It's a late night in the Buenos Aires bar. The air is tense with expectation. A man and a woman enter and the dance begins. You are on a journey which offers danger and excitement, joy and jealousy, pain and passion. This is Midnight Tango.
Strictly Come Dancing's professional performers Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone return to the stage, for the third successive year, with their record-breaking show which captures all the hot and sensual passion of the Argentine tango.
Flavia – who won last year's glitterball trophy with Louis Smith – and Vincent choreograph the show with direction from Karen Bruce who worked on both Strictly and So You Think You Can Dance.
The co-producer is a first-timer... but certainly brings a lot of experience to her new role.
She's Arlene Phillips – former Strictly judge, creator of Hot Gossip and choreographer of lots of West End hits including The Wizard of Oz, Flashdance, The Sound of Music, Grease, We Will Rock You and Saturday Night Fever and well as films, television and countless pop videos.
She says she's relishing the job of producer, with Adam Spiegel, of Midnight Tango.
"Because I've directed a lot of shows, that's close to being a producer," says Arlene. "You have to take responsibility for all aspects of the show. I'm involved in a very different way – I have to step back and see the overall show."
So, what is the tango all about? "Temptation," laughs Arlene. "The dance itself is very emotional. This is one dance where you can clearly see the message or what's happening. It's so sensual. One minute she is in his arms, the next minute in the air. You can feel the passion, and the passion in the anger.
"It's the music that holds the power – the tempo, the instruments, the beauty and the sorrow. There are different rhythms that drive the show. There's a proper story. It's like musical theatre, without anything being sung.
"The appeal for the audience is actually enormous. You can see the show as a family, and the audience is 50% male, where a lot of dance shows have a much larger percentage of women.
"You won't find another genre, other than musical theatre, that has a language of its own. You're telling a real story without words."
Arlene loved her time on Strictly Come Dancing and is delighted that dance has been brought to a wider audience through lots of TV programmes.
"The popularity of dance goes right back to the Charleston, then the jive; in the 50s we had rock 'n' roll; in the 60s and 70s there was disco, then it was hip hop, body popping...
"There has been an incredible resurgence. Contemporary dance is hugely fashionable. I was a dance teacher when I put all my money into forming Hot Gossip, which became such an iconic group.
" It's very fortunate that I became popular as a choreographer. Work came in all different forms from TV to film to theatre.
"It just went on and on and I was able to develop my work. But this is the first show I have ever produced and I'm loving it."
Arlene says audiences will love Midnight Tango too.
"Everyone can identify with the Argentine Tango," says Arlene. "It can tug at your heartstrings."
Midnight Tango is at the Hall for Cornwall, Truro, from June 17-22.