JADAR

★★★★★

Giovanni Pernice is, indisputably, the hottest dancer in the country right now – and one of the most celebrated and successful dancers in the world. After six sold-out solo tours, and two sold-out co-headlining tours with his migliore amico Anton Du Beke, Giovanni is back with The Last Dance – and as the title suggest, it is his final solo show (for now but not forever).

The show opened with the company, donning newspaper-print shirts and dresses, the shirts emblazoned with photos of Giovanni on the back. The dancers held newspapers celebrating Giovanni’s achievements and accomplishments. One could interpret this number in one of three ways. Ostensibly, it’s a shameless celebration of success. It could also reference the Gio-mania that has beset half the female population of the country (and the gays). But more deeply, it represents Giovanni reclaiming and rewriting the narrative, after being written about and spoken for throughout 2024.

Giovanni confidently addressed the elephant in the room later on in the show. He did not name names; he never got nasty. He kept it classy – like the suave Italian he is – and instead spoke about the hurt and pain caused by the “lies” in the tabloids. This might be a farewell (for now) tour but it also felt like a comeback tour, even though he was last on the road only a few months ago. Gio thought he was ruined but, after leaving Strictly Come Dancing, he competed on and won Ballando con le stelle (Dancing with the Stars) in his native Italy, and now he’s once again playing sold-out venues all over the UK.

After a jazz number – is any dance show complete without one? – Giovanni decided to take us on tour around the country with him. The Scottish number saw the company don blue tartan as they waved the Scottish flag to the Proclaimers’ ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’.

With the men in pants, I knew what was coming next… Gio marched onstage in a kilt, dancing at the front of the stage with a fierce machismo that saw his kilt fly up on multiple occasions, giving the hot-and-flustered ladies in the first few rows more than they bargained for. This has to be one of my favourite Giovanni numbers in the five shows I’ve seen.

Giovanni then took an older lady in the audience to the English seaside, complete with cardboard cutouts, cotton candy (candy floss!), and plastic fish and chips. We then flew to Ireland, with a dazzling dance number in an Irish pub. I had hoped for some traditional Irish dancing but Giovanni ended the number by unseriously and hilariously mimicking the dance style, admitting, “I can’t do it.”

The creative team curated a bop-tastic setlist for the show. However, as much as I love Diana Ross and the Supremes (I’ve seen Ms Ross twice and even reviewed her), it might have been better to use an iconic English song in the English seaside scene, rather than ‘Why Do Fools Fall in Love’ – especially because Scotland and Ireland had music related to their countries.

Unfortunately, Wales was forgotten (let’s see how that goes down in Cardiff!), but time is of the essence, and I guess Welsh culture and dancing are less instantly recognisable and iconic as Scottish and Irish (sorry).

The penultimate number of the main set was an intimate dance with leading lady Erica Martinelli, who joined Ballando con le Stelle alongside Giovanni last year. Erica is a bobbed beauty with that classic Italian confidence and sensuality that makes them so irresistible and attractive. She might be the new girl but she owned that stage and demanded the attention of the audience, who, in turn, fell in love with her.

That brings me on to the other elephant in the room, which is, of course, Lauren Oakley not being in the room. Lauren has been Giovanni’s leading ladies in all of his post-pandemic tours but this year she is taking part in Strictly Come Dancing Live, before heading on tour with Anton.

Lauren’s absence was felt; she became such an important part of the shows. Her chemistry with Gio is electric; they banter in a way that only good friends can. It must be bittersweet for her not appearing in Giovanni’s final solo tour but I’m sure Strictly Live is a dream come true – and hopefully she will return to Gio in Together Again, his third co-headlining tour with Anton.

For this tour, Giovanni has replaced one short-haired diva with another, and I would love to see more of Erica in future Strictly Theatre Company productions.

Act 1 closed with ‘The Greatest Show’ from The Greatest Showman – a splashy, fitting end to the act.

The second act opened with a tribute to Prince (who is my fashion – and hair! – inspiration). The company all wore purple. Erica’s first dress was a different shade of purple to everyone else’s outfits, which looked a bit uneven, but she then changed into another outfit that matched the others.

This section ended with Charlotte Gallagher performing Louis Armstrong’s ‘It’s a Man’s Man’s World’, which allowed her to showcase her powerhouse vocals. Giovanni often works with the marvellous Michelle Andrews, another bobbed beauty, but Charlotte, with her gorgeous locks and gigantic voice, is a worthy replacement. I do, however, prefer it when there is also a male vocalist – and last year’s band was a nice addition.

This was followed by a poignant moment, in which Giovanni spoke about his success and his relationship with his fans. “I could rock the world. We could rock the world,” he said, before Queens’ ‘We Will Rock You’ played. The company all wore white and silver – even BSL interpreter Stacey Green changed outfits – for this Queen medley, which included ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’.

Giovanni then broke the medley up by continuing his speech, now following the highs with the lows.

“Whatever you do, the show must go on,” he said, before singing ‘The Show Must Go On’ with Charlotte (yes, the dude can sing too – triple threat: dancer, singer, sex-bomb).

Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’ was fittingly followed by a speech about winning Bellando con le Stelle last year.

“I had an incredible partner. She was beautiful. We went all the way,” he said, humouring the audience. Indeed, these dance shows require dancers to do more than just dance; they also need to have personality and a sense of humour. Giovanni admitted that, when Strictly Theatre Company first asked him to tour with them, he was unsure because his English was not so good back then. But look at him now!

Giovanni then came back into the audience to interview an excited, nervous young woman for his social media, before the company danced wonderfully to a Michael Jackson medley. I’m glad that Giovanni allowed them a Gio-free number, where the attention was solely on them.

I cannot end the review without shouting them all out: Alicia Mencia, Alex Sturman, Ellie Fergusson, Holly Skiggs, Redmand Rance, Alex Brown (until March 31st), and Alexandros Beshonges (who is performing at selected performances in January and then from April onwards).

I’ve seen a few of these fantastic performers onstage before; I instantly recognised Alexandros, a charming, smiling Greek-Cypriot who exudes enthusiasm whenever he is onstage. He’s a joy to watch – and certainly one of my favourite dancers in all of the Strictly dancer shows I’ve seen (and I’ve seen many).

Gio then came back onstage doing an MJ impression, joking that he could not do that number. He called the dancers “young, beautiful and fresh.” A woman down front said he is beautiful; he said, “I know, but not fresh.”

“The next song is your song,” he said – like, literally – it was Elton John’s ‘Your Song’. These on-the-nose references are certainly cheesy but conventional of dance shows.

We were treated to a brief solo dance, then a dance between Gio and Alex S (there are three Alexes in this show!), then the remaining dancers, before ending with Giovanni and Erica.

In his final speech, Giovanni said, “This is The Last Dance but it’s not the last dance because I’ve got another hundred and 50 shows to do”, before mentioning his next co-headlining tour with Anton.

After the show, I told him that my only real criticism is that, unlike other Strictly dancer shows, the title song (Donna Summer’s ‘Last Dance’) was not used. He told me that is because this is not really the last dance, for he will soon be back with Anton (I get it, I do, but I love me some Donna Summer!).

The encore was a Gloria Estefan medley, with the men donning black and the ladies donning different colours as they brought the Latin heat to Scott Coldwell’s electric choreography.

The terrific creative team is rounded off with producers Paul and Elizabeth Irving, director and choreographer Scott Coldwell, assistant producer and set designer Gary Alce, musical supervisor Matthew Howes, costume desifner Robyn Manton, and lighting designer Jose Lorenzo.

I’m gutted that this is the last solo tour for awhile. I always look so forward to seeing Giovanni in January every year. However will we get through the first/worst month of the year without him?

The Last Dance lacks the thematic consistency and cohesiveness of some of Giovanni’s previous tours (I’ve reviewed 5!) but that’s understandable, for this is a pre-hiatus tour in which Giovanni wants to showcase and celebrate various aspects of his life, from his hero (Freddie Mercury) to his perseverance. The show is very much an artistic embodiment of Giovanni Pernice.

Out with a bang.

Giovanni Pernice tours the UK and Ireland with The Last Dance until May 4th (be with you!). He tours the UK with Anton Du Beke in Together Again from June 12 until July 30, which plays two performances at the Lowry (Lyric Theatre) on July 13.