Professional dancers Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace are most widely known from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and their wealth of successes as both dancers and choreographers. They now bring a modern take on the tango to various theatres throughout the UK including the Liverpool Empire.

The show centres around a small group of city apartments and the inhabitants love lives or lack thereof. The group of dancers highlight their individual skills in this show and offer a range of dances centred around Flavia and Vincent’s tango. The show comments on the issues of modern life including spending too much time online and how it stops people partaking in everyday romance. Luckily, Vincent and Flavia tango their way to matchmaking the city’s inhabitants and soon everyone has found a partner. The show interestingly addresses the theme of being too attached to mobile phones and being unaware of what is going on around us. It even includes a dance to the song blah blah cha cha suggesting that when we are talking rubbish on the phone we are missing out on so many magical everyday moments. It is refreshing to see a dance show which is making the audience question their everyday habits. Other themes in the show also include growing older and having a sense of nostalgia for childhood. The use of song at this point in the show is moving and gives the audience the sense that the show wants to highlight the importance of appreciating every moment.

The shows range of dances including break dancing highlights how it has been brought up to date for a modern audience whilst still maintaining Flavia and Vincent’s tango dance expertise. It also has lovely elements of humour within it causing multiple ripples of laughter throughout the audience. This included utilising washing buckets and trolleys to dance with highlighting the urban cityscape it was set in. The costumes were also a mix of traditional and modern and included classic Latin ballroom dress mixed with modern day wear. It is a strength of this piece to combine both the classic with the modern and the show should be congratulated on this.

Although this is predominantly a dance show there is excellent music from singers, Tom Parsons & Rebecca Lisewki, and the live band. The two main singers perform a range of modern music and showcase their strong and diverse voices. The pair become narrators of the show and through the songs we see a range of love stories taking place. Backing them is a strong band who highlight their talents and enhance the dances well. The violinist (Oliver Lewis) came down on stage at various points to play small sections of traditional tango music and highlighted his extraordinary talent. The show finishes with Flavia and Vincent showcasing the traditional dance of love, the tango and they were given a well-deserved standing ovation.

The show is a great night out for dance and music fans alike and will inspire you to have a go at the tango yourself.

Reviewer: Beth Easton

Reviewed: 26^th February 2018

North West End Rating: ★★★★