Last weekend, a friend and I went to see "Simply Ballroom" at the Times Union Center in Jacksonville.
It was fun. Hosted by a couple of American Idol finalists, Anthony Federov and Vonzell Solomon (season 4)who did introductions and sang, it featured ten couples dressed in ballroom show gowns doing numbers which showcased typical dances, like the quick step, waltz and swing, with a bit of introduction about the dances themselves.
The dancers were good, though we could tell they weren't all ballroom dancers. Some appeared to be Broadway dancers doing ballroom numbers. Equally adept doing amazing things on stage. Tom would comment "You can tell she isn't ballroom trained. She keeps bending her knee doing the cha-cha," and the like.
Some didn't seem very into it, though one part, when they competed against each other seemed to bring out the best in the dancers.
Debbie Reynolds was the featured star. She held the stage a few times, telling stories about her days in Hollywood, and jokes about her multiple husbands. She talked about her first role in "Singing in the Rain" with Gene Kelly, and pretending to Mr. Kelly when she met him that she could dance. She even sang one of her hits, "Tammy."
The show was a lot of fun. I take ballroom lessons whenever I can fit them into my schedule. Good exercise and incredible fun, so I can at least appreciate some of the moves the dancers were making.
Comments