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Two Strictly stars have announced they will perform in Kent almost a year to the day after their 2020 show was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Strictly Come Dancing’s Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez had been due to stage Firedance at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford in March, days before lockdown hit the country.
But now the pair had rescheduled their tour, with a date at the theatre in March 2021.
The show, which features a live band, was recently documented for an in-depth BBC Four programme Danceworks - Firedance: Latin Fever.
Karen said: “I can’t wait to bring Firedance on tour across the UK in 2021. The passion, warmth and excitement from the audiences who saw it in 2020 was absolutely incredible and I know the whole Firedance team can’t wait to be back on stage very soon.”
Venezuela-born Karen joined the Strictly team back in 2012 and has partnered the likes of Westlife's Nicky Byrne, ‘Hairy Biker’ Dave Myers, Mark Wright, Jeremy Vine and Will Young.
In 2019 she reached the semi-finals with comedian Chris Ramsey.
Spanish-born Gorka's 2016 Strictly debut saw him paired with EastEnders star Tameka Empson, with Alexandra Burke the following year and TV star Katie Piper in 2018.
In Firedance, two Latin dancers from rival houses meet at The Festival of Fire. Full of passion, bravado and rhythm, when their eyes lock there is an instant connection.
Through a mix of Latin, commercial and contemporary dance, eclectic musical styles and hypnotic rhythms, a passionate affair unfolds.
Raymond Gubbay & Kilimanjaro Live are staging the tour with rescheduled dates, which features seductive choreography, passionate performances and iconic songs such as In the Air Tonight, Sweet Dreams and Relight My Fire.
The producers, Stuart Galbraith of Kilimanjaro Live and Anthony Findlay of Raymond Gubbay Ltd, said in a statement: "It’s great that it’s coming back in 2021 as the public reaction to it earlier this year was so fantastic. We worked very hard to rearrange the dates that had to be postponed, are returning to many venues for a second show and we’ve added some brand new ones to the tour list ."
The show will be at the Orchard Theatre on Thursday, March 11 at 7.30pm. Book tickets here.
Watch the BBC Four documentary on BBC iPlayer here.
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