The last time I watched Strictly Come Dancing was over a decade ago, meaning that there really is not much at all I can remember from the show. The judges are hard to forget with their stock-character personalities — in particular, the villainous Craig Revel Horwood’s savage critiques combined with his piercing eyes will always haunt me — and there is obviously the stand-out celebrities who become famed for their unprecedented dancing skills, whether it be Stacey Dooley or Joe Sugg. However, as for the dancers, only one remained permanently stuck in my subconscious: Anton Du Beke. Known as the ‘King’ of ballroom’ and being a ‘veteran’ of the television series since its inception in 2004, Anton is not hard to recall. So when I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook one day and saw his name pop up for an event, I instantly knew I had to go and see him in the flesh.

Anton & Erin – Showtime has been running for 15 years now, and its first performance was on the Symphony Hall stage in Birmingham. Therefore, to be in the same scarlet-furnished building where it all began was a rather special experience.

If I were a Strictly judge scoring the performance from yesterday evening, there would be tens across the board

Indeed, the pair themselves were quite nostalgic, which was indicated by the fact that they were constantly re-iterating their gratitude to the audience and the city at any given moment they had with the microphone in between dances. As a born-and-bred Brummie myself, who often feels as though her home is cast in the shadow of the London capital, it was quite touching to hear these kind words. 

If I were a Strictly judge scoring the performance from yesterday evening, there would be tens across the board. The footwork was intricate and delicate – neither Anton nor Erin missed a beat and yet you could hardly hear them treading across the boards. Both of them were joined by an entourage of six dancers (three men and three women), who were dynamic and full of energy. Their vibrancy was in clear contrast to the more effortlessly graceful nature of Anton and Erin, whose slight and almost unnoticeable slowness suggested that their stamina was not quite up to the same level as their younger counterparts.

Nevertheless, whilst the sprightly troupe were fabulous dancers individually, performing challenging lifts and backflips galore, they struggled to maintain a firm cohesiveness. For example, there was a lack of uniformity in the heights of leg kicks or arm throws and not once was the central alignment executed perfectly, regularly veering to the right-hand side. 

They struggled to maintain a firm cohesiveness

The duet numbers performed by Anton and Erin were just magical. My favourite by far was the first one they did together, which was a simple waltz to ‘Pure Imagination,’ the song made famous by Gene Wilder in his rendition for the 1971 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Under the steadfast lead of Anton, Erin was able to elegantly glide across the stage in a way that made it look as though she were walking on air. You could tell without a doubt that the two have an unmatched chemistry, which is something they have developed as dancing partners for over 25 years.

This also became clear in the question-time segment, where they provided answers (sometimes in a rather long-winded way!) to the audience’s curiosities which had been written on slips of paper and submitted in a box during the interval. Both of them seemed to instinctively anticipate exactly what the other was going to say, although at times Anton could not help but interrupt and speak over Erin to remain in the limelight, of course.

However, something Anton could not steal away from Erin was her stylishness. Whoever created and curated all of her costumes deserves some sort of fashion award. Through the entire show, she somehow managed to dress up in every colour of the rainbow and pull-off each item given to her, ranging from a neon yellow feathered gown to a royal blue suit topped with a corresponding bowler hat. Furthermore, everything was imbued with sparkly rhinestones, which glistened and glittered kaleidoscopically under the dazzling combinations of bright RGB spotlights.

The costumes […] were incredible too, with the whole ensemble finding ways to match each other without wearing exactly the same thing

The costumes beyond Erin were incredible too, with the whole ensemble finding ways to match each other without wearing exactly the same thing. Personally, I thought the best outfits were worn in the ‘Wannabe’ number, where each member represented a Spice Girl. Erin opted for a fringed version of the iconic Geri Halliwell Union Jack dress, whilst Anton forged his own identity as ‘Hairy Spice.’

Alongside the Spice Girls, various other modern pop songs were featured – such as Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies’ and Elton John’s ‘Bennie And The Jets,’ but all of them underwent an old-school twist in that they were transformed into into jazz standards. Performed by a ‘23-piece orchestra’ and two vocalists (Lance Ellington and Elizabeth Futter), the music was electric but also charming, capturing an intimate speakeasy atmosphere.

Whilst the first half was dedicated to British classics, the second half took a skip and a hop across the pond to the USA. Both Ellington and Futter seemed to battle it out with their songs in the first hour, wrestling to complement the pitch and mood of the Billboard hits. However, in the latter part of the evening, their strong vibratos and crooning tones were much more welcome, finding a home in the more traditional classics of Sinatra and Gershwin. 

All in all, the show was filled to the brim with glitz and glamour, but occasionally it required a tad more substance

All in all, the show was filled to the brim with glitz and glamour, but occasionally it required a tad more substance. Although the choreography was charming to watch, after a while it seemed quite repetitive and almost monotonous — the showgirls kissing the cheeks of every male in sight did turn into a little bit of a misogynistic bore. There was also the inescapable feeling that Anton was the ultimate star, which in many ways rings true. Out of the entire cast, Anton is the single true all-round performer, capable of dancing, singing, acting and comedy.

Despite the others attempting to make jests here and there, it was Anton who set off the eruption of laughter in the volcanic audience. This begs the question: what would the show be without Anton? There is a reason why his was the only name I could remember from Strictly and why he is the first dancer to become a judge on the show. He has that special X factor that is perhaps best summed up in his running-joke allusion to solely the first word in the ‘Anton and Erin’ glaring light-bulb sign that hangs permanently above the stage. If ballroom dancing was a one-man sport, I guarantee you it would be just ‘Anton – Showtime.’

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