A WORD FROM OUR VOCALIST

Life has settled in quite nicely in Reno. The shows have been amazing, with some very enthusiastic audiences, the cast have scouted around and found great restaurants and sushi bars to hang out at, our apartments have been filled with so many bargains from Wal-Mart, and a few of us have been lucky on the slots..... well not me.

I've seen dollars disappear into thin air, while people like Esther pull out 400 dollars from just one spin. But she did shout me lunch when we took a day trip to Vegas with the winnings!.
It has actually been so great to have a few months in one spot, rather than travelling to new cities every few days. I even get to cook now!. That's the one hard thing about touring is you rarely get to play chef. We have all been able to set up a kind of home, free from the hassle of packing and unpacking luggage.
Our days off have been spent exploring the surrounding areas like Lake Tahoe. It was amazing to spend the day off, amongst the most beautiful scenery while just throwing a frisbee around.
The show itself has been alot of fun to do. But the cast can't wait for our director, Jason Gilkison, to return from Australia where he has shown his brilliant choreography on 'So You Think You Can Dance'. All of us have been sitting around a computer and watching on You Tube his latest masterpiece and we are all so proud of him. He is so inspiring to work for, and he creates the most amazing things for us to perform night after night, and we are all so glad that Australia has finally embraced him as a household name.

This makes going back to Sydney in September so much more exciting, as we hope more people who were initially unfamiliar with his work, all the more curious about this show. And we are going to give them the best night of their lives!!!!
KIERON KULIKVOCALISTwww.myspace.com/kieronkulikwww.myspace.com/btffloorplay

SASHA'S BURN THE FLOOR FAMILY

Being in Burn the Floor for six years , makes Jason Gilkison and Peta Roby my parents…and fellow cast members my brothers and sisters. I have learnt a lot ,and shared many life, the memories that have changed my life, have inspired me , and taught me to be a stronger person…

Dance is in my blood and became a big part of my life…and dancing with Burn the Floor is the perfect combination.

This year, we started in China , then traveled to Melbourne (Australia) at the Crown Casino , then Amsterdam where the audiences where louder then a rock concert…

I must say with all the flights that we have done I could be a pilot..

There are ups and downs with all that! Being on a plane for nearly 2 days , isn’t fun , but some how we managed to turn that right around .

Anywhere we go or any place we visit we manage to turn things right round the way we want (always positive) I think that’s because of how close we are.

Being in Melbourne and dancing at the Crown Casino was amazing….the audiences, the venue , everything just felt right, even the night life , not that we had time to party much …NOT!!!!!

We really didn’t know what to expect with Amsterdam , but WOW it was awesome a feeling that you can’t explain…and not only that, one of my closest friends and fellow cast members visited us over there TRENT Whiddon and Gordana… which made it more special..

We had a lot of fun in Amsterdam specially Carmelo and I ,we went out planning this whole adventure to see and do everything, but only lasted 3 hours before we were back in the hotel …So much to see and do!

Being on stage with everyone in Amsterdam was the biggest buzz ever for me.

For starters, the Opening Night we got to finish the first show with Jason and Peta on stage with us and we where all presented flowers..
And then to top things off the audience was unbelievable. It felt like it was the last time we where all dancing together - everyone was a star..

Unfortunately it was for a couple who was leaving us to further theie competing career.
Lenny and Laura …
It was such a nice energy on stage, you could always have a smile when you past Lenny or Laura on stage..
Great cast members …

Speaking of new cast members its been really good this tour , joining us we have Kevin Clifton and his wife Clare, Kevin who is such and amazing dancer and such a wonderful character to bring to this show….who by the way beat me in FIFA07 3-0 last night…

Kevin is someone just when you think wow I have no more energy , and you look next to you and there’s Kevin giving it 110% it makes you want to give even more…

Then we have Jeremy and Sarah , now I was the short guy on tour, and yes, finally I have a stunt double..
Jeremy and Sarah are so much fun on tour , I have known Jeremy for years through competing..

And the power and drive they bring on stage is something everyone out there should see..

We are in Reno – USA now …I think by the time this tour ends everyone could be Interior Designers!

