Dance Your Heart OutTheatre Royal and Opera House Wakefield

5/6 June 2015

Running time 2 hrs

Producer and Choreographer Melissa Radway

Reviewer Mark Ritchie

An astonishing 82 strong cast of dancers and dance students all danced their hearts out on stage at Wakefield’s magnificent Frank Matcham built gem of a theatre in Wakefield.

The show’s Producer, Choreographer and Star is Melissa Radway who, aided and abetted expertly by a small army of helpers, chaperones and production assistants, put this two hour dance spectacular together.

When a scribe for The Stage I was always encouraged to declare any degree of self-interest when writing a review, from friends in the cast to even the merest suggestion of favouritism. As managing editor of this publication, I make no apologies while pointing out that I was only present due to my grand-daughter Megan Goodwin, who was a member of the junior cast.

So what can be said about the human dynamo that is Melissa Radway. From singer and tribute to Dame Shirley Bassey, Ms Radway has the lot. From belly dancing to ballet dancing and everything in between this show flowed delightfully. The clever use of outro’s and blackouts made the whole dance confection very easy on the eye.

Everyone deserves their moment in the spotlight and the cast list should be recorded for posterity. Lack of space precludes this, but the people involved know who they are and should be immensely proud.