<P>Marcia Siegel is not impressed with 'Burn the Floor', an attempt to take ballroom dancing into Riverdance territory.<P> <A HREF="http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/dance/00/04/20/BURN_THE_FLOOR.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/dance/00/04/20/BURN_THE_FLOOR.html</A>

<P>"Burn the Floor" Comes to Detroit!<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Burn the Floor With the Hottest Dance Sensation of the New Millennium At Detroit's Fox Theatre September 26-30<P>The World's Most Electrifying, Talented and Accomplished Dancers Of the 20th Century Display an Explosive Array of Dance That Has Revolutionized Ballroom Dancing<P>Tickets Go On Sale Sunday, July 22 at Noon at Ticketmaster!</B><P>DETROIT, July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- An electrifying performance that has instantaneously become a dance spectacular on two continents, Burn the Floor is set to stir the bodies and souls of American audiences when it comes to Detroit's Fox Theatre September 26-30, 2001.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010717/detu009.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A><P>*****************************************<P><B>More than dance</B><BR>Show lets world's ballroom champs 'Burn the Floor'<BR>By Barbara Hoover for The Detroit News <P>DETROIT -- Burn the Floor, a ballroom-dance extravaganza that's scorched stages worldwide for three years, owes much of its success to a simple illusion. "People come away from the show thinking, 'I could do that,' " says Harvey Medcalf, the Australian producer who created it. "Other kinds of dancing -- ballet or modern dance -- you can't really see yourself doing. But even though (the performers) are technicians, they are doing dance steps we do." See what Medcalf means as 32 competitive-dance champions from 10 countries bring Burn the Floor to Detroit's Fox Theatre tonight through Sunday.<P><A HREF="http://detnews.com/2001/entertainment/0109/28/e01-304939.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>more...</B></A><P> <BR> <BR> <BR><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited September 29, 2001).]

Canada.com, 10.03.01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Would YOU like to dance with me?</B><P>The Hummingbird Centre presents the Canadian debut of international dance sensation, BURN THE FLOOR, Oct. 9 - 14, 2001. <P>BURN THE FLOOR, featuring 44 World Champion Ballroom Dancers from 16 countries, will seduce you with its heart-pounding display of dance pyrotechnics. <P>BURN THE FLOOR was originally conceived three years ago at Elton John's 50th birthday bash when the singer/songwriter staged a phenomenal display of ballroom and Latin dancing, captivating his 600 guests. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>[url=http://www.canada.com/toronto/aroundtown/story.asp?id={F2D98B46-AF44-483E-8C6F-5BC94AE03BA4}]<B>more...</B>[/url]

William Littler, Toronto Star, 10.10.01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Ballroom dancing swings into Broadway</B><P>One part of me hated them, for their lithe, crunchy granola-fed bodies, their flagrant sexiness, their sheer animal magnetism. The other part of my geriatric being envied them for exactly the same qualities.<P>This certainly wasn't ballroom dancing the way I had learned it from Mr. Vincent in the athletics building at the University of British Columbia, when, as a nerdy undergraduate, I cunningly opted for the mambo, the fox trot and the cha cha cha as a means of escaping the rigors of callisthenics.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><B>more...</B>

JOHN COULBOURN, Toronto Sun, 10.11.01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Dance Floor smolders</B><BR>HIGH-ENERGY NUMBERS LACK ARTISTIC SPIRIT NEEDED TO CREATE A TRULY HOT SHOW<P>After two hours of watching an international stable of 16 championship couples demonstrate their virtuosity in the field, a significant portion of the audience was on its feet clamouring for more of the same. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><B>more...</B><BR>

Rebecca Todd - Globe & Mail, 10.13.01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Can anyone smell burning cheese?</B><P>Apparently earlier versions of the show, which played in large arenas, were less theatrically burdened, and they still packed them in by the thousands. Tuesday night's audience ate it up, though, cheese and all.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>To read more search <B>Rebecca Todd</B> on the <A HREF="http://www.globeandmail.com" TARGET=_blank>Globe & Mail's</A> 7 Day Search<P>

Paula Citron - 96.3FM, 10.19.01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Because these couples have come through amateur competitions, they look like your neighbours who like to dance and have a talent for it, which gives the show its odd charm. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><B>more...</B><BR>

From the Chicago Tribune:<P><B>'Burn the Floor' dances to a hokey beat</B><P>By Sid Smith <P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>"Burn the Floor" is the titular exhortation of the ballroom extravaganza now at the Oriental Theatre. <BR>For my money, I'd sooner burn the choreographer, hang the producer and draw and quarter the costume designer—metaphorically speaking, of course. <P>Don't get me wrong. The rediscovery of popular dance was one of the happier surprises of the 1990s, treating us to memorable salutes to swing, tap, tango and Irish step dance.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://metromix.com/top/1,1419,M-Metromix-CriticsReviews-X!ArticleDetail-13892,00.html" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A> <BR>

