Champions of the Dance

On Friday evening, January 23, 2009,

Town Hall, in midtown Manhattan, presented an evening of ballroom dance, showcasing several top American couples. It is not often that ballroom dance is presented outside of a ballroom competition and on a proscenium stage, and this production, which consisted not of a unified theme or storyline but of a variety of ballroom showdance numbers choreographed by the show's director Taliat Tarsinov, proved that audiences are hungry for more.

The auditorium was nearly full and the audience, which resembled more of a pop music concert crowd than a typical concert dance one, applauded wildly both throughout at the end of many numbers, particularly those danced by the sexy, sultry Matt and Karen Hauer, the current American Mambo champions. Much to the audience's continuing thrill, the Hauers – a husband and wife team who are also top American Rhythm competitors — danced several numbers, some slower and more romantic, others faster, sharper and sassier, including their championship-winning Mambo full of sprightly jumps, lightening-speed hip action, and extremely precise, nimble footwork.

Also performing were Delyan Terziev and Boriana Deltcheva, a top Latin ballroom couple. Another husband and wife team, both are tall and thin, giving their Latin dancing – particularly their Samba, which they performed first — a snaky, slinky, sinuous feel. One of the highlights of the evening was their Latin combination showdance routine danced to "Money" from the Broadway musical, "Cabaret," which they performed last year on the PBS show "America's Ballroom Challenge." The crowd went wild when Deltcheva taunted Terziev as he knelt between her legs, looked up longingly and plucked unsuccessfully at her costume, made almost entirely of dollar bills.

Another crowd favorite was Mayo Alanen and Lisa Vogel, a top American Smooth couple. They opened with a gorgeously sexy Waltz / Foxtrot / Tango combination, she in a fiery red dress, making beautiful lines by extending one of her long legs high into the air as he spun her around in a continuous turn. Later they did a charming Foxtrot to "Singin' in the Rain," over which the audience again went wild.

Also performing were Tony Scheppler and Erin Bomboy, another Smooth couple who performed some spectacular, very difficult-looking lifts, and Michael Nadtochi and Angeles Chanaha, who performed a couple of luxuriant Argentine Tangos.

- Exploredance.com

"Sensual & Athletic...Powerful & Graceful Show"
-The Lincoln Journal Star
"The company received a standing ovation. The audience loved them."
- Gail Robinson Butler, Clemens Fine Arts Center
"FANTASTIC....I was proud to have it as part of our series...we received comments on our audience surveys such as "stunning," "amazing," and "true champions"
- Ronda Billerbeck, The City of Kent, WA
"The show was great! Our crowd loved them!"
- Gail Lowenberg, Merryman Center for the Performing Arts
"Great show, audience loved it"
- Randall Ksionzek, The Lied Center
"Everyone loved the show. There were standing ovations and lots of good comments. Our production folks enjoyed the company and the road manager."
- Carol Oppelaar, Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center
"It was a fabulous show, the audience loved them and we did too. Please give them a VERY big thank you"
- Katherine Knowles, The Zeiterion

- Quotes from Presenters

Dancers with Slicked-back hair and glittering outfits worked the stage for an hour and a half at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on Wednesday night.
Hundreds watched as five couples leaped, glided and groped in the spotlight as part of a sensual and athletic performance from the World Professional Ballroom Dance Champions, who have