw dropping display of BeatBox vocalising. If you don’t know what Beatbox is, it is the imitation of a drum machine, using the human voice. How the memorably named Ball-Zee does it, I do not know. His style very much reminded me of Stomp as he interacted with the audience, winning cheers and gasps with the sound effects he conjures up with his astonishing vocal ability. When he had set up the electronics and lighting to his satisfaction, he assumed his role as DJ, and introduced the one singer, (also acting as hostess for the evening) the glamorous Elizabeth Troy, who in turn introduced THE BOYS themselves.
The opening number, along with their professional dancers, consisting of three leading ladies plus ensemble of eight, including one boy, was a fast paced, lengthy routine which left us and them breathless. This was only the start of a 2 and a half hour show. The show was built around three “Dance Battles”. At the end of each one the audience had to decide who would win. As each section was designed to show off the speciality of each boy, the winner was never a particular surprise! Giovanni won Latin, Aljaz won Ballroom - chants of boring - from the other two, and Gorka won Salsa.
One of the great pleasures of the evening was the banter between the three boys, who are clearly the best of friends, with a little playful bit of rivalry and mock vanity thrown in. They all have fantastic personalties, can hold their own with a bit of chat, and were very funny too. They each get their moments to bring the house down, but of the three, Aljaz does a hilarious turn as a bit of a camp peacock, which works very well as he is so tall. When he struts off the stage, he is truly hilarious. Indeed, when he won his Ballroom dance battle, he was crowned with a tiara!
most gay men, for that matter, enjoy more than the sight of a buffed lad or three taking to the stage, and Sunday night was no exception. The excitement in the audience was palpable.....we were all buzzing, and those boys did not disappoint.
The show began in an unexpected way. A grungy looking man appeared, who is NOT one of the dancers and for the next ten minutes or so, he set up the show with a frankly jaw dropping display of BeatBox vocalising. If you don’t know what Beatbox is, it is the imitation of a drum machine, using the human voice. How the memorably named Ball-Zee does it, I do not know. His style very much reminded me of Stomp as he interacted with the audience, winning cheers and gasps with the sound effects he conjures up with his astonishing vocal ability. When he had set up the electronics and lighting to his satisfaction, he assumed his role as DJ, and introduced the one singer, (also acting as hostess for the evening) the glamorous Elizabeth Troy, who in turn introduced THE BOYS themselves.
The opening number, along with their professional dancers, consisting of three leading ladies plus ensemble of eight, including one boy, was a fast paced, lengthy routine which left us and them breathless. This was only the start of a 2 and a half hour show. The show was built around three “Dance Battles”. At the end of each one the audience had to decide who would win. As each section was designed to show off the speciality of each boy, the winner was never a particular surprise! Giovanni won Latin, Aljaz won Ballroom - chants of boring - from the other two, and Gorka won Salsa.
One of the great pleasures of the evening was the banter between the three boys, who are clearly the best of friends, with a little playful bit of rivalry and mock vanity thrown in. They all have fantastic personalties, can hold their own with a bit of chat, and were very funny too. They each get their moments to bring the house down, but of the three, Aljaz does a hilarious turn as a bit of a camp peacock, which works very well as he is so tall. When he struts off the stage, he is truly hilarious. Indeed, when he won his Ballroom dance battle, he was crowned with a tiara!
However, there was far more to this show than banter. One full on routine followed another, and it was a real thrill to see just how world class brilliant these boys are when they dance. They were each paired with a leading lady partner, and turned in some breathtaking dancing. It is easy to see why they are in such demand. Their danceability is outstanding.
In between the routines, in order to give the boys a chance to get their breath back, Elizabeth Troy showed great vocal prowess and sang up a storm. Very impressive vocals indeed.
As the show drew towards its end, our three stars each had a moment to say how much working with their colleagues meant to them, and it was genuinely moving to see how strong their friendship is. They danced their hearts out, and along with the rest of the company, gave what for me, was one of the most fabulous evenings of entertainment I have had the pleasure to see. I feel genuinely thrilled to have seen them perform live, and could not have asked for more. I really hope they tour again next year. I will be first in the queue.
Review by Andrew Walters
In between the routines, in order to give the boys a chance to get their breath back, Elizabeth Troy showed great vocal prowess and sang up a storm. Very impressive vocals indeed.
As the show drew towards its end, our three stars each had a moment to say how much working with their colleagues meant to them, and it was genuinely moving to see how strong their friendship is. They danced their hearts out, and along with the rest of the company, gave what for me, was one of the most fabulous evenings of entertainment I have had the pleasure to see. I feel genuinely thrilled to have seen them perform live, and could not have asked for more. I really hope they tour again next year. I will be first in the queue.
Review by Andrew Walters
