Fun on the Hot Floor

Competitive couples show off their technique in musical

Hands up, whoever saw Strictly Ballroom! Anybody who enjoyed Baz Luhrmann's funny, flashy Cinderella story set in the world of competitive ballroom dance will instantly understand the point of Burn the Floor, a popular production that, like the film, originated in Australia.
If you're not familiar with "Dancesport", as its aficionados call it, here's the lowdown: it's a fiercely contested battlefield upon which couples dressed something like Fred and Ginger compete to prove themselves the best at waltzing, swinging or lindying. (There's also a category for Latin dances like samba, rumba and cha-cha.)
Despite the evidence of Burn the Floor and Strictly Ballroom, says performer Peta Roby, who's been with the show since its inception about four years ago, Australians are more active in outdoor sports than in ballroom dancing. However, "There's a big Italian community in the ballroom industry," she says, also naming England ("It's huge!"), Germany, where, she says, "it's on television all the time," and Russia. (The Japanese are also crazy about it, and flocked to see Burn the Floor when it hit that country.)
The competitive aspect is taken so seriously that its supporters have been lobbying for years to have Dancesport included in the Olympics. (In fact, the International Dancesport Federation has already been accepted as a full member of the International Olympic Committee.) Only fair, believes Roby, who compares the pursuit to couples figure skating. "We really do the same thing," she says, "without skates."
As in figure skating, competing couples tend to stay together for a long time. In some cases, the relationship is also an offstage marriage. In others, it's just about the sport. In Burn the Floor, says Roby, "I think we have 16 couples. I think we have three married couples, four that are together - like, engaged or long-term relationships and then there are singles."
Roby's own dance partner is Jason Gilkison, who joined Burn the Floor as a cast member, but became the show's director and choreographer about a year later. The two have won 18 Australian Championships and numerous international honours. "We started together when we were seven, and we have been together right on through till now, which is almost 30 years," says Roby.
When Gilkison took on the choreographer's role, the cast mainly consisted of pre-existing couples. "As the show began to evolve, we decided to recruit singles as well. It's allowed us to set up couples," Roby says. However, "The biggest transition is all these kids compete against each other, and it changes the whole nature of the beast when you get them to work together... And it's worked beautifully," she adds.
"Ballroom dancing is really all about the relationship between man and woman. I must say that that's something that Jason has a big spark for," she continues. "That's the whole beauty of ballroom dancing; it is the nature of the relationship between the two."
Burn the Floor runs at the Hummingbird Centre from April 22 to 26. For tickets, call 416-872-2262 or visit www.ticketmaster.ca.

Publication Date: 2003-04-20
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=2615