Spirit of the Dance- New Wimbledon Theatre

An eclectic mix of Irish dancing and spicy Latin rhythms, Spirit of the Dance is an international award winning dance production show which graced Greater London on 16th January as the second stop of its UK and China tour.

The New Wimbledon is one of my favourite theatres however I was seated towards the back of the dress circle for this performance, but with no one directly in front or next to me I had a completely unobstructed view of the show at all times. The show opened with the 20 strong cast performing an energetic traditional Irish hard shoe inspired routine and did not stop for the entire 90mins (save for a 20 minute interval). With no concrete storyline or plot to follow, the show could be a little hard to interpret at times however all the dancers were extremely well cast and although not professional Irish dancers performed all the numbers with full vigour, energy and skill. Interspersed throughout were moments of fiery Latino rhythm, Scottish Highland dancing complete with bagpipes, flamenco and violin solos all performed to an equally high standard- an impressive feat given the entire company were on stage for the majority of the show. It quickly became apparent, however, that the vocal sections were pre-recorded and mimed due to the lack of microphones (understandable given the high energy nature of this show) which fell a little flat so the simply addition of a hand mic prop would resolve this. Some of the audience participation moments did feel a little gimmicky however it was clear these were simply fillers to give the performers a chance to change costumes for the following number so didn’t detract from the overall performance.

The standout moment of this performance was a tuxedo tap solo danced by Meg Wheatley, whose feet didn’t stop moving nor miss a beat for at least a full two minutes. Every sound and rhythm could be clearly heard throughout the whole auditorium and her performance quality was second to none.

Overall, it is easy to see why this show is so well loved by audiences around the world and I wish this wonderful cast an enjoyable rest of their UK and China tour.

Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️