Oti Mabuse is bringing her new show Viva Carnival to the Adelphi Theatre stage. How does dancing for a theatre audience compare to performing on TV?

Oti Mabuse: When you’re standing right there in front of a live audience – there is nothing like that because it’s in the moment – that applause, that appreciation – even if it’s panto boos! They’re in the moment and that reaction is real, it’s people who have taken the time to drive to see you and show you that they appreciate you. And dancing on television is completely different because you don’t necessarily get that feeling. You might get it online, or you might get it when somebody sees you in the streets when you’re shopping, and you look terrible! But there’s no other feeling like dancing in front of a live audience.

And the professional dancer has been on our TV screens, featuring on The Greatest Dancer, Dancing on Ice and most notably, Strictly Come Dancing. What are her favourite memories from the iconic prime time programme?

OM: There’s so many! For me, I think it’s the friendships you make, the relationships with the production and the laughter. The frustration of creating a beautiful choreography from scratch is totally worth it and it all pays off in the end!

If you’re a Strictly fan, you may already know what her favourite dance is, but we had to ask anyway!

OM: My favourite dance to perform has to be the Samba. It’s lively and it’s fun! I just love the party element of it, and there’s so many stories in the samba that you can tell, and so many different parts of the world you can represent in a Samba.

We’ll be seeing a lot of the samba (and more!) in Oti’s upcoming show, Viva Carnival.

OM: There’s so much to think about when creating this show. For example, it’s not just Latin and Ballroom. We have some who are really good contemporary dancers and really good ballet dancers – I wanted to create a really diverse show to represent all aspects of dance, as well as the world.

Also, I have to think about which personal parts of me will I be talking or dancing about. But also, of carnival. I need to think about what they mean to me. It’s taking pieces of the puzzle and trying to build a full and complete picture.  It takes a long time, it can be very frustrating and overwhelming, but we know what we want to deliver, and we know it’s going to be amazing!

So what can we expect?

Viva carnival is going to be the party that you don’t want to miss. It’s going to be fun; it’s going to be emotional; it’s going to be raw – but we’re also going to have a good time! It’s going to be a dance spectacular!  We’re going to make sure it’s big, it’s fun, it’s full of celebration, and those who come to watch are guaranteed a good time – I promise!

Oti Mabuse brings Viva Carnival to the Adelphi Theatre on Tue 24 June 2025. For more info and to book tickets, click here.