Customer Reviews

Burn the Floor [VHS]

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

"Burn the Floor" (DVD), is a film of the stage play "Burn the Floor" and burn the floor they do. Wow! It's a year 2000 salute, a tribute to dancing couples. Many of the dances are interpretations, abstractions of the milestone dance styles of the 20th Century, performed by 23 couples, the world's newest crop of ballroom champions.

The choreography is brilliant and dazzling, with each couple sharing the limelight in individual routines, but somehow it works together, as one. A time machine that whisks the viewer back to the smooth waltz, Hollywood and Broadway of the thirties, the Lindy, Fred Astaire, World War II and Glenn Miller. Then the Jitterbug, Zoot Suit, Reet Pleat and right cuff to look sharp enough to see your Sunday gal. Holy Moly Batman, we eventually zoom back to the 21st Century.

"Hot", the finale, is a hand-clapping, finger snapping, mind boggling Mambo/Salsa of the 21st Century. It is all new, fresh, sexy, wet and hot. The music, the moves, the artistry of the dancers and the ambiance of the stage, draws the spellbound viewer into the action. After seeing this film, many will browse the Yellow Pages in search of dance lessons from their nearest studio. This DVD is a keeper: you can play it over and over and never tire of watching it.

Any sort of ballroom dancing is terrific to watch, but this will blow you away. The video box will in no way prepare you for the exciting dancing, dancing, dancing that follows. THIS IS NOT FOR THE TIMID AND TRADITIONAL. Even I, at times, was jawdropped at the uninhibited sexual nature of it. Now, it isn't the whole show, but several sequences are indeed rather racy--in terms of clothing and dancing. But it you can get past that, it is a treat for anyone. Special favorites for me are the swing sequence and the Fred and Ginger bit. But all of it is spectatular and worth watching.

Both the dancing and music is superb, BUT.... Unfortunately, this live performance was almost ruined by the way it was videotaped and then chopped-up when the tape was apparently edited by idiots. Also, I saw it on DVD and it appeared quite fuzzy to me in places. It's still worth watching, just be prepared to get a headache from the editing jumping from place to place about every 2 seconds. And if you want to see any of the dancer's faces, forget that too.

Prepared to be disappointed, my husband and I were awed by the dancing in this unusual and unique stage performance and too wired to sleep. We were not at all disappointed, though. "Burn the Floor" is a fusion of ballroom dancing with Fred & Ginger, Martha Graham, Bob Fosse, boogie-woogie, Buzby Berkely, Riverdance, ballet and jazz. The resulting amalgam is something entirely new and heart-racing. I cannot recall seeing so many fabulous dancers in one place at one time.

The costuming was sensational, especially for "The Continental" number. It would be hard to get more elegant. The music was pounding but not overly so, the sound rendition was excellent, and the editor, Nick Morris, should get a special award for excellence. While he could have utilized far fewer slo-motion cuts which tend to throw the music track off rhythm just a fraction - enough for purists to be annoyed - he was mercifully judicious about his camera cuts. They were not overdone as in the Michael Flatley DVD's. In future DVD's of new "Burn the Floor" shows, should there be any, I hope Morris is used again -he is an artist in his own right except for a slight overzealousness about using slo-mo.

As to the content, with the exception of the second number, a black-lipsticked punk-rock number that struck a discordant note among an otherwise stellar program, the rest of the numbers were mesmerizing. The variety of themes and choreography are superbly innovative, especially the use of props, and both create a pleasant tension by being unpredictable; you never know what's coming next.

Just as John Curry raised ice dancing to a new level and made it a new creature known as ice ballet, "Burn The Floor" has also taken ballroom dancing, tweaked and enhanced it, made it tell a story, and made it a new creature. Don't expect straight ballroom dancing in this program; it's more, much more, but the ballroom influence is ever-present.

