REVIEW: Kevin Clifton’s Burn The Floor at Blackpool Winter Gardens on 10th February 2022

Kevin Clifton shocked fans when he quit Strictly Come Dancing in March 2020. But at the Winter Gardens he proved he’s an all-round showman, amusing a Blackpool crowd with comedic banter and bursts of song - turns out Kevin from Grimsby’s not just light on his feet.

The Burn The Floor company has been at the cutting edge of ballroom for over 20 years and the ex-BBC dancer took it on at the worst possible time - just a month before the country was told to stay home and avoid theatres.

And it was worth the two year wait.

The international dance troupe tore up the rule book, blitzing the Winter Gardens with a blend of tight choreography and heavy metal attitude.

Vampish leather-clad dancers threw shapes to Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You - with killer fretwork from guitarist Eugenie Moreno.

Sweat and sequins glistened as the thermostat sizzled on sassy samba routines, while an elegant contemporary waltz to Natural Woman left viewers captivated.

Female vocalist, Chase Camata, flexed her pipes on a showstopping rendition of Carmen - her gritty rock’n’roll voice reaching those high operatic notes with soul and panache. Mr Clifton fought to get male singer, Tyler Azzopardi, out of Australia faster than Novak Djokovic - his spine-tingling version of Rag’n’Bone Man’s Human proved why.

Twirling matador capes and jawdropping lifts on the Parisienne paso doble would have even left Craig Revel-Horwood gobsmacked..

A final rousing performance of 'Let Me Entertain You' had the whole audience on their feet. Kevin Clifton’s Burn the Floor left Blackpool Winter Gardens smouldering.