When we all arrived at the Apartments we all deiced to go and theme our rooms ….Looking at all the rooms I must say they all pretty good…

Damian and Dannial of course have to take it that extra step , and buy a cars for each other so they can drive up to Lake Tahoe….

Before I go I must say that I cant wait to be back home , and there’s nothing better than being home and dancing and performing to an Australian audience….

Specially at the Star City Casino in Sydney. We open on 19th September and tickets go on sale 5th May through Ticketmaster.


Hope to see you all there

Sasha Farber…
Dancer

Who knew hanging out with a bunch of ballroom dancers would be so much fun? (Part 1)

This being my first theater show, I really didn’t know what to expect especially with its unique musical format of two singers and two percussionists playing with a track. As rehearsals went on, I realized I wasn’t just a drummer anymore; I was also a performer. I couldn’t hide in the shadows of the front man anymore, or stay in the theater pit, or even in the dark part of the stage. I was called on to perform. The cool part about it was, I was performing as a drummer. I didn’t need to act or pretend to be another character; I was just being me- a goofy and dorky band geek who loves playing the drums. So I have to tell you about this one time in band camp… NOT!

Surrounded with performers, I’ve developed a set of rituals of my own, which is something I’ve never had before and I’m not really sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. It all starts two hours before show time. I stretch my fingers, hands, arms, and shoulders, and I warm up on a drum pad. I start off doing very basic rudiments like single strokes, double strokes, and diddle rudiments. That goes on for about a good hour. It takes me that long because I think I have ADD, I get distracted a lot and I have to allow a lot of time to do this so I can do it properly. Then comes hackey sack! Most of the guys partake in this and is the most exciting part of my pre-show ritual. The guys get together in a circle and play until the half hour call and who ever loses at the end gets to take home a rubber fish named George. Then on to push up and pull ups, and BANG! It’s show time!

I now have a new partner in crime. Introducing Mr. Cesar Giorgio Rojas, otherwise known as Zoro, but I guess you can call him Giorgio or Cesar, or Cesar salad. He has so many names that you can really take your pick. But, if you want to know why we call him Zoro, you’d have to ask one of us.
It’s a breath of fresh air to share the stage with someone who is passionate about music and life. We have taken an approach that music is a way of life. It’s not something you do for work or just for fun; it’s how you live.

Giorgio’s time here has been a great journey but at the same time hard and challenging. He left behind his great love in Australia- his new Pearl Drums, and his wife Louise. Just kidding Lou. He misses her a lot, and wishes she were here with him to experience everything with him.

Being on stage with the Burn The Floor cast for us has been an unfathomable experience. Every night, they dance like there’s no tomorrow and of course we try to play our heart out as well. It’s hard work but all fun. It’s a definite pleasure to share the stage with every single person in the cast.

The Banger Brothers
Percussionists on tour with Burn the Floor
P.S. Part two coming soon.

A DREAM COME TRUE FOR US

Well, what can I say about this Ballroom phenomenon that is Burn the Floor?

Being competitors our whole dancing career Sarah and I were initially reluctant to join the cast, as it seemed completely foreign to anything we’ve ever done before. At the same time we were quite excited at the prospect of doing something new and also interested to see where this path might take us.

Originally intending to tour with the company for only a three month period, something unexpected happened only a couple of days into rehearsals! We found ourselves wanting to stay on forever.

It’s not hard to see why our plans changed so quickly, with a whole team of people like this one, from the moment we walked into the rehearsal room they made us feel like we were family, straight away we knew we were part of something special.

Apart from working with such an amazing cast we feel privileged having the opportunity to work with Jason Gilkison and Peta Roby, who have been our Idols for many years growing up in the competition scene, and now being able to become a part of their vision of Burn the Floor

It’s only been three months and already we have traveled to China, spent a month at Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia to sell out audiences and performed with an overwhelming response in Amsterdam.

We are now settling in for a four month stay in Reno with our new family and loving every moment.

With this warm, talented and energetic cast of people, and being part of such an amazing show that’s destined for great things, for the first time in our lives Sarah and I are both excited to show up to work each day and we look forward to an amazing journey traveling the world doing what we love.

Jeremy Garner & Sarah Hives
Dancers