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Burn the Floor

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Burn the Floor
Formation1997
TypeTheatre group
PurposeBallroom
Location
  • Touring
Artistic director(s)
Jason Gilkison
Notable members
Peta Roby
Websitewww.burnthefloor.com

Burn the Floor is a live dance show which has performed around the world, including on Broadway in New York City and the West End in London. Since 1997, Burn the Floor has performed in over 130 countries worldwide. The show has also featured several alumni of various international versions of Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.

Origin

In 1997, Elton John's 50th birthday party included a 10-minute performance from a group of ballroom dancers. The birthday party is credited with starting the idea for Burn the Floor. Following John's party, Australian producer Harley Medcalf spent two years developing the idea. Medcalf brought a showcase of ballroom dance to an Elton John Aids fundraiser two years later. Among the talent Medcalf recruited for his stage show included a choreographer, Anthony Van Laast, and Australian ballroom dancers Jason Gilkison and Peta Roby.[1] By 2000, the show played a two night stint at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.[2] The New York Times said of the production, "Look past the show's brassy facade, with its rock-show production values and attitude (mock ecstasy is the usual facial expression), and there is some complex footwork in what is essentially a suite of deliberately souped-up social dances."[2]

Early years

In 2001, Jason Gilkison took over the role of choreographer.[1] By 2005, an Australian workshop of the show was named "Jason Gilkison's Ballroom."[3] Through the course of several tours, the production tinkered with what worked.[3] Growing into a large production requiring seven vehicles to move from city to city, the tour's creative team began to realize that they preferred the show more stripped down and focused on the dancers.[3] According to Gilkison, “The goal was to streamline it, make it more theatrical, reinvent it with the help of the dancers, who had their own ideas of how to make it more contemporary."[1]

Before the show hit Broadway, it had already been performed in 29 countries.[3]

Broadway

Burn the Floor performed its first preview show on Broadway on July 25, 2009 at the Longacre Theatre.[4] The show opened on August 2, 2009 after eight preview performances.[4] Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, known for appearing on the U.S. television series Dancing with the Stars, were announced as special guest stars for the first three weeks of performances.[4] At the time, Chmerkovskiy and Smirnoff were a couple off stage as well. Gilkison, who had known Chmerkovskiy since 1990, mentioned to Chmerkovskiy before taking the show to Broadway that he was looking for more female dancers.[3] Chmerkovskiy was a fan of the stage show and suggested he join the cast with Smirnoff.[3]

Following the departure of Chmerkovskiy and Smirnoff, Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev, then known for competing on the U.S. version of So You Think You Can Dance, took over the roles of featured dancers.[5] Ticket sales decreased following the departure of Chmerkovskiy and Smirnoff.[6] Shortly after their stint in Burn the Floor, Chmerkovskiy and Smirnoff ended their romantic relationship including their engagement. Chmerkovskiy agreed to return to the show in November 2009, but he stated he would not perform with Smirnoff. Instead, Chmerkovskiy returned partnered with another Dancing with the Stars pro, Kym Johnson.[7]

The broadway run ended on January 10, 2010. The show had made plans to continue into February, however, those plans were scrapped.[8]

Broadway cast

Opening Night

The opening night cast including the following dancers:[9]

Vocalists:

  • Ricky Rojas
  • Rebecca Tapia

Other cast members

Throughout the Broadway run, the following dancers joined the cast:[9]

  • Irina Boubnovskai (arrived August 10, 2009)
  • Artem Chigvintsev (September 14, 2009 – October 26, 2009; arrived December 21, 2009)
  • Anya Garnis (August 18, 2009 – November 23, 2009)
  • Karen Hauer (Arrived December 21, 2009)
  • Derek Hough (Arrived January 8, 2009)
  • Pasha Kovalev (August 17, 2009 – November 23, 2009)
  • Mirko Sciolan (Arrived September 14, 2009)
  • Vaidotas Skimelis (Arrived December 21, 2009)
  • Emma Slater (Arrived October 26, 2009)
  • Karina Stumpfova (Arrived on November 23, 2009)
  • Gary Wright (November 23, 2009)
  • Mig Ayesa (Arrived January 4, 2010)

West End

In 2010, Burn the Floor performed a limited engagement at the Shaftesbury Theatre on London's West End. Featured guest stars for the 2010 run included Ali Bastian, a competitor on Strictly Come Dancing, and her pro partner from Strictly, Brian Fortuna.[10] The show was scheduled to run from July 21-September 5, 2010.[10]

The show returned to the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2013, this time with Robin Windsor and Kristina Rihanoff, pro dancers from Strictly Come Dancing, in the roles of featured guest stars.[11] The 2013 run began on March 6, 2013 and closed on June 30, 2013, although it was originally scheduled to run through September 1.[11]

World Tours

Following closing on Broadway, the show embarked on a 2010 world tour, which included 30 cities in the United States.[8]

A new production, Burn the Floor – Fire in the Ballroom, choreographed and directed by Peta Roby, debuted in 2016 at the Regal Theatre in Perth, Australia.[12][13] In contrast to previous productions, Fire in the Ballroom incorporated more rock and roll with the intention of appealing more the male audiences. The production's Perth run was scheduled for March 23 through April 3, 2016.[12] In April 2016 the production had scheduled engagements in South Africa, including stops in Pretoria, Capetown, and Durbain.[13]

Burn the Floor returned to London with the production Fire in the Ballroom for a limited run, from 18 October to 5 November 2016.[14]

Alumni

Other notable alumni of Burn the Floor include:

Cruises

As of 2013, Burn the Floor began giving performances on Norwegian Cruise ships.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c Pacheko, Patrick (2 August 2009). "Culture Monster Post". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b Kisselgoff, Anna (7 April 2000). "DANCE REVIEW; Arthur Murray Must Be Fox-Trotting in His Grave". New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Pacheko, Patrick (2 August 2009). "'Burn the Floor': Not your grandmother's cha-cha". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Gans, Andrew (17 June 2009). "Casting Announced for Broadway's Burn the Floor". Playbill.com. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  5. ^ Staff, Broadway.com (4 August 2009). "Star Dancers Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev to Join Burn the Floor". Broadway.com. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Broadway Grosses : Burn the Floor". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  7. ^ Malkin, Marc (5 November 2005). "Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Kym's In, Karina's Out". E! Online. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  8. ^ a b Broadway.com, Staff (7 December 2009). "Burn the Floor to Close on January 10; Mary Murphy Joins Closing Cast". Broadway.com. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Burn the Floor: Opening Night Cast". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  10. ^ a b Bosanquet, Theo (19 April 2010). "Brian Fortuna, Ali Bastian Set for West End Engagement of Burn the Floor". Theater Mania. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  11. ^ a b Shenton, Mark (26 April 2013). "Burn the Floor to Shutter at West End's Shaftesbury Theatre June 30". Playbill.com. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  12. ^ a b MacNaughton, Tanya (29 February 2016). "Burn the Floor sizzles even more with Fire in the Ballroom". Community News. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  13. ^ a b "Burn The Floor returns to South Africa in 2016". Media Update. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  14. ^ Jessop, Rachel (8 August 2016). "Burn The Floor returns with UK premiere". www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  15. ^ "It's about sex - Arts - Entertainment - smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Natalie Lowe - My Story". Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  17. ^ a b c Gans, Andrew (8 November 2010). ""Dancing with the Stars" Competitor Mark Ballas to Join Touring Cast of Burn the Floor". Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  18. ^ Saltzman, Duri (9 May 2013). "Legally Blonde, the Musical and Burn the Floor to Headline Next Norwegian Cruise Ship". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
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