Burn the Floor – The Temperature Rises

Ballroom dancing reinvented on stage at Artscape Theatre

Cape Town’s Artscape Theatre, in association with Dance Partner Productions, Joburg Theatre and M-net, presents Burn the Floor – The Temperature Rises tour.  This Broadway dance-performance hit has all the sexiness of the Tango, the energy of the Samba and the class of the Waltz. A modern take on timeless dance classics, Burn the Floor will reignite your passion for ballroom dancing from Wednesday, 11 July until Sunday, 29 July 2012.

As the show that inspired So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, Superstars of Dance and many others, Burn the Floor has a great founding story. Originally designed as a special once-off performance in 1997 for Sir Elton John’s 50th birthday party, a group of 16 young dancers wowed guests with a ten-minute dance cabaret. Legendary Australian theatre producer and guest Harley Medcalf was so struck by this performance that he was inspired to create a full stage show, and so Burn the Floor was born, and has since toured over 30 countries performing in 160 cities worldwide.

Burn the Floor labels itself as “ballroom reinvented”, and that’s putting it mildly. As Medcalf eloquently says, “This ain’t your grandma’s ballroom”. Although filled with electrifying dances based on the Waltz, Cha-Cha, Samba, Salsa, Rumba, Foxtrot, Tango, Swing and many more classic favourites, Burn the Floor is “like ballroom dancing super charged; it’s the incredible art form of ballroom dance combined with rock and roll,” explains Medcalf.

This year’s performance has South Africans feeling very patriotic as it boasts South Africa’s answer to Billy Elliot - Keoikantse Motsepe (Keo). Motsepe has been dancing since the age of five, has represented South Africa internationally in all major Latin Dance Championships since 2003 and has been touring with the company since January 2012. He came on board after seeing last year’s show, about which he says, “I was blown away to be honest, I can’t describe the feeling.”

The three-week season kicks off in Cape Town with shows to follow in Johannesburg and Durban. For more information about ticket prices and show times visit the Artscape website. Be sure to diarise dates as this is sure to be one sizzling-hot performance!

Tickets are available through Artscape dial-a-seat and computicket outlets ranging from R125p/p – R315p/p.

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By Aisling Holmes