Diversity concert review

Wolverhampton Civic Hall

It has been almost a year since dance troupe Diversity claimed the Britain’s Got Talent crown, but girls across the country continue to swoon over the 11 baggy-trousered street dancers.

And it seems a significant proportion of those girls crammed themselves into Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall last night, with the only tickets available on the door being standing room only.

The show’s support acts – hip-pop wannabe Aggro Santos and girl duo Mini Viva (who, apparently, had a top ten chart single with ‘I Left My Heart in Tokyo’…no? Me neither) – were thankfully brief.

What came next was no ordinary dance show. Diversity – or the ‘Diversitoys’, as they re-named themselves – starred in their own fully-formed dance theatre production Bringing a Toy Story to Life.

They told the tale of toy shop owner Da Vinci, who had created a design for a Super Toy. But – gasp! – the design was stolen by his evil toy shop rival, Mr Grief.

The story, while admittedly a rather thin backdrop giving the stars a reason to perform, nevertheless allowed them to show off their creativity, and gave an outlet for their sense of humour.

The moves were, as we have come to expect, absolutely, astoundingly flawless, synchronised down to the last millisecond.

They threw youngest member Perri around as if he weighed no more than a beach ball.The show was complemented by a scattering of other stars, including fellow Britain’s Got Talent finalist Aiden Davis as “Bionic Boy” and The Pete Box – a human beat box with the jaw-dropping ability to impeccably recreate the drums, bass and sing the lyrics of Stand By Me, seemingly simultaneously.

A female dance troupe, a martial arts wonder-woman and a frighteningly flexible contortionist completed the cast list.There is no other way to describe the evening than, simply, incredible.

Diversity performed for over an hour and a half, with a never-ending electric energy that got the crowd worked up into a frenzy.

By Charlotte Cross.