Broadway has seen great dance from such stellar choreographers as Jerome Robbins, Agnes DeMille, Jack Cole, Michael Bennett, Bob Fosse and Tommy Tune, but until last year, there had never been an evening devoted to ballroom dance.BURN THE FLOOR changed that, with a popular six-month run on Broadway that then spawned a national tour at prime venues around the United States.
"It was always a dream, that we wanted to perform in New York, amongst the best in the world," says producer Harley Medcalf. "That’s a great way to learn how good you are, can you compete." Appearing on Broadway was key to the steamy dance show’s marketability around the country.
"For me to say a year ago that I’m going to do a 40-week tour of America, it just wasn’t possible," concedes Medcalf. "But now that we do have that Broadway branding, it really makes such a difference."
BURN THE FLOOR, a wall-to-wall display of choreographic fireworks, features 20 athletic dancers from around the world.
Begun in 1999, the production preceded such television shows as ABC TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” and FOX TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance”, helping to kick-start the current dance boom.
Initially, Medcalf’s show seemed a little ahead of its time. "I was the crazy guy, as far as my contemporaries were concerned, trying to do something with ballroom," he says.
Thanks largely to the work of director-choreographer Jason Gilkison, BURN THE FLOOR redefined ballroom. "It’s not that traditional old stuffy dance that you see your grandparents doing," says Robin Windsor, an eight-year veteran of the show. "We’ve taken ballroom dancing to the next level. It’s really hip and sexy and very high energy. We kind of push the boundaries."
BURN THE FLOOR is dancing like you have never seen it before," says Australian-born company member Sharna Burgess, who has danced competitively for Germany. "It’s fast-paced, it’s intense, but at the right moments, it slows down and it becomes passionate and soft and intimate. It’s a feel-good show for everybody, whether you’re six or 60."
BURN THE FLOOR will be at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from November 16 thru 18, 2010.
