STRICTLY Come Dancing professional trio Janette Manrara, Katya Jones and Nadiya Bychkova will be on tour this summer, making a song and dance of Viva La Divas at the Grand Opera House, York, on June 16.
Collaborating with the original producers of Viva La Diva, first performed in 2007 with dancer Darcey Bussell and singer Katherine Jenkins, this glamorous show will pay tribute to stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Broadway and West End musical theatre, modern pop divas and female icons with the greatest impact on the Strictly dancers.
In this all-singing, all-dancing musical extravaganza, Katya, Nadiya and Janette will star with a cast of dancers and singers as they celebrate Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Beyonce, Judy Garland, Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez and many more.
Running from June 14 to July 16, the tour has further Yorkshire dates at Halifax Victoria Hall on June 23 and Bridlington Spa on the last night.
Miami-born Janette Manrara became a Strictly professional in 2013 after performing at the 2009 Academy Awards, appearing in season five of the American version of So You Think You Can Dance, being a principal dancer on Glee and starring in the stage show Burn The Floor for three years.
Among her Strictly highlights was lifting the Christmas Glitter Ball trophy twice with celebrity partners Aston Merrygold and Melvin Odoom.
Looking ahead to the summer tour, Janette says: “I’m so excited to be touring the UK with two of my best friends, Katya and Nadiya – and what a show it’s going to be.
“We’ll be celebrating the glitz, the glamour and style of the greatest divas in showbiz. We’re going to have so much fun bringing this show to audiences across the UK and I can’t wait. It’s going to be a blast.”
Before making her Strictly debut in 2016 , Russian dancer Katya Jones and her dance partner Neil Jones won the WDC World Show Dance Championships and three titles at the World Amateur Latin Championship.
After her Strictly partnership with politician Ed Balls in 2016, for her second series Katya was partnered with actor Joe McMadden, the pair duly lifting the Glitterball Ball trophy as 2017 champions.
“To tour Viva La Divas across this beautiful country this summer with two incredible dancers, who happen to be my very close friends, is a dream come true,” says Katya.
“How the three of us managed to keep everything a secret for so long I’ll never know. Finally, we can shout it from the roof tops: girls on tour! It’s going to be epic.”
Ukrainian-born Nadiya Bychkova made her Strictly debut in 2017 as a two-time world champion and European champion in ballroom and Latin ‘10’ Dance, partnering former England goalkeeper David James in the 2019 series.
“I’m thrilled to be part of the Viva La Divas tour this summer,” she says. “We have an incredible team working on what will be a dazzling show that I can’t wait for audiences everywhere to see.
“It’s going to be a stunning spectacle full of the elegance, style and attitude, befitting of the greatest divas’ legacies. And to be touring with two incredible friends in Janette and Katya is simply the dream team.”
Tickets for the tour go on general sale at 10am on Friday at ticketmaster.co.uk and vivaladivasshow.com; York tickets on 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york.