aljaz janette manrara© Photo: Instagram

Exclusive: Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec share first-look at exciting new project

The Strictly stars gave HELLO! an all access pass

US Lifestyle Editor
March 17, 2021

Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec's fans were devastated when they were forced to postpone their Remembering the Oscars tour due to COVID-19.

While the dance spectacular has been rescheduled for 2022, the couple are giving their fans want they want ahead of time and offering a sneak peek at the show in a streamed performance kicking off next Saturday!

MORE: Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara announce exciting news with fans

The one-hour special will see Aljaz and Janette roll out the red carpet to celebrate the greatest award-winning songs, films and dance routines from the Golden Ages of Hollywood through to Disney family favourites and beyond.

WATCH: Aljaz and Janette's beautiful love story

"I couldn't wait to get filming for the show because the last time Aljaz and I danced was on Strictly, and it wasn't together," Janette told HELLO!

"I think there was a sense of euphoria when we all came together and put the hair, makeup and costumes on – you got this sense of almost disbelief in a happy way, like, 'Oh my gosh, is this actually happening? We're on a stage.'"

To get you in the mood, the Strictly couple have shared an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the event with HELLO!

READ: Aljaz Skorjanec reacts after Janette Manrara's intimate marriage revelation

Aljaz makes his red carpet entrance (Photo: Steven Howard for The TCB Group)

"The show is centered around the Oscars and we open with this red carpet theme," Janette said of the snaps taken outside The Apollo Theatre in London. "We had the flashing lights and cameras and it all felt like we were at this amazing event even though it was just us in this big empty venue, because of the music and the whole vibe of the opening of the show."

Aljaz and Janette are interviewed by Richard Arnold (Photo: Steven Howard for The TCB Group)

"We filmed at The Bournemouth International Centre [BIC]," Aljaz, pictured here with Janette and Richard Arnold, said. "It was this beautiful stage and we were both really amazed at the level of production, the costumes and just how much planning went into the actual stream."

Janette added: "There was a conversation at one point about actually filming the show in an empty theatre but it saddened us to have to be dancing constantly and filming an empty venue. Whereas with the BIC, we were able to create this grandeur feeling and this ability of space without showing lots of empty seats."

MORE: Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec look loved-up in romantic snowy snaps

Aljaz and Janette take on the Dirty Dancing lift (Photo: Steven Howard for The TCB Group)

"This was taken just after we filmed our bit for Dirty Dancing but before we ended up doing the actual lift," Aljaz said. "Janette is really focused on what is about to happen, and I was focused just before this photo was taken and then I saw the camera…"

While Dirty Dancing is a huge fan favourite, Janette admitted there is one particular number that she loves to perform with her husband.

Aljaz and Janette will tour Remembering the Oscars in 2022 (Photo: Steven Howard for The TCB Group)

"Our favourite number that we did together was probably Kissing You [from Romeo & Juliet]," Janette revealed. "We had it in our first show, Remembering the Movies, and it was one of those moments in the show where you could hear a pin drop at every venue when we danced it, so we thought it would be nice to reminisce and bring back something from the past.

"Aljaz and I are so in love with the routine and when we do it, it feels like there's no-one else in the room. I know it sounds crazy but we get really lost in that one.

"I think for us, as husband and wife, it's a perfect combination of dancing with someone you love, doing what you love most in the world, and then doing it to a really beautiful piece of music – it just all comes together in that number."

Janette is involved in the entire creative process (Photo: Steven Howard for The TCB Group)

"I am a really big believer that if I'm throwing myself into a project, I want to be across as much of it as I can – not because I'm a control freak but I genuinely really enjoy all the aspects of creating a show," Janette said.

"To be a part of a show from the get-go, in terms of the creative process, I've always really enjoyed the behind-the-scenes, let's say, of how it all really comes together because then when I perform it or watch it back I'm really proud to say, in a weird way, this was my baby, my passions, my ideas.

"Obviously, it's not just me, it's a team of us that come together and do it, but I definitely feel I'm one of those people that the more involved I can be, the more proud I will be of it in the end."

SEE: Take a tour around Janette and Aljaz's very chic home

Remembering the Oscars will feature routines inspired by The Lion King (Photo: Steven Howard for The TCB Group)

"This was taken after they performed one of the most beautiful numbers in the show, but I wasn't a part of it," Aljaz told us. "So when there were recording that specific dance because I wasn't part of it, I wasn't fully invested in the notes so that's why I'm glancing to the camera again."

"This is the number where we do The Lion King, so I come in halfway through the dance but the whole first section of the number is just the dancers with our singer Janine," Janette added.

READ: Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec reveal plans to start a family

"So in that photo, I'm giving them a view of what the shot looked like so they can see themselves back and I'm explaining to them, 'This is where you're going to be seen, this is the bit that needs a little bit more work, make sure you do this next bit really together because it's on a wide shot'. But because Aljaz, bless him, he's not in it, he's like, 'What are they even talking about?'"

Aljaz credits Strictly for helping him with his camera angles (Photo: Steven Howard for The TCB Group)

"This is from this beautiful Viennese Waltz that I get to do so I'm just looking back at the different shots. Working on Strictly gave us this knowledge – you get to work with cameras a lot and it's amazing how much a camera angle can tell a different story," Aljaz explained.

"It's so important to watch back as much as you can to learn and try and improve. The theme that we have been working with, the whole 'remembering' theme for the last four or five years now, it's this very creative bunch of people that all really strive to get something that has value and is creatively challenging."

Aljaz and Janette will star in a streamed performance of their brand new, never-before-seen dance spectacular Remembering the Oscars for a limited three-week season starting on Saturday 27th March at 7.30pm. Tickets are available at rememberingtheoscars.com.

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