A small but expert band of 20 dancers and， at times， a male or female singer， perform 11 different types of dance， some called standard， some Latin. They are all ballroom dances but， as Gilkison26)conceives them， they incorporate 27)balletic， 28)acrobatic and modern dance elements that no actual ballroom would even dream of.
Exactly how is the show special？ First， choreographically. There are extraordinarily difficult steps， complex 29)intertwinings， unusual lifts， a woman (or sometimes a man) 30)whirled around the floor or tossed about， clinging to various parts of a partner， one 31)tumbling or sailing over the other (elegantly， not 32)clownishly)， separations and rejoinings， 33)gravity-defying parallel leaps.
Next， 34)histrionically. The dancers claim among them more than 100 national or international championships， which generally go to performers who not only dance 35)superbly but also have something extra in looks， 36)bearing， ability to interact with partners and 37)ensembles. This is especially important for Gilkison， who cleverly designs matchups and groupings that have a commandingly 38)theatrical value. In one number a woman dances with six men； in another， one man with four women. Gilkison is also a master ofsuggestive mating of paired dancers to bring out specific 39)reverberations.
Third， sexually. Gilkison has clearly steered his dancers into eyeing one another in powerfully affective ways： 40)provocative， yearning， jealous， or 41)amorously 42)blissful—even if， like Damon and Rebecca Sugden， they may in truth be a long-married couple.
Lastly， it is fortunate， though perhaps 43)fortuitous， that the dancers come， by my count， from 11 different countries； it is inspiriting that whatever their ethnic differences， they are united in perfect harmony.
This show is， as Gilkison rightly calls it， dance theater. It is comic and dramatic， 44)sensual and 45)lyrical， acrobatic and romantic—in short， utterly theatrical. The production manages to be 46)slick and sexy at the same time—it’s a 47)vulgarized dance marathon， an ’80s Vegas 48)variety show. There is something for everyone. And one thing is for sure： Not just TV dance fans will flock. Ticket sales will burn just as hot as the temperatures on the floor.