ANTON du Beke and Erin Boag are in full swing in the ballroom couple's new dance show for 2017, Swing Time, at York Barbican on Saturday.

As ever, they will be joined by conductor Richard Balcombe, star vocalist Lance Ellington, six stellar ensemble dancers and the full 25-piece Manchester Concert Orchestra in not one, but two performances at 3pm and 7.30pm.

Expect "dazzling new choreography, sparkling costumes and a sensational show band performing timeless music" in a show featuring dance routines to I Got Rhythm, Moondance, Guys And Dolls, Le Jazz Hot, Strike Up The Band, I've Got The World On A String and I Could Have Dance All Night (or all afternoon in the case of Saturday's matinee).

"Essentially it's a show full of dance, song and good times with a big orchestra on stage, the wonderful Lance Ellington singing, the wonderful Richard Balcombe conducting, six dancers and us, and it's such an uplifting show because the music is so uplifting," says Anton. "You can't not be happy, because the music is so happy, whereas if you were to try to get a bit more obscure and contemporary or try to intellectualise it, it wouldn't be so much of an enjoyable evening.

"When we come to town, it's like Shirley Bassey, one great number after another, so it has that sort of feeling to it, where the audience will say, 'Oh, I love that song'; 'I love that dance'; 'I love that costume'."

Anton & Erin have made frequent visits to York with their dance extravaganzas, and at 50 Anton is enjoying the experience of putting together a new show with his regular partner every year as much as ever.

"Each year, it starts with the music and then turning the songs into big dance numbers; it's great to be able to choose your favourites and there's so much available. In this show we've got everything from I Got Rhythm to something contemporary in Van Morrison's Moondance, and everything in between, like Minnie The Moocher, as we don't want to be stuck in any one era," says Anton.

"So while we'll have some Fred and Ginger hat-and-cane dancing in there, we don't want to have too much of that, so when we get in the room together, me and Erin and our musical director and a producer, essentially we'll share our ideas around the songs we've jotted down over the year, and then we plot our route through the show.

"That's how Minnie The Moocher came up; Lance sings it so well and Erin has a fabulous time being thrown around by all the boys!"

Then Anton and Erin look at "layering" the show when putting the programme together. "That's something we've tried to do more and more over the years, adding layers either to the individual routines or to the show overall to make it even more entertaining," says Anton.

"Eighty per cent of the orchestra members come back to the show each year because the programme of music is interesting enough for them to want to come back and work on the show again. They can be a cynical lot, musicians, but they're all really enjoying Swing Time, saying it's the best show yet, which is a lovely feeling for us."

As ever the show will feature audience questions for Anton and Erin, and should you be planning to ask him the big one, yes, "all being well" Anton will return to BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor in the autumn.

Raymond Gubbay presents Anton & Erin in Swing Time, York Barbican, Saturday at 3pm and 7.30pm. Box office: 0844 854 2757 or at yorkbarbican.co.uk. For further information, visit raymondgubbay.co.uk