A number from Ballroom With a Twist: Who are these people?
Ballroom with a Twist At the Sony Centre in Toronto on Tuesday
Why would a production not give out programs? It must be the assumption that the audience doesn't care.
Ballroom with a Twist arrived at the Sony Centre for the final performance of, presumably, a successful Canadian five-city whirlwind tour that began in Calgary on Oct. 12. I'm guessing successful based on the large and enthusiastic Toronto crowd that whooped and hollered after every number.
I couldn't do my job as a dance writer if I did not respect artists, so nothing drives me crazier than "no name" productions. I have no idea how many dancers were actually in the show because it was difficult to count them during the very fast curtain calls.
From the show's website, one gathers that Louis Van Amstel is the head honcho for Ballroom with a Twist. He is a choreographer as well as a dance partner to celebrities on television's Dancing with the Stars. From the web, I was also able to get the names of the DWTS professional dancers who were incorporated into this show - Edyta Sliwinska, Alec Mazo and Jonathan Roberts.
At least these guys were announced before they performed. Damian Whitewood, featured on the web with the others from DWTS, was embedded in the no-name chorus.
Olympic gold medal figure skater Evan Lysacek was the lone celebrity in the show. His name was announced before his number, but not his dance partner's.
It was cute to feature the three winners from an Arthur Murray Studio contest, the prize being a chance to appear on the show. Sylvia, Rocco and Vera gave it their best shot, partnered by Cynthia and Steve, presumably their teachers. Ballroom dance would seem to be a first name universe.
Another segment that scored big was inviting audience members to come up on stage with the major players for a dance lesson. American Idol finalists Gina Glockson (Season 6) and David Hernandez (Season 7) logged a lot of stage time, supposedly to give the dancers a chance to change costumes and have a bit of a rest.
Since this was strictly a Canadian tour, could they not have found Canadian idols? Glockson can belt out a tune, but her stage presence is pretty limp, and Hernandez is still looking for the pitch.
I guess the title Ballroom with a Twist refers to the fact that the rules of basic ballroom were transformed by adding influences of other dance styles, like Broadway and jazz. Van Amstel was also smart to layer in a lot of dangerous lifts, which pleased the crowd no end.
The many numbers in the show were quite short because they only lasted the length of a song, but one could see the skill of the dancers in tossing off a tango one minute and a jive the next. The women were very strong, which makes me even madder that I didn't know who they were, particularly the ones given solo turns.
Van Amstel's choreography overall is, admittedly, eye-catching - if an abundance of overt sexuality is your thing. Since the chorus line performed the lion's share of the dancing, they deserved a mention. Those kids literally carried the show.
ABOUT THE STARS
Evan Lysacek The Olympic gold medalist in figure skating was the celebrity draw in Ballroom with a Twist. The Chicago native introduced the show, participated in an interview segment along with the Dancing with the Stars professional dancers, and performed two routines culled from that show - a jive and a tango. His stiffness showed he wasn't a professional dance. He executed all the steps, but there wasn't the fluidity one would find in his skating. He did seem to handle his partner well through lifts and dips.
Edyta Sliwinska, Alec Mazo and Jonathan Roberts The DWTS professionals fared better. Sliwinska performed with both Mazo (her husband) and Roberts. She is a gorgeous, willowy dancer who looks wonderful in everything she does. Her numbers with Roberts were reminiscent of the dance teams that used to appear at supper clubs in the 1930s and 1940s, executing deliberately slow movements to show off dazzling lifts and dangerous partnering. With Mazo, she performed more energetic numbers, particularly a faux-flamenco where they both smouldered.
David Hernandez and Gina Glockson If this is the quality of American Idol finalists, I'm not terrifically impressed. Glockson is the typical belter, while Hernandez can do the high falsetto. Hernandez had a good stage personality but was limited in his singing, being both flat and off pitch. They both handled performing with backup dancers very well, which did give their numbers sex appeal. Their roles were really important to the flow of the show, however, and neither demonstrated much panache.