Ellen Couzens and her brother enjoy a most memorable night of dancing and drama
Wow, what an eventful and memorable night that was… and not entirely due to anything we could have hoped for or imagined!
Of course, when my brother and I took our seats in the beautiful Art Deco surroundings of The Bath Forum and beheld the dramatic and vibrant set which immediately gave off moody and sultry Speakeasy vibes, we had every expectation that for the next few hours we were going to be throughly transported into a dynamic and exhilarating world of dance and music.
I mean, we’d have expected nothing less of two of Strictly Come Dancing’s long standing stars and Latin dance icons. And for the first 20 minutes that is precisely what we got. Supported by a hugely talented ensemble of dancers and musicians/singers (wow, that trombonist can really sing), Karen and Gorka came in hard with a raunchy, high-energy opening number full of imaginative choreography.
We were all captivated.
Very cleverly, the music seamlessly moved from Latin into a Michael Jackson number, with the three supporting male dancers silhouetted on stage, moving in brilliant synchronicity. So it was then a jarring jolt back to reality for the audience when the music and dancing came to sudden stop and all the performers left the stage.
For a few seconds I was wondering if this was a modern, stylistic arrangement until Gorka appeared alone on stage to explain that, during the first number, Karen had badly injured her knee, was back stage in tears and they were going to have to cancel the show tonight!
It was an absolute testament to the loyalty and love of the dancing fans in the audience who, despite their undoubted disappointment at not being able to see the show, we more concerned that Karen was hurt and that Gorka was so obviously upset and at a loss as to know what to do.
With huge cries of, “We love you Karen!” and lots of sympathetic, “Oh nos,” and, “Don’t worries,” echoing around the auditorium, Gorka was encouraged to go backstage and, after a conflab with his crew, returned shortly to announce that the show would go on… albeit without Karen and that we would have to forgive any moments during the performance where he looked like he was wandering aimlessly adrift on stage as he danced with an invisible partner!
Well, if anyone in the audience (which, let’s be honest, mainly consisted of women) didn’t already love Gorka Marquez, I think everybody fell in love with him a bit more that night. For one night only, we got to see a very real and more vulnerable Gorka as he performed solo, routines that were choreographed for him and Karen.
He was wonderful to watch and special mention really goes to the two emotional pieces he danced which brought some of the audience to tears.
The show was an absolute triumph with genuinely original choreography and quirky music choices – my favourite section was a 60’s inspired routine which was as kitsch as it comes and brought humour and a good bit of well-crafted silliness.
Add fantastic singers, an eclectic array of music choices and, of course, incredibly talented dancers, and you’ve got a hugely entertaining evening. With no insult meant to Karen Hauer in anyway, as she is a fabulous dancer, and with every praise and compliment meant for Gorka and his ensemble, I thought the delightful lady sat next to me summed it up perfectly when she said, “Well we didn’t really miss Karen at all!”
For details of more shows coming up at The Bath Forum, go to www.bathforum.co.uk
