JUDGING from the noise from the audience before, during and after this show, it is fairly safe to say that Darlington likes a bit of Dirty Dancing.

The place went wild for such all-time favourites as The Time of My Life, Be My Baby, Will You Love Me Tomorrow and Hey! Baby. In fact, I was surrounded by fans who obviously knew all the words of all the songs and I was frankly out of my depth.

Truth be told, this is not my usual sort of show, preferring an original version rather than a tribute, and preferring to hear and watch members of the cast on stage, rather than members of the audience. But I had heard on the grapevine that 20 dancers from Darlington’s Rachel Tiffany School of Dance were to perform a routine, and I wanted to support them. What a fantastic chance for them to see up close and personal the blood, sweat and tears of putting on a show like this. High-energy isn’t in it. These guys and girls never stopped for two solid hours of fast-paced, quick-step choreography, whilst all the while belting out song after song. It is little wonder that on occasions they were a little winded, who wouldn’t be? Not the audience, obviously.

The Rachel Tiffany girls were a delight, fresh-faced and coltish next to the Dirty Dancers who had been round the block and who know how to give an audience a good time. I thoroughly approve of this growing trend for touring shows to call on local dance school talent as an educational opportunity, a kind of work experience. Long may it continue.

Marj Nelson