BBC Strictly's Giovanni Pernice sizzles with solo show in Manchester

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

"You can call me 'champ", Strictly Come Dancing 's 2021 winner tells us in typical tongue-in- cheek style as he saunters onto the stage before embarking upon a dizzying array of dance moves. He is here at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall with his This is Me solo show, rescheduled from 2021.

Named after the song from The Greatest Showman, Giovanni Pernice and his cast - not from Strictly but equally fabulous, don't disappoint as they whisk us away on a magical journey of the Charleston, the flamenco, a pulse quickening paso doble and a scintillating salsa. The dangerously dapper Giovanni, an incredibly talented cast, rainbow-hued costumes and a self-deprecating dash of humour add up to a sure-fire recipe for success.

Spectacular performances aside, it's the humour that sets the show apart and gives the show a wider appeal. Giovanni's cheeky Southern Italian charm captivates the heavily female audience and provides amusing interludes to the high intensity dancing.

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The most notable of these is a tribute to his hero, Freddie Mercury. Flanked by his impressive singers Whitney Martins and Tobias Turley, 'Gio', as he makes the crowd chant at him, in a variation on The Queen frontman's 'Ayo', performs a series of dances to The Show Must Go On, Bohemian Rhapsody and Another One Bites The Dust.

The pinnacle of these pieces is when the Sicilian star dons a black PVC mini skirt and heels for Freddie's famous performance in his track I Want To Break Free. Working the screaming crowd into a frenzy, he asks who wants to join him on stage, then shatters every woman's dreams by picking a man and launching into a routine that's cheeky in more ways than one.

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