Strictly Ballroom star Kevin Clifton has said the musical reminds him of his own love story with TV presenter Stacey Dooley.
“I suppose there is a parallel of an experienced dancer taking a beginner dancer and training them and then falling in love,” says 40-year-old Kevin about the musical which cha-cha-chas its way to Ireland later this month.
Kevin, who made his name as a dancer on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing for seven series, met Stacey when they were paired on the popular show.
The duo went on to win the 2018 competition, lifting the famous glitterball, and in January became proud parents to daughter Minnie.
Since leaving Strictly in 2019, Kevin has gone on to star in a number of musicals, including Rock of Ages, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds and Singin in the Rain.
He is currently touring Strictly Ballroom the Musical, based on the award-winning 1990s movie by Baz Luhrmann, in the lead role of talented but rebellious ballroom dancer Scott Hastings.
When Scott’s radical dance moves see him fall out of favour with the Australian Federation, he finds himself dancing with Fran, a beginner with no moves at all.
Inspired by one another, this unlikely pair gather the courage to defy both convention and their families – and discover that, to be winners, the steps don’t need to be strictly ballroom.
“Scott and Fran are two people looking for something different in life and they find it in each other on and off the dance floor.
“Scott’s parents danced, but he didn’t want to follow exactly what they did. Fran is trying to break out from the tradition of her Spanish roots and do something different,” summarizes Kevin.
In a successful competitive ballroom dancing career, Kevin won numerous titles across the world, including becoming a four-time British Latin American Champion and Youth World number one.
He believes Strictly Ballroom offers an authentic insight into the competitive world of ballroom in the late ‘80s.
“When the film first came out in 1992 a lot of the competition dancers rubbished it, saying they were making a mockery of us - but I thought it was always pretty spot on.
“The ballroom competition world can be quite backstabbing because everyone is trying to outdo each other. At the time, everything was so big and over the top with big brash moves and bold colored outfits.
"The movie captured this and we have tried to incorporate as much of that as possible into the musical,” adds Kevin, who was 10 when the film was released and always dreamt of being Scott.
“It's not Shakespeare but it's a beautiful love story with amazing singing and dancing,” enthuses Kevin, who, together with a cast of over 20 world-class performers, brings to life iconic songs, including Love is in the Air, Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps and Time After Time with dynamic and joyous verve.
A number of ballroom styles are featured in the musical, in particular the pasodoble, rumba and flamingo. So is Kevin tempted to follow in his character's footsteps and add in some rebellious choreography of his own from time to time?
“I used to go a bit rogue when I was doing competitions, but for this I'm very happy to go along with the choreography that is best for the show. Craig would be annoyed with me if I pulled out some new moves," he laughs.
Craig Revel Horwood both directed and co-choreographed Strictly Ballroom the Musical, alongside Australian professional ballroom dance champion Jason Gilkison.
Whilst Kevin saw the lighter side of Craig at the bar backstage of Strictly, he wasn’t joking around in perfecting this production.
“My experience of Craig for a good few years was working hard on a dance all week and really trying your best only to perform it in front of the judges and Craig going “that was rubbish, four out of 10.”
“I thought in rehearsals we would get the nice guy Craig, but basically the whole rehearsal process - whether it was doing the scenes, singing the songs or doing the dances - it was him saying “naw that was rubbish, do it again”.
“The fact is, he’s still a really nice guy, but he's very, very serious about his work. But it was a really creative six weeks of rehearsal, playing about with different themes, and I really enjoyed working with him on it.”
I asked Kevin if he would like to join Craig on the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel, making a similar switch to fellow professional Anton Du Beke?
“I wouldn’t go back as a dancer, but yeah, I’d love to be a judge. The problem is, I don't think any are going to leave anytime soon, so it might be a while.”
Praising former head judge, the late Len Goodman, Kevin believes he would be an empathetic judge.
“I know what it's like on the other hand and how tiring and stressed the dancers get. You have to be honest, but I would also like to encourage them.
“Len Goodman was so good at that. He had such a positive energy and if someone was getting torn apart by the judges, he would always find something good to say about them.”
Recently joining the cast of Strictly Ballroom The Musical in the lead female role of Fran, is Dancing on Ice finalist and Coronation Street star, Faye Brookes.
Whilst not quite ready to hang up his dancing shoes for good, Kevin is looking forward to putting himself forward for more acting roles in the future.
Would he like to follow Faye onto the cobblestones of Coronation Street?
“I keep saying the next thing I want to do is a straight play, not a musical. But hey why not Corrie. That would be cool. I'll ask Faye about the contacts,” he chuckles.
Kevin is looking forward to bringing the show to Derry and Dublin – and although he will miss the time away from baby Minnie, he will relish catching up on some sleep.
“When I’m away, I miss them so much, but at the same time, I wake up after eight hours of continuous sleep and it’s wonderful. It feels like I have been asleep for a week.”
I suggest that leaves him with plenty of energy to dabble in some Irish dancing?
“No. A couple of years ago, I learned to tap dance for Singin in the Rain, but Irish dancing is the next level after that. It looks very difficult,” he laughs.
And would he like to see Minnie follow in his footsteps and become a dancer when she grows up?
“I'm going to encourage her to do something else,” he quickly replies. “If she really, really wants to do it, obviously I'm not going to stop her. However, honestly, I hope she won't go into the competition world, because that can be pretty tough.”
:: Strictly Ballroom performs at Derry’s Millennium Forum (Millenniumforum.co.uk) from May 22 – 27 and Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (Bordgaisenergytheatre.ie) from May 29 – June 3.