<B>BURN THE FLOOR</B><BR>Reviewed by Joel Greenberg for Aisle Say<P><BR>"Burn the Floor" is billed as a "heart-pounding display of dance pyrotechnics", and though it may be a tad closer to sizzling television variety show in its spirit and especially in its uninspired choreography, I had a great time watching the youthful energy of 16 couples whose average age is 23. What a terrific afternoon this was.<P>Inspired by one of the myriad events at Elton John's 50th birthday celebration, to which his closest 600 pals were invited, the Australian producer, Harley Metcalf, mounted this multi-million dollar dance-a-ganza for all the world to see. And Toronto is the only Canadian stop on the tour, so make every effort to see the show before it becomes a re-tread on Bravo or some other arts-friendly station. I can't imagine what is lost on a taped format when the live experience is so robust, so free-spirited and so endearing in its complete lack of pretense.<P><A HREF="http://www.aislesay.com/ONT-BURN.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Ballroom dancing puts gaudy face on Burn the floor<P>Guillermo Perez, South Florida Sun-Sentinel<P>The popularization of niche dance genres continues with Burn the Floor, the revue touted as the Riverdance of ballroom -- and, like its Irish precedessor, a public television perennial.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/stage/sfl-en19burnfeb19.story?coll=sfla%2Dentertainment%2Dstage target=_blank>More</a>

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:<P><B>A singer nearly steals this spicy show<BR>By Merilyn Jackson</B><BR>FOR THE INQUIRER<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Brrr. If it's too frigid for you, forget the hot chocolate. Hot cha-cha is what you need. Burn the Floor, a sizzling, spicy dance show from the folks Down Under - where the charming movie Strictly Ballroom came from - is on the Merriam Theater's menu now through Sunday.<BR>Like marching bands, the Ice Capades, the Rockettes, professional wrestling, and Oz's Munchkins, the dance shows Riverdance and Stomp have stolen the hearts of Americans. Now, Burn the Floor, a revved-up, onstage version of competitive ballroom dancing, vies for our affections, too. Surely, rock-flamenco and Indian Kathak club-dancing extravaganzas will follow hotly on its heels.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR><A HREF="http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/performing_arts/2762270.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE>..</B></A><BR> <BR>

<B>'Burn the Floor' with dance steps</B><BR>A preview By Ann Geracimos for THE WASHINGTON TIMES<P><BR>Some of the best ideas ignite at the oddest time. Australian entertainment producer Harley Medcalf got his notion for the dance spectacle "Burn the Floor," which steps onto the Warner Theatre stage beginning Tuesday, as a guest at a 50th birthday bash for his friend Elton John in London's Hammersmith Ballroom. "Out come 16 young ballroom dancers and it absolutely stops the room. I was transfixed. As an ensemble, they had this incredible energy," he says.<P>That was five years ago. The Sydney-based entrepreneur since has promoted not one but two touring productions that combine ballroom dancing with rock 'n' roll and assorted theatrical effects to American audiences. <P><A HREF="http://www.washtimes.com/arts/20020309-3711470.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

<B>'Burn the Floor:' All the Jiggle, Without the Joy</B> <BR>By Sarah Kaufman for The Washington Post <P><BR>"Burn the Floor" is an exhibitionist spectacle of jiggly-wiggly bump-and-grind as lacking in imagination as it is in taste. It succeeds, in fact, in rendering Michael Flatley the true lord of the dance in comparison.<P>And the floor -- in this case, the Warner Theatre stage -- is the least of its components that ought to be torched.<P>It's also a show that cries out for parody, which might look something like this: A few waltzing couples, practically choking on ruffles and lace, are run off the stage by a snarly bunch of teased-hair street toughs falling out of their black brassieres, thumping and thrusting until a chorus of poodle-skirted swing dancers takes over. One, two, kick ball change! <P><A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24855-2002Mar14.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

Dance show starts slow, but heats up
Review: 'Burn the Floor' features ballroom teams from around globe.
By John Farrell - Special to the Press-Telegram (Long Beach CA)

Darkness, smoke and mirror balls are fine at a dance club, where romance is the thing and the partner you bring or find on the floor is only a few feet away.

But in the theater, where distances are a problem, light is a great invention. You can see what is going on, and watch the performers faces.

When those performers are young, attractive, personable and vividly athletic, as they are in "Burn the Floor" the ballroom dance-show that opened four performances at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach on Friday, anything that keeps you from them is a distraction.

Which, perhaps, explains why the show, which has earned a reputation for its fantastic dancers, seemed to open so slowly Friday. It begins in the dark, with a big production number built around two songs, "Would You...?" and "Do You Want to Dance," songs which give you the show's message, anyhow. But it isn't until the lights come up, halfway through the first act, that you discover the real people who have been just shapes in the fancy lights.

click for more

They are now in Utah.

more...

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<small>[ 16 April 2003, 02:40 PM: Message edited by: Azlan ]</small>