"BURN THE FLOOR"
A HOT SHOW AND
A CALENDAR
ITEM

CALENDAR

 Miss Brown to You will be at the Jazz Lab on Friday, January 14th at 8 pm with a $7 charge at the door.

The next night, Saturday, January 15th, is the Gypsy Cafe Night, with DANCING, at the First Unitarian Church at N.W. 13th and Dewey at 7 pm.  There's a sliding scale for admission starting at $5.  The money goes to microcredit lending in Central America.

“BURN THE FLOOR”

WAS A HOT SHOW

By Nancy Condit

January 8: “Burn the Floor” last Thursday night was ballroom dancing for the joy of dancing. The show, part of the 2010-11 Celebrity Attractions Broadway tour, continues Saturday night at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Civic Center Music Hall.

Of the ten dances, the highly produced show had the best feel for swing, backed up by two terrific drummers, Joseph Malone and Henry Soriano, who were onstage behind the dancers.  The company performed “Little Fishies,” “The Dirty Boogie,” and “Sing, Sing, Sing (with a Swing)” – which was actually the salsa and samba to swing music.  Men and women leapt on each others’ shoulders, swung through men and women’s legs, and whipped their hair. 

Listening to an online interview with Lisa Wolf, show creator Harley Medcalf called the show “dance theater.”  It was choreographed and directed by Australian Jack Gilkison choreographed and directed the show.  He and his dance partner of 35 years, and now one of his co-producers, Peta Roby are champion ballroom dancers.    

Whether ballroom dancing is sport or art remains a question for the Olympic panels, as they decide which new sports to admit.  It was hard to see this as art, but this reviewer has no problem as seeing it as highly enjoyable entertainment and worth the money to see popular dancing.  It is taken to a very high technical and athletic level, with production values one would expect in a very good show, but it is perhaps more suited to Las Vegas than Broadway.

The one flaw was the singer Vonzell Solomon’s mic, which left her voice strident.  Both she and particularly Peter Saul had good voices.

The one last number was a recreation of Tina Turner’s dance moves in “Proud Mary.”  The dance itself was rousing, but the center, Tina Turner, was missing.  However, this show remains dancing for the joy of dancing.