Having said that, the strong sexual nature of bits and pieces of the program, plus some of the costuming, make it unfit for family viewing unless you don't care that young children see nearly-naked butts and a good deal of cleavage. The self-groin-grabbing in the otherwise wildly exciting finale could (and should) have been left on the cutting room floor and for certain, should not have been a deliberate part of the otherwise fantastic family viewing.

All things considered, this is a spectacular dance DVD and will wipe the floor, let alone burn it, with all the others.

A friend brought over the VHS, and I was so blown away that I immediately ordered the DVD. The dancing is so fun, energetic, and the cast is OBVIOUSLY having the time of their lives. It makes me regret sneering at dance classes when I was a kid! Like the live audience, I wanted to stand up and cheer--and start dancing in the aisles.

Some people have quibbled about the camerawork and editing. Speaking as a professional film editor, I found the camerawork and editing to be first rate. The editing follows your eye, in much the same way you would if you were at a show live. Of course your eyes cannot give you zooms, crane shots, or closeups, but I felt the editing was inspired. It increases the energy of the show AND gives you a real "feel" for the dance...as opposed to the "Fred and Ginger" school of the uncut long shot master take. Yes, the cutting is quick at times, but you certainly see enough of the footwork that it's a joy to also see the closeups of the dancers faces and bodies. A static proscenium or rostrum camera would have destroyed the energy and rhythm.

This video takes it's place with the DVD of "Cats", in my book, in terms of wonderfully conveying the freedom, joy, and liberation of dance.

I think this video is amazing! I saw the show live (which everyone should see!), and thats where I bought the video. That was about 3 days ago, and I've watched it about 50 times. I think all the rewindin is going to ware it out. Its sexy, and beautiful. Its in no way an instructional video, its entertainment. If you love to see people dance, this is the #1 movie to get! Its awesome!

Okay, so the video might not be great, but I'll tell you one thing, we dancers worked our butts off in that show, and the audience loved it. I agree that the lighting was a bit much, and the video cuts make it so that you can't really enjoy the dancing, but it is damned good dancing, and it was directed by one of the best directors in the history of theater, Anthony Van Laast. Not only is he one of the best directors, but one of the nicest, sweetest people I know. If you want to criticize this video, the video itself deserves criticism, but not the dancing or the direction. And I may be biased, but I don't find this video to be a complete waste of time and money...

I heard about Burn the Floor when it came to our city as a musical at the Denver Center For Performing Arts. I could not afford the tickets, but heard such great reviews about the performances. I love dancing and ballroom dancing especially. I cannot dance as well as I use to when I was 30 years younger, but when I watch Burn the Floor, I get transported back in time when I was able to move like that, and I get up and move! This movie is a great movie to review the moves you use to do when you were younger and you can follow the steps the dancers provide to reteach yourself them again. What a good teaching tool, especially the last cut of the musical. I play over and over again, try to get up off the couch and dance. Great move!

As a dancer and instructor I was looking forward to a social dance show. What a disappointment. Lots of cleavage and bun shots, crotch grabbing, and supposedly sexy looking costumes and antics. The choreography was self absorbed and uninspired. I suppose the dancing was okay, though it was hard to tell as the camera angle changed every few seconds and slowing of the video made the leaps oh so long. But what do I know; you may like it.

As a ballroom/latin dancer, I was thrilled when I thought I'd finally found a video of a show featuring the type of dance I do. I was vastly disappointed after watching through this video. The dancing was probably excellent, but I certainly couldn't tell. Whoever did the filming obviously had no clue about how to film a dance show. The "special" effects (rapid cuts, dizzying changes in view, slow-motion, zooming in to dancers' faces, etc.) were probably meant to enhance the video but ended up ruining a good portion of the dancing. The swing scenes were pretty good, I have to admit, but all in all I found this video to be a complete waste of my $25. My advice: if you're a swing/lindy dancer, you might be able to pull a few cool moves off this video. If you're a ballroom/latin dancer, don't bother, you won't get much out of it besides a slight headache and maybe motion-sickness. If you just want to see a movie with ballroom dancing, there are better ones out there, like Dance with Me.