My London: Aljaž Škorjanec & Janette Manrara – Dancers

Having both trained in their respective dance styles as young children, American born Manrara and Slovenian born Škorjanec first met as cast mates on the international tour of the hit Broadway musical ‘Burn The Floor’. Forming an instant connection, the duo went on to travel the the globe delivering show-stopping performances on some of the most acclaimed, and exotic stages the dance world has to offer!

However it was back in the spring of 2013 that the couples life together would change forever, when the producers of Strictly Come Dancing invited them to appear as professional contestants on the 11th season of the hit BBC series. Praised for their passion and commitment, vibrant personalities and dynamite performances, the pair won the hearts of the nation, and would remain on the show for the next 8 years.

With freedom to now explore all of the opportunities presented to them, the two creatives remain focused on the future, and pursuing projects that will push them both as artists and people.

A Christmas to Remember…

In celebration of their favourite holiday, Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara will hit the road later this month as the stars of a brand new yuletide jukebox show, ‘A Christmas To Remember’.

Featuring an assortment of festive favourites, pop classics, some carols and some crooners, the production promises to be an occasion filled with unbridled amounts of glad tidings and joy, as Škorjanec and Manrara (along with their super talented cast of dancers and singers) perform a series of musical numbers that will to pay tribute to some of the nation’s most beloved Christmas hits!

Scheduled the kick off in Portsmouth on Friday, November 25th, the tour will hit The Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London on Monday, December 12th.

Of what audiences can expect from their show, Janette tell us: “We want to invite everybody to join us for the classiest, sparkliest Christmas party that you will have ever been invited to. We will be going on a magical journey, celebrating the twelve days leading up to Christmas, with some great songs and fabulous routines, with our amazing cast of singers and dancers.”

With Aljaž adding: “We will be sharing our childhood Christmas stories, exploring what we both love most about this special time of the year. We will be making merry and dancing with all the joy of what Christmas is truly all about.”

We caught up with Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara for the latest edition of our ‘My London’ interview series.

Favourite neighbourhood:

Janette: I’d say our own neighbourhood! It’s not situated in the most extravagant or lavish part of London, but it has a lovely cosy vibe to it, and it feels like home to us. We’ve lived in London for almost 11 years now, and in our current place for 3 years, and we love it, we’re really happy here!

Favourite place for brunch:

Aljaž: We love Middeys Brasserie in Cockfosters. They have the most immense menu – it’s so varied and extensive, they literally have anything you could ever want! The service is incredible and all of the staff who work there are super friendly!

J: We really enjoy going there… in fact I think we should go once we’re finished with this interview!

Best coffee in London:

A: Monmouth Coffee. We used to go there all the time when we lived a little closer to one of their branches in central. 

J: Yes! They have seriously good coffee, probably the best I’ve had in London!

Favourite gallery or museum:

J: Oh my gosh, I don’t even need to think about this one – the National History Museum! It’s honestly my favourite place In London! I’m a mega fan of the Disney parks, and for some reason whenever I walk into that museum, I get exactly the same excited / kiddie feeling in my stomach that I do when I’m at Disneyland or Disney World! I love how interactive it is, and how there’s always something new to see and do. When I have family members visiting its the one place I try to take them to!

A: Do you remember the time we got to film one of the big Strictly group numbers there? That was such a cool experience! It was for one of the Halloween episodes – we shot it in the middle of the night, so there was obviously no-one else around but us, and when we weren’t needed for filming we got to go off and explore the whole of the museum which was amazing!

Tell us a secret:

A: We’re thinking about getting a pet!

J: Yeah, we want to get a little doggie… but we don’t know when, or how it’s going to work because we’re touring all of the time (laughs). We’ll figure something out though I’m sure.

Favourite place to shop:

J: I know it’s cliché, but it’s got to be Selfridges. I love it, especially during Christmas time – it always looks so pretty doesn’t it? I just find it really convenient in the sense that they pretty much sell everything, so you don’t have to trail around 100’s of different shops trying to find what you want, because they have literally everything you could ever possibly need under one roof, which I like.

Favourite place to find inspiration:

A: The West End! Obviously we respect all theatrical communities, and appreciate all of the amazing work they do, but for me, there’s nothing quite like theatre land in London! There’s something so special about the love people here have for the arts, and it’s not just about applauding the talent on stage, audiences seem to have this huge amount of respect for all of the hardworking people backstage too, which I just think is incredible, and so inspiring. Then away from the West End, you have all of the live shows and concerts that pass through London! I hear the ABBA Voyage concert is amazing, and I know people really loved Adele’s shows in Hyde Park over the summer. We actually went to see Coldplay at Wembley Stadium a few weeks ago which was out of this world! 

J: Yeah I completely agree, nothing else compares! There’s so much variety, and always such a diverse mix of productions to choose from – the level of talent out there in this city continues to blow me away! I remember we went to see Sir Ian McKellen in a play one time and it was phenomenal!

A: Oh my goodness, it was the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen! It was just him onstage, at The Harold Pinter Theatre, and… well, it was amazing (laughs) that’s all I can say, it was amazing! 

Best London destination for a date:

J: The Duck & Waffle at the Heron Tower. It’s where we got engaged, so it’s somewhere that’s really special to us. It’s located up on the 40th floor, and there’s this one table – we actually call it our table now – that sits right on one corner of the restaurant, and it has the most epic view of the entire city of London. It’s very imitate, and you feel like you’re floating over the city! Can I be cheeky and pick another? Because I adore the Shangri–La at The Shard! They do this thing called ‘dining in the sky’ where you go up to the top of the building and into this private room, just you and your date, and again, it’s all about the city view! It’s so, so special and magical! For me, when it comes to going on a romantic date, those two venues are the BEST!

Favourite park:

J: Hyde Park is probably the most beautiful isn’t it?

A: One thing I love about London is how many beautiful parks there are throughout the city. Primrose Hill is really pretty, I like to spend a sunny afternoon there.

Favourite food market:

A: Easy – Camden Market! We used to live in Camden and we loved it!

J: We used to go there all the time didn’t we? I was always blown away by how much variety there was on offer – each week we’d go, there would always be something totally different for us to try. Great place, we need to start going there more often!

Your sanctuary in the city:

J: We’re actually Soho House members, and because of the culture they’ve created in that space, where you can’t use your phone or be on some sort of electrical device 24/7, for us it does feel a bit like a sanctuary, because it means we have no choice but to switch off and disconnect from the outside world for a couple of hours! It’s a wonderful place to go for a lovely dinner, or to have a nice drink by the bar or even just somewhere relaxing to go to engage with our friends without having the distraction of an email popping up on our phone every 5 minutes. So yeah, I’d say Soho House, we really enjoy spending time there.

What inspires you?

J: That’s a deep question… for me, I’d say people! Hearing their stories, and what they’ve been through in their lives, and how they’ve overcome certain obstacles, is what inspires me to keep going in my own life. We were randomly flicking through all of the TV channels the other day, trying to find something to watch whilst we cooked dinner, and we landed on this one show about buying houses, and honestly we were just blown away hearing what some of the people had been through! The tenacity and strength they were showing in the face of dealing with such adversity, was awe-inspiring. So yeah, people inspire me. 

This season I’m loving…

A & J: CHRISTMAS!

Tickets for ‘A Christmas To Remember’ are on-sale now.