Joburg Theatre is proud to announce the exclusive visit to South Africa of the world’s most popular dance show BURN THE FLOOR – on The Mandela stage and for a limited season only from July 14th 2011.

“Ten years ago I started negotiations to bring this sensational dance show to Joburg Theatre,” says CEO Bernard Jay, whose responsibility it is to source shows for the theatre from across the globe, “but the worldwide demand for its extraordinary company of champion ballroom and Latin dancers meant that South Africa had to wait its turn.  However, I was determined to secure this show for our audiences.  And a late-night dinner with its creator and producer, Harley Medcalf, following a performance of BURN THE FLOOR on Broadway in October 2009, lead to a hand-shake and today’s long-awaited announcement.”

You've seen Ballroom dance on TV shows such as DANCING WITH THE STARS and SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE.  Now, with Burn the Floor, you can feel - live on stage - all the passion, the drama and the sizzling excitement of twenty sexy and sensual champion dancers in a true theatrical experience: a performance with a grace and athleticism that The New York Times described simply as "Dazzling!"

Since 1999, Burn the Floor has reinvented and changed all perceptions of Ballroom!

Beginning with, and maintaining all the wonderful traditions and the social history of the Ballroom dance art form, BURN THE FLOOR is a groundbreaking show, serving as a melting pot of styles, energy and excitement for today’s generation of dancers.  It is Ballroom Reinvented.  Ballroom Supercharged.

The company consists of twenty champion ballroom and Latin dancers, two sensational vocalists and two on-stage percussionists. “And what is additionally exciting and, I think, another ‘first’ for South Africa,” says Bernard Jay, “is that we’re getting the very same company that triumphed on Broadway just a few months ago.”

During the course of two acts, the dancers perform all the Ballroom and Latin styles, including The Waltz, Cha-Cha, Samba, Salsa, Rumba, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Mambo, Tango, Swing, Jive, Lindy Hop, Viennese Waltz, and Paso Doble.  The music is eclectic, from Swing and Waltz classics to J Lo and Credence Clearwater. The vocalists perform in many languages during the show, including English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The original idea for BURN THE FLOOR was conceived in 1997 at Sir Elton John’s 50th Birthday Party at the Hammersmith Palais Ballroom in London.  At the height of the festivities, a group of sixteen young dancers brought the house down with a ten-minute dance cabaret.   After seeing this performance, legendary Australian theatre producer Harley Medcalf had the spark of an idea to build a full stage show around what he had just seen. 

From that first moment of inspiration, what would become the international sensation BURN THE FLOOR quickly evolved.

From Harlem's hot nights at The Savoy, where dances such as the Lindy, Foxtrot and Charleston were born, to the Latin Quarter where the Cha-Cha, Rumba and Salsa steamed up the stage, Burn the Floor takes audiences on a journey through the passionate drama of dance. The elegance of the Viennese Waltz, the exuberance of the Jive, the intensity of the Paso Doble - audiences will experience them all, as well as the Tango, Samba, Mambo, Quickstep and Swing.

But what also makes BURN THE FLOOR so very special and different from all of the other dance shows touring the globe is its unique sexual energy, non-stop breathtaking pace and in-your-face choreography created by the show’s artistic director JASON GILKISON.
Jason is currently engaged with the Burn the Floor Broadway Edition tour around the USA.

Performances begin in The Mandela on Thursday July 14th 2011 and the limited season must close on Sunday August 14th 2011.

Tickets are priced from R195 and are on sale now exclusively by visiting www.joburgtheatre.com and purchasing your print-at-home ticket on the internet, or by calling the theatre’s new direct ticketing line on 0861 670 670.