Music
Q&A: We chat to the cast of Burn the Floor
If you are yet to see Burn the Floor, what are you waiting for? The incredible show must close tomorrow night so now is the time to get your tickets to see it before it leaves Melbourne.
Burn the Floor features a troupe of amazingly talented performers as well as a live band and live vocalists, phenomenal choreography and stunning costumes.
But who wants to hear from me when you can hear all about Burn the Floor from the dancers themselves? We were lucky enough to speak with some of incredibly talented performers including Jenna Grainger (USA), Jorja Freeman (Australia), Santo Costa (Australia), Jemma Armstrong (Australia), Lauren Oakley (UK), Ben Hardwick (UK), Pasquale LaRocca (Italy), Gustavo Viglio (Italy), Arduino Bertoncello (Italy), Victoria Martin (Ireland), Alberto Faccio (Italy), Alessia Santo (Italy) and Luba Mushtuk (Russia),
Enjoy our Q&A with some of the performers from Burn the Floor.
Tickets for Burn the Floor are now on sale. Click here to purchase now.
Ticketmaster: Can you tell me a little about what the audience can expect to see at Burn the Floor?
Victoria: Fantastic dancers, talented musicians and beautiful, beautiful singers.
Pasquale: A new set, new costumes, new songs and new choreography. A beautiful mix of everything.
Lauren: I think the audience will be taken through lots of different styles of dance from all over the world (and) from different eras. And they will experience that through the passion between the couple and the friendship between the whole cast.
Gustavo: When we speak about Ballroom don’t think that it is the ballroom old style. This ballroom is ballroom fused with rock and roll. And take care on your seat because you will be electrified!
Ticketmaster: What makes the show so unique?
Ben: We get to work as a group. Normally we are in competition. We usually compete against each other but this gives us the opportunity to dance as a team. And we all get on very well, we are all good friends so it is a nice atmosphere on stage and also it is a good energy and a good vibe all the time.
Santo: I think the unique thing about our show is, I’ve seen a lot of shows in my time and this is the one that really highlights the amount of energy and the physical fitness that we performers have. And it sort of brings that to the forefront of the performance. I haven’t seen another show like it that expels so much energy in a two hour period.
Jemma: For me I think Burn the Floor is very special because it gives you the freedom to be your own character and personality. Everyone is very unique. We have a lot of freedom so whatever we feel is natural we can do. You get to meet a lot of different personalities on stage.
Jorja: Burn the Floor gives us the ability to work as a group. We are a troupe of dancers that work together but we are also able to be individual in our own right. We’ve become very close when we tour together; we’ve become like a family –we fight like a family – but it is a very special group and we have become close very quickly.
Pasquale: I think another important thing is the story line that we have on stage because not all dance shows have storylines so here we have story lines from beginning to end so you can really see, the audience can really get into the story. It is like having the audience with us on stage.
Lauren: What makes the show so unique is how a couple on stage portray what we say that only a couple that has been married for 50 years can portray. We show the relationship and we are so in tune with each other that it is different to any other dance show. (It’s different) to any other dance company because it is a man and a lady dancing together and it is the harmony between that and the music. 
Ticketmaster: Which is your favourite dance to perform?
Victoria: I guess I have to say it is our solo, which is Volare.
Pasquale: My favourite dance is definitely Carmen’s Stairway, which is like a big section at the beginning of the second act.
Lauren: My favourite dance to perform is Ballroom Blitz, which is the finale of the show because I love the costumes and it is a moment when we all have so much fun and just show how much we’ve loved the show. Not a relaxing moment as such, but it’s just like a party at the end of the show.
Alessia: I prefer one section of the show because I can be myself in one section so I prefer to dance that one.
Gustavo: My personal favourite is Every Piece of My Heart. It is quite interesting because it is the ending of our love story so it makes me really passionate about it.
Jemma: That’s a hard question for me because I like how much we can change during the show, we get to do a bit of everything. But particularly for Ben and myself, I like the ‘40s sections. Ben just throws me around really and it is more jive. It is high energy, it is colourful and we can all have fun and be a little bit cheeky as well.
Jorja: The whole show offers so much and every routine has something different to offer, but for Alberto and myself a special one for us is a routine called Angels. It is very personal to both of us and he created it so it is very personal and special to both of us.
Alberto: She just said everything! For me it is the same.
Luba: It’s a really difficult question because during the whole show there’s very special routines and we give everything we have to each dance we do. But probably for me and my partner it is Carmen because it is a really serious dance and we worked so much on it. It’s the most personal solo we have so I will say Carmen.
Ben: Like Jemma already said, there’s a ‘40s section where we do a lot of jives and a lot of tricks so that is really our highlight in the show. But I also like some of the darker sides as well, which is interesting costumes and cool choreography. I also start with the audience; I interact with them, which is fun and interesting.
Jenna: What I like is all the Latin numbers because I am a jazz and ballet dancer so my only Latin learning and teaching has been through Burn the Floor. So the Latin numbers are my favourite ones to do because they are different from what I have grown up to do.
Santo: I think my favourite routine in the show is a number called Ballroom Beat. It was originally designed… the music and choreography fit so well together. Everything we do is well accented and it’s paired together so well and I think the choreography and music are perfect.
Arduino: Probably also for me, Carmen is the number that I like more. Also in the second act there is a cool section and Maria Maria is a new style for BTF. It is very sexy, it’s very hot because it is like the kids in the club so it is very sexy and very hot. I like that.
Ticketmaster: When did you begin dancing?
Victoria: I was four.
Pasquale: I was nine.
Lauren: Technically I wasn’t born yet because my Mum was dancing when she was pregnant with me but when I officially started I was two.
Alessia: I was five.
Gustavo: I was 11 years old.
Ticketmaster: Can you tell me what you love most about performing at the Palms at Crown Melbourne?
Santo: Other than being my home town, the actual venue itself is perfect. It’s got this beautiful old 1940s club feel that I think is perfect for our show. The stage is amazing, the techs here are awesome. The whole venue just fits in really well with our show. It’s a nice marriage.
Jemma: It’s a very intimate audience and a cabaret feel, which I like. But also for us dancers afterwards, we have great areas to go just to be together or have a little wind down or some food. It’s just got everything here that makes it appealing. It’s a great, great venue and audiences are awesome here.
Ticketmaster: Do you still get nervous when you take the stage to perform or is it just exhilarating?
Victoria: I still get nervous. Ask any of these guys I am ready like one hour before the show with costume on. But the thing is with that it makes me feel like I’m still alive and I’m still passionate about my job.
Pasquale: Once the (first dance) is finished I am normally quite confident and excited every time. I just try to set my mood.
Victoria: But are you nervous?
Pasquale: No I am always very excited.
Lauren: I would say all three: nervous, excited and it is exhilarating as well. Whatever I feel that day I feel on stage, if that makes sense. So I put it into my dancing.
Alessia: I am never nervous. I feel a lot of adrenalin.
Gustavo: No I wouldn’t say that I am nervous, I just trust myself each show to create and improve and have a better performance each time.
Burn the Floor will perform at The Palms at Crown Melbourne until March 19. Click here to get your tickets now.
