REVIEW

GIOVANNI PERNICE - DANCE IS LIFE

WEYMOUTH PAVILION

DISPLAYING superb comic timing that had this mostly female audience eating out of the palm of his hand, Strictly pro dancer Giovanni Pernice knows how to put on a show.

In Dance Is Life, Sicily-born Pernice took us on a journey through Italy with ballroom dances dominating the first half and Latin routines raising the temperature in the room in the second half.

If Pernice ever becomes frustrated with his four extremely close but unsuccessful attempts to win the Strictly glitter ball trophy, he could always take up a second career in stand-up.

His voice-over announcement at the start encouraging us to 'take as many pictures as possible and post them on the Facebook and the Instagram' had us all in hysterics.

And a particular highlight of the show was a 'date' Pernice invited us all to watch with audience member Bec. He played up to his preening Lothario image with aplomb, phoning up for pizza and asking for the cheapest available.

Prior to joining Strictly Come Dancing four seasons ago, Pernice was Italian Open Dance Champion and the Guinness World Record holder for jive kicks and flicks and Charleston swivels. His prowess ensures that your eyes are always drawn to the main man on the stage, but that is by no means a slight upon the small but excellent ensemble, consisting of dance champions, including former Strictly pro Trent Whiddon.

And Strictly's newest pro Luba Mushtuk demonstrated gut-wrenching heartache and devastation in her beautiful contemporary dance to an Italian version of Crying, part of a tale of an emotionally drenched rollercoaster ride of a romantic relationship, told with delicacy in the sad moments and panache in the fiery tango sequences.

My only criticism of the show is that it wasn't long enough and I was left wanting more!

While Pernice ramps up the comedy and gives the impression of being a fleet-footed chancer who has got lucky, the amount of hard work, intricate footwork and clever choreography that has gone into this show - heightened by the unique charisma of one of Strictly's biggest break-out stars - suggests otherwise.

JOANNA DAVIS