Alesha DixonThe RegentEARLY reviews of Alesha Dixon's current tour painted a picture of a strictly professional, glitzy but slightly short show.Her opening night clocked in at little more than an hour and apparently lacked a bit of heart.

Mark Crossley

Alesha Dixon

The Regent

EARLY reviews of Alesha Dixon's current tour painted a picture of a strictly professional, glitzy but slightly short show.

Her opening night clocked in at little more than an hour and apparently lacked a bit of heart.

Whatever The Alesha Show had been, it certainly wasn't soulless at Ipswich.

There was a long delay before we saw the star - a couple of serviceable support acts had to do until 9pm, and she did only do 75 minutes.

When she got to the stage, it was worth the wait: she sure can dance, as her 2007 Strictly Come Dancing victory showed.

And she can sing, too, although some styles suit her better than others.

Most of Alesha's songs were drawn from her current album. A new single, To Love Again, was co-composed with Gary Barlow; Don't Ever Let Me Go got everyone on their feet and Breathe Slow was suitably emotional.

The show began with Ms Dixon on a swing, in spangly silver shorts, a black hat perched on her head and a cane in her hand.

The opening quarter of an hour set a high standard for energy and material, which was mostly funk, right down to a segue into James Brown's Get Up.

Dixon was accompanied by two dancers, who would gradually reveal themselves to be rather well-muscled. They began the night in some well choreographed routines with the star, both in top hat and tails, rather like some moonwalking Artful Dodgers

Costumes could have come from the wardrobe of Strictly, and routines were suitably intricate, including some dazzling work with the top hat and cane.

A revealing segment midway through, the “Mis-teeq Zone”, showed us the more urban material to which her voice seems better suited and she looked more at home in that genre.

The biggest song - and the best routine - was saved for the encore: a spirited romp through The Boy Does Nothing.

It summed up her appeal as the all-round middle-of-the-road family entertainer that she's become over the past couple of years.

There's a big market for Dixon's kind of talent and the fans appeared to love it.

Mark Crossley