The Stage

Shall We Dance?

Published Thursday 30 July 2009 at 12:50 by Liz Arratoon

Award-winning dancer/choreographer Adam Cooper has devised a wonderfully entertaining evening - taking in classical ballet, jazz, tap and folk dance - set to the evocative music of Richard Rodgers. On the 30th anniversary of his death, this world premiere is Cooper’s tribute.

The melodies, from such shows as The King and I, Babes in Arms and Flower Drum Song, readily lend themselves to the narrative of a man - the Guy - looking for love in all the wrong places. He travels from New York bar to Viennese ballroom, Russian fair to the Orient, and back for a rousing tap dancing Oklahoma!-type hoedown.

Cooper’s interactions with various sirens culminate in an electrifying duet with his real-life wife, Sarah Wildor. Their chemistry is mesmerising and their trust complete in some spectacular lifts.

There may not be many surprises here - a live orchestra, a huge cast of dancers in sumptuous costumes - but there is one to make fans of Dynasty and The Colbys sit up. Emma Samms, then Fallon Carrington Colby, is Swing Girl, the slinky temptress in the Guy’s first encounter. Such is her allure that he could have ended his search right there.

But he must still find the Right Girl, played by the gorgeous and athletic Ebony Molina, and cross paths with Lorraine’s Stewart’s elegant European Girl, Rachel Muldoon as Russian Girl, Noi Tolmer as Eastern Girl and the effervescent Pip Jordan’s Wild West Girl.

So if it’s the fun and escapism of musicals you’re after, Shall We Dance fits the bill perfectly.