It’s no massive surprise when you consider the popularity of the hit TV show, but the Strictly Come Dancing live ballroom tour is well underway and is going down very well indeed!

Having danced their way through Manchester, London, Nottingham, Glasgow, Birmingham, Sheffield and Liverpool, the stars of the show are currently completing their final couple of nights in Newcastle before the tour closes.

The live shows have followed a similar format to the TV shows, with 8 of the celebrities from last year’s show and their professional dancing partners competing, before facing the comments of the famous four judges. The ‘winner’ on the night is decided by a combination of audience votes and judges’ scores.
The show has been described by Suzanne Black of the Worcester News as “not one to miss,” by the Daily Mail as, “slick stage show,” and “crowd-pleaser.” And, as you’d expect, the blogosphere is awash with positive praise for the performances.

For a ballroom dancing show of this nature to fill out arenas normally played by the likes of Jay-Z, Rihanna and a host of commercial pop musicians makes it fair to say that the real winner of this live tour (and perhaps of the Strictly brand) is ballroom dancing itself. Ballroom has enjoyed a surge in uptake since the popular show began airing and even those who have yet to don their ballroom shoes are taking more of an interest than ever before.

Strictly Come Dancing seemingly opened the floodgates for dance related reality shows, with the BBC even adding to its dance show collection recently with new offering, ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’ The host of such related TV shows have certainly revived the popularity of dance within the mainstream to an unprecedented level. And that’s no bad thing! After all, it’s a much healthier pastime than watching TV and playing video games!
Have you seen the Strictly Come Dancing Tour? What did you think?