Burn the Floor - Tokyo - December 9, 2012
Our wonderful Imai Tsubasa got the huge privilege to be a guest dancer when the show Burn the Floor Around the World Tour came to Japan (shows in Tokyo and Osaka) last year. Unfortunately I didn't write a complete report at the time, so some parts of this will be taken from my rather bad memory. Although I have to admit that even directly after the show I couldn't remember much more than "hips! hips! hips!" XD
Our seats were good - on the 8th row in the right-hand section. The show was almost 2 hours long, but there was a break in the middle between the two acts. At the end of our row there were some more Takitsuba fans (I recognized the Takitsuba bags!) but we didn't talk so much to them...
The opening of the show was funny. One of the girls entered the room alone, and she picked guys from the audience who she then interacted with, danced a few steps with, and made them kiss her in different spots... One of the things I thought about the whole evening was that it was fun to see so much...undressed-ness this evening! XD During the months I had spent in Japan so far, I had already become used to the fact that here you don't walk around in clothes that expose a lot of skin (except for miniskirts of course). But since these were American dancers, well, there was a lot of skin exposal. It was beautiful and sensual and I loved the clothes very much! But I couldn't get rid of the feeling of "can that really be called a dress?" haha!
Anyway, the first part of the first act was called Inspiration and the first number was called Ballroom Beat (I'm taking these details from the official pamphlet) and it was a very energetic latin Cha Cha number. The members of the troup entered one at a time until everyone was on the stage. In a kind of second opening number Tsubasa also entered the stage! He walked down the stairs in the middle of the stage with some dancers behind him and then he danced from the stairs to the front of the stage. Oh, the cheering from the audience! So fantastic to hear the support Tsubasa got from all of us! I don't have any memory of his clothes during this part (apart from his black pants with black satin stripes on the sides) - I just remember that he was dancing SEXY! His hips! He was dancing alone for a bit, and together with a couple of girls, but after just a short while he left the stage again and didn't return until the second act.
The next number was called History Repeating and it started out with a very beautiful Viennese Waltz with only one couple on the stage, and the girl had a long white dress that was sooo beautiful! Then the number continued with everyone on stage and a mixture of Foxtrot, Swing, Jive, Samba, and a lot of different dances.
The next few numbers were Samba and Rumba dance numbers, then there was a Jive/Cha Cha number and two Waltz numbers. I don't remember which number it was, unfortunately, but one of my absolute favorite numbers was when one of the girls danced alone with seven guys. She was dressed in a white dress made of fringes, and the guys were all half-naked... Alright, so I went there to see Tsubasa, but I didn't mind watching the other sexy guys with their well-trained dancer bodies... Didn't mind at all. ;)
The second part of the first act was called Things That Swing and yeah, there was swing alright! Five numbers of Cha Cha, Jive, Swing, Quickstep and Lindy. This was one of my favorite parts, since I love quick and energetic dances! I believe it was during this part also that there was a number that was fun. A guy who started dancing with one girl, and then another girl - and suddenly found himself being surrounded by girls who wanted to dance with him. But when they found out he was dancing with other girls as well, he ended up being chased off the stage by the whole group of girls... I think it was during this part of the show.
The second act started with a part called The Latin Quarter, starting with a fun jive. I will not swear on this, but I think the next number was another number that I loved - it was like a story. Two groups of people, and then two people who fell in love but kept being separated by the others because they belonged to different groups.
And then finally Tsubasa appeared on stage again! He didn't get a Flamenco, but he did get a Paso Doble, in a number called Matador, dressed in amazing red-and-gold matador clothes. The way he swung his red-and-yellow cape around him! A few of the other dancers entered the stage after a short while and danced around him, leaving him in the center of the stage to shine. And this time too, I could hardly think anything else than "hips!!!". But no, actually I did think other things too this time - "waist" and "chest".... His movements, so smooth and yet so perfectly accurate and strong.
There were another couple of numbers, and then came the number I had been looking sooo much forward to! Suddenly a whole bunch of guys entered the stage carrying chairs, then joined by girls. The chair number! It's possible that it was my favorite number from the show. Tsubasa was put in the center of the stage for this number as well, and he was in pair with one of the main female dancers, a strong and tough dark-haired girl who I liked a lot during the show. I couldn't help getting a tiny bit jealous during this number though... This was sooo sexy and sensual! Tsubasa was wearing these black clothes - pants with holes in them, and a tanktop - and was just hips and arms and long legs. He and the girl were dancing on the chair, around the chair, getting close and then separating again. I could just stare in amazement.
The last part of the second act was, fitting enough, called Coda - The Last Part. It started slowly with a beautiful Rumba which I loved. It was followed by a mixture of Cha Cha, Waltz, Jive and so on. The next to last number, Proud Mary, was also one of my favorites - a Jive - and of course Tsubasa joined them since it was close to the final number. He wore an open jacket with chains, a dark tanktop and grey jeans. The music was mainly Rollin' On The River by Tina Turner, and Tsubasa seemed to have so much fun! And then it was the last number, Ballroom Blitz, where the music mainly was based on the song with the same name by The Sweet. And Tsubasa was having so much fun during this number too! The best part was when he got to enter the stage to be presented somewhere in the middle of the number. Everyone else was already somewhere on the stage when their names were called, but Tsubasa had left the stage. When they called his name he appeared on top of the stairs in the middle of the stage, and then skipped down the steps, a wide smile on his face, and the cheering from the audience was almost deafening!
Well, that's all, I guess. I plan to translate his part of the pamphlet as well, but I will wait until I have the scans. Hope you enjoyed the report!
Our seats were good - on the 8th row in the right-hand section. The show was almost 2 hours long, but there was a break in the middle between the two acts. At the end of our row there were some more Takitsuba fans (I recognized the Takitsuba bags!) but we didn't talk so much to them...
The opening of the show was funny. One of the girls entered the room alone, and she picked guys from the audience who she then interacted with, danced a few steps with, and made them kiss her in different spots... One of the things I thought about the whole evening was that it was fun to see so much...undressed-ness this evening! XD During the months I had spent in Japan so far, I had already become used to the fact that here you don't walk around in clothes that expose a lot of skin (except for miniskirts of course). But since these were American dancers, well, there was a lot of skin exposal. It was beautiful and sensual and I loved the clothes very much! But I couldn't get rid of the feeling of "can that really be called a dress?" haha!
Anyway, the first part of the first act was called Inspiration and the first number was called Ballroom Beat (I'm taking these details from the official pamphlet) and it was a very energetic latin Cha Cha number. The members of the troup entered one at a time until everyone was on the stage. In a kind of second opening number Tsubasa also entered the stage! He walked down the stairs in the middle of the stage with some dancers behind him and then he danced from the stairs to the front of the stage. Oh, the cheering from the audience! So fantastic to hear the support Tsubasa got from all of us! I don't have any memory of his clothes during this part (apart from his black pants with black satin stripes on the sides) - I just remember that he was dancing SEXY! His hips! He was dancing alone for a bit, and together with a couple of girls, but after just a short while he left the stage again and didn't return until the second act.
The next number was called History Repeating and it started out with a very beautiful Viennese Waltz with only one couple on the stage, and the girl had a long white dress that was sooo beautiful! Then the number continued with everyone on stage and a mixture of Foxtrot, Swing, Jive, Samba, and a lot of different dances.
The next few numbers were Samba and Rumba dance numbers, then there was a Jive/Cha Cha number and two Waltz numbers. I don't remember which number it was, unfortunately, but one of my absolute favorite numbers was when one of the girls danced alone with seven guys. She was dressed in a white dress made of fringes, and the guys were all half-naked... Alright, so I went there to see Tsubasa, but I didn't mind watching the other sexy guys with their well-trained dancer bodies... Didn't mind at all. ;)
The second part of the first act was called Things That Swing and yeah, there was swing alright! Five numbers of Cha Cha, Jive, Swing, Quickstep and Lindy. This was one of my favorite parts, since I love quick and energetic dances! I believe it was during this part also that there was a number that was fun. A guy who started dancing with one girl, and then another girl - and suddenly found himself being surrounded by girls who wanted to dance with him. But when they found out he was dancing with other girls as well, he ended up being chased off the stage by the whole group of girls... I think it was during this part of the show.
The second act started with a part called The Latin Quarter, starting with a fun jive. I will not swear on this, but I think the next number was another number that I loved - it was like a story. Two groups of people, and then two people who fell in love but kept being separated by the others because they belonged to different groups.
And then finally Tsubasa appeared on stage again! He didn't get a Flamenco, but he did get a Paso Doble, in a number called Matador, dressed in amazing red-and-gold matador clothes. The way he swung his red-and-yellow cape around him! A few of the other dancers entered the stage after a short while and danced around him, leaving him in the center of the stage to shine. And this time too, I could hardly think anything else than "hips!!!". But no, actually I did think other things too this time - "waist" and "chest".... His movements, so smooth and yet so perfectly accurate and strong.
There were another couple of numbers, and then came the number I had been looking sooo much forward to! Suddenly a whole bunch of guys entered the stage carrying chairs, then joined by girls. The chair number! It's possible that it was my favorite number from the show. Tsubasa was put in the center of the stage for this number as well, and he was in pair with one of the main female dancers, a strong and tough dark-haired girl who I liked a lot during the show. I couldn't help getting a tiny bit jealous during this number though... This was sooo sexy and sensual! Tsubasa was wearing these black clothes - pants with holes in them, and a tanktop - and was just hips and arms and long legs. He and the girl were dancing on the chair, around the chair, getting close and then separating again. I could just stare in amazement.
The last part of the second act was, fitting enough, called Coda - The Last Part. It started slowly with a beautiful Rumba which I loved. It was followed by a mixture of Cha Cha, Waltz, Jive and so on. The next to last number, Proud Mary, was also one of my favorites - a Jive - and of course Tsubasa joined them since it was close to the final number. He wore an open jacket with chains, a dark tanktop and grey jeans. The music was mainly Rollin' On The River by Tina Turner, and Tsubasa seemed to have so much fun! And then it was the last number, Ballroom Blitz, where the music mainly was based on the song with the same name by The Sweet. And Tsubasa was having so much fun during this number too! The best part was when he got to enter the stage to be presented somewhere in the middle of the number. Everyone else was already somewhere on the stage when their names were called, but Tsubasa had left the stage. When they called his name he appeared on top of the stairs in the middle of the stage, and then skipped down the steps, a wide smile on his face, and the cheering from the audience was almost deafening!
Well, that's all, I guess. I plan to translate his part of the pamphlet as well, but I will wait until I have the scans. Hope you enjoyed the report!