There’s always the worry with celebrity dance performance that it will pander to the non-discerning elements of the audience and lean into empty spectacle: a series of divertissements, fluff without substance. But “The Return of the Legends” is cut from a different cloth altogether. It’s just incredibly cheeky. Jordan, alongside his four Strictly friends Pasha Kovalev, Ian Waite, Vincent Simone and Brendan Cole, are playing with public perceptions of each of them, as well as theatrical archetypes. In essence, they come on like a dysfunctional family of brothers at a wedding, determined to raise eyebrows, if not hell.
It’s all about the group dynamics. The audience is, for once, actively encouraged to take photos on phones throughout, something that’s rarely witnessed at dance shows. We’re on first name terms here now. Pasha is a shy, boyish fawn; James the slightly domineering big brother, Brendan his willing accomplice in pranks, and Vincent the Italian lothario. And Ian endures jokes about homosexuality with grace and some zingers of his own.
Unfortunately, the between-dance banter is both blessing and curse, slowing the show’s pace and flow a little bit. But when it does finally get into its stride, there’s a rock star energy. Particularly wonderful is the dance-off between Kovalev paying homage to John Travolta and Jordan referencing the late Patrick Swayze. There’s an ease and fluidity to the mash-up of styles, footwork like lightning.
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