Burn the Floor

The Latin and Ballroom dance musical Burn the Floor, at the Colonial Theatre through March 13, has has been touring with rotating talent ever since it opened in England in 1999. In 2009 it finally made it to Broadway for a five-month run. The cast of 20 young, energetic dancers (five previous contestants of the hit TV show So You Think You Can Dance) and two singers (one a former American Idol contestant) have collectively amassed over 100 championship dance titles. Unfortunately, only slivers of their prodigious talents are showcased in this dance revue.

Burn the Floor seems aimed at those whose familiarity with partner dancing is a function of their sofa surfing--watching So You Think You Can Dance and the rest of the dance competition genre. The show is unlikely, however, to dazzle anyone with a Ballroom/Latin dance background. The choreography of Burn the Floor emphasizes ensemble dancing and persistent high speed booty shaking, relegating the core element of partnering to a back seat.

In the Latin dances--especially the cha-cha and rumba--the narrative is very flirtatious, a weave of come-hither invites and ambivalent rejections. In competitions couples are, in part, judged on the emotional content of their relationship. There must be a level of tension and a quality of communication that is visible via the dance and the gaze. In Burn the Floor, this essential aspect of Ballroom/Latin is too often sacrificed on the altar of extravaganza. In place of the teasing sexuality of Latin dancing, Burn the Floor employs a rather adolescent approach consisting of women repeatedly stealing each others' men, and men leering at every woman. This flavor of heterosexuality owes more to the embarrassing 1950s than to the camp interpretation so prominent in the competitive Ballroom/Latin scene.

When couples are able to perform undisturbed by the disco-like staging, as they are several times in Act II, the audience gets to see what made them champions. The few lyrical moments of a romantic Viennese waltz that interrupts an otherwise relentless super-fast mambo rhythm are very well-received. Kudos to the two Latin dance couples who stand out of the raucous crowd: Giselle Peacock and Kevin Clifton, and former So You Think You Can Dance contestants Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev.

One scene in particular embodies the sensibility of Ballroom and Latin dancing. The gifted Karen Hauer begins a rumba with one partner. Another man joins in, and then another. When six men have joined her on the stage, she is blindfolded. For a moment, it feels somewhat threatening--especially after previous numbers in which the women were the object of lewd approaches--but in fact their dancing displays a breath-taking subtext of skilled leading and following, a powerful level of communication.

Overall, the show lacks the grace and appeal that it promised, although the impressive energy of the dancers shines through despite all the flashing lights and repetitive group work. It is a shame that director/choreographer Jason Gilkison fails to trust the skill of his dancers and the ability of his audience to appreciate beautiful dance, no matter what the genre. Partner dancing in this International Ballroom and Latin style is a compelling and popular performance art around the world, so it is disappointing not to have more Dance and less Broadway. In the end, the stamina of these young performers is extraordinary and their joy of dancing is infectious.