By Hilary Porter

As one of the millions of ardent fans of BBC TV’s Strictly Come Dancing the opportunity to see a former champion in action on my doorstep was too good to miss.

Pasha Kovalev and his partner Anya Garnis were back by popular demand with not one but two nights at the Christchurch venue, well into an intensive 60 date tour and they showed no signs of flagging.

In fact had the Strictly judges been there it would most certainly have been a case of “It’s a ten from Len!”

There have been various Strictly spin off live shows and all are very different. From the moment the lights dimmed and the unmistakable TV theme tune started to play there was a surge of excitement and anticipation.

But this was not a grandiose show along the lines of the all-singing and dancing TV extravaganza.

And unlike Strictly colleague Anton du Beke who uses a 25-piece live orchestra for his stage show and Brendan Cole who uses a live band, Pasha relied on a backing tape and one live singer.

This was a far more intimate affair featuring six professional dancers in total, and whilst there was no live orchestra or flashy sets the dancing was exquisite and the choreography superb.

We were in the most charming company with Siberian Pasha whose name is surely short for ‘passion’ given his wonderfully emotive dance moves and stage presence. And partnered with Anya who he has danced with since his youth the chemistry and magic they created on stage was something to behold.

Pasha won Strictly Come Dancing with Caroline Flack in 2014 and has scored more 10's than any other professional dancer since the series began and it was easy to see how.

Opening the show by telling the audience:” I’ve been here so many times I feel like I know you all,” Pasha added, “It’s time you got to know me better” leading us into the autobiographical theme of the show.

Russia-themed songs such as Robbie Williams’ Party Like a Russian’ took us back to Pasha’s and Anya’s childhoods and there was a traditional Russian dance with National costume . Pre-recorded video clips featured the pair talking about how they left their families to follow their dream, both arriving in New York at the time of the terror attack on the Twin Towers.

Some fascinating TV clips charted their discovery and success on American TV; their journey to Vegas and temporary separation when Pasha was invited to the UK to do Strictly, only for Anya to follow him onto the show two years later.

This video footage gave them a breather – or quick costume change, between the breath taking dance sequences featuring all the ballroom and Latin American dances you would expect and beautiful costumes.

Also punctuating the show were modern dance routines by the local First Position School of Dance– fledgling dance stars of the future.

One of my favourite parts of the evening was when Pasha got all the audience up dancing and then hand-picked three ladies to get up close and personal with him on stage! It was highly amusing as Susie, Kate and Debbie each became his partner in turn with one routine based on Dirty Dancing and Kate’s ‘cheeky’ dance started to look more like a Chippendales routine!

A fabulous night of fun and extraordinary dance.