Strictly stars Ian Waite and Vincent Simone head to Worthing, Horsham and Crawley

Finally, an enforced couple of years after Act One, comes Ian Waite and Vincent Simone....Act Two with dates including Worthing Pavilion (September 30), The Capitol, Horsham (October 29) and The Hawth, Crawley (November 15).
Ian Waite and Vincent SimoneIan Waite and Vincent Simone
Ian Waite and Vincent Simone

After the roaring success of their five-star rated 2019 tour, the two Strictly Come Dancing stars promise another wonderful evening of old-fashioned variety – dance, comedy and song.

You can expect beautiful costumes, gorgeous lighting and world-class routines, including the Viennese waltz, the foxtrot, the rhumba, plus Argentine tango from the master.

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Vincent can’t wait: “It does all seem like a long time ago, before this pandemic.

“I am only just back in London after being away for 18 months.

“ I have been in Spain where I have a property with my two children and my wife. We were just about to start the second tour with Ian when everything kicked off. I managed to find the last couple of flights back to Spain, and now this is my first time back in the UK.

“Yesterday, I met my dance partner and we were practising in the ballroom in the hotel and in a way it felt like I had never left!

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“But it was good family time (during the pandemic). I got to spend all that time with my children. Fame comes at a price, and between Strictly and touring the UK and the West End, I just don’t have the time I would want. One child is 12 and the other one is just coming up for eight, and I got to spend every single day and night with them for 18 months.

“It was hard to leave them, but they are very understanding of the nature of my life, and they are very supportive.

“If the pandemic had one positive, for me it was about being with my family, but also it was a struggle not being able to do my job. As a performer you need your audience, and this is what I have been doing since I was about eight years old.

“But I was very lucky to find a find a girl about ten minutes away from where I live in Spain who is also a professional dancer.

“We competed against each other 25 years ago!

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“And she gave me the green card that I could go there and dance.

“It was so important. Only performers really can understand that need.”

Practice is crucial.

“The fitness is a big element, but the really amazing thing about dance is that it is so good for the soul.

“You need the physicality for it, but there are also elements of feeling, from the romantic rhumba to the fiery tango, and I just can’t wait to meet my audience again.

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“Ian and myself came up with this amazing show. It is a variety show, and there is everything there, all the different elements.

“We have wonderful dancers, and we take people on a wonderful journey.

“We also have elements of comedy. Ian is the tallest dancer on the planet. He is six foot five. I am the shortest, and Ian and I dance together, and we have got a brand-new singer who has got a voice like an angel.

“It is all good. I am practised. I know the routines very well. I am pretty fit, and the pandemic was not too bad for me because I had so much love from my family.

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“But there will be the practicalities once we start going around the country from venue to venue, from hotel to hotel and start meeting people.

“We will be taking all the precautions with the hand-washing and with the gels and so on. “

But Vincent is confident things will soon feel normal: “I will slip back into the way I was.

“I don’t think I will change. I have always appreciated my work and my career, so for me I am sure it will soon feel like it is just quickly back to normal.

“I just can’t wait to have that contact with my audiences.”

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