Every single advance hype superlative is true! (Review by Caroline Smart)Very seldom does a production’s advance publicity hype live up to the end product but in the case of Burn the Floor, which opened last night in the Playhouse Opera for a two-week season, every single superlative is true.
What a performance! What dancers! What energy! What a glorious show!
If the ecstatic response from tonight’s audience is anything to go by, this hit Broadway production should end its 2012 South African tour on a high note. In fact, there is so much high-octane energy on that stage that if the Playhouse Opera were aerodynamically designed, it would surely have taken flight!
Director and choreographer Jason Gilkison was born into an Australian ballroom dancing family and grew up in the world of championship dancing. In later life he was to work with producer Harley Medcalf and together they took Medcalf’s original Burn The Floor concept to another level. Since then, the show has toured over 160 cities worldwide.
Originally designed as a special performance in 1997 at Sir Elton John’s 50th birthday celebration, Burn The Floor revolutionised the image of dance, which then launched the many reality dance shows, such as So You Think You Can Dance.
The current Burn The Floor company boasts performers with more than 100 Championship Dance titles between them. The numbers move smoothly from one to the other – often featuring dramatic and breathtaking movements. The mood changes from upbeat Latin American to waltz, or jive to rock and roll and Paso Doble. The latter was highly impressive and one of my favourites.
Humour abounds in what is truly an ensemble piece with every single performer also shining as individuals. Proving a major audience favourite - and not just because he’s South African – is Keoikantse Motsepe, undefeated South African Latin American Champion since 2004, who has been touring with the company since January of this year.
The stage features a high back platform fronted by a stairway. Either side are an impressive number of percussion instruments handled with masterful expertise by Giorgio Rojas and Pat Madden - two of the finest percussionists I’ve ever heard. They are as much a part of the action as the performers and I saw a drumstick tossed high in the air before being deftly caught on its way down! Occasionally they add to orchestral backing tracks but the focus is mainly on rhythm. “Burn the Floor” is an apt title.
Vocalists Jessica Lingotti and Peter Saul offer the same high level of energy as the dancers but just as skilfully perform the quieter numbers – and there are some! Very beautiful ones, too.
The costumes are splendid and the lighting design is superb.
I believe my husband provides the final word. Those who know him see him as a fairly undemonstrative soul, never given to superlatives. His comment? “Stunning!”
More I cannot say. Whatever you do, don’t miss this!
Burn The Floor is presented in Durban by Joburg Theatre in Association with Dance Partner Productions, M-Net and East Coast Radio. Performances take place in The Playhouse Opera until September 2. Tickets R200 booked through Computicket – 083 915 8000 or www.computicket.com - or the Playhouse Company Dial-A-Seat facility on 031 369 9555 or Box Office numbers 031 369 9596 / 369 9540.
A special ‘two for the price of one’ is available for Talk Back Tuesdays (August 28), whereby the dancers stay on stage after the show for a question-and-answer session. – Caroline Smart
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