Pasha explores life and love with his latest dance show

Strictly Come Dancing star Pasha Kovalev brings his latest spectacular dance show to The Capitol, Horsham, on Saturday, May 30 (8pm).
Pasha KovalevPasha Kovalev
Pasha Kovalev

Life Through Dance is an action-packed journey through life and love, expressed through the language of dance.

It’s suitable for the whole family and features astounding choreography, enchanting music and dazzling costumes.

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The show also offers brave audience members the chance to participate onstage and experience their favourite dance styles from TV.

Pasha explains the idea behind the show.

“I was hoping to explore a bit more and showcase everyday events we encounter in our lives, like meeting new people, falling in love and going through relationships,” he says.

Pasha believes that dance is the perfect medium for this, because each dance already has its own character.

“Waltzes are always romantic,” he explains. “It’s always beautiful and it kind of can represent the good times you have in relationships. Tango is a dance of jealousy and from the start you have that confrontation. Or, possibly, it’s very dramatic like a strong argument.”

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It all sounds rather highbrow, but Pasha reassures the County Times that, at its core, Life Through Dance is dance entertainment.

“I tend to focus on making the show accessible to the entire family,” he says. “So kids will find something that they will be interested in. Older generations will also enjoy it because of the variety of dances, and the variety of music is so wide, from classic to modern song. At the end of the day it should be healthy. It’s a healthy mix of different styles, different dances and different music.”

Pasha’s also enthusiastic about getting back to work with his long-time dance partner Anya Garnis for this tour.

“We did our first steps on TV together, danced on Broadway together and toured the world,” he says.

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“We know one another very well and we know what’s the best way to work with one another. We create beautiful, beautiful things together so I’m really excited.”

When it comes to dancing Pasha doesn’t really need to practise but this type of show still requires hard work.

“I guess I was training all my life so I don’t really have to do much,” he says. “But there is a process of preparation – getting everything together, putting the choreography together, working out the stage design and choosing the music – so it takes quite a time.”

It’s a lot to think about but, interestingly, Pasha says there are usually no thoughts going through his mind when he’s onstage dancing.

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“You go and submerge yourself in the dance and you feel whatever you feel in the moment,” he states, explaining that a dancer has to perform different roles like an actor to capture the individual character of each piece.

“You try to deliver the message you have to the audience,” he continues. “And this kind of energy, it can change between audience and performer. I don’t think it’s really a thought process because at that point you have to be free of thought. You think when you practise and when you dance you just feel.”

Pasha’s approach certainly paid off when he won last year’s Strictly Come Dancing with Caroline Flack.

“It was quite unreal,” he admits when asked about this stunning victory. “I couldn’t believe it for the first couple of seconds. When they called out our names I was questioning ‘is it runner up or what is it?’ And then it sank in. It felt great because we’d had a fantastic season and we’d been able to build up the dance quality throughout the series and the best dances I feel we delivered in the final.

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“I was really proud of Caroline, knowing that she kind of connected to that inner dancer, just found that dancer in her and been able to connect her newly learned dance skills with emotions and feelings she had.”

Tickets for The Capitol show cost £25. Call 01403 750220 or visit www.thecapitolhorsham.com.

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