Review: REMEMBERING THE OSCARS, Online Stream
Like many of the other Strictly Come Dancing professionals, dance partners and married couple Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec tour the UK every year, following their participation in the immensely popular BBC TV series.
With the pandemic putting a halt to live performance, the pair have filmed excerpts of their Remembering the Oscars tour, which works as both a stand-alone performance and a teaser of the show ahead of it going out on the road in 2022.
Similar in format to their previous Remembering the Movies tour, the content shines a light on some of the best musical numbers from award-winning films. With our talented leads, accompanied by eight ensemble dancers and two professional live singers, the hour-long programme is jam-packed full of routines, which really only scratches the surface of their full show offering.
Dance intertwined with conversation makes for a good balance and the recording is of filmic quality, further enhanced by pre-recorded footage projected onto the giant AV screens at the back of the stage. The scene is set with a red carpet, lavish entrance and goes straight into large-scale Broadway number, ‘Lullaby of Broadway’, setting the show up perfectly.
Ballroom and Latin dominates as you would expect but there are elements of contemporary and jazz infused in the filmed programme, which is great to see. Skorjanec and Manrara potentially have more scope to demonstrate their dance ability further but more styles are promised in the full show; something of which they are more than capable of. The interchangeable configuration of partnering is a nice touch as you see both Skorjanec and Manrara dancing with other members of the company as well as one another, bringing with it a new dynamic.
The costumes and lighting work cohesively with the assigned colour palette, from the pastel tones of the dreamy ‘The Way We Were’ to the bold, striking colours used during ‘A Friend Like Me’ in the Disney section, when the production truly comes to life.
Sensational vocals are provided by Janine Johnson and Giovanni Spano, the latter of whom also gets involved with some of the often challenging choreography. We are also treated to some vocals from Janette herself during a few of the numbers - definitely a triple threat!
Remembering the Oscars opens with a bang and draws to a close in similar fashion, with a stunning, energetic and stylish rendition of ‘One’ from A Chorus Line.
An exciting programme, full of wonderful choreography by Gareth Walker that will entice audiences to book for the 2022 tour. We will certainly be there!
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Jenny Ell
Remembering the Oscars is available to stream until 17 April and tickets can be purchased for their 2022 tour here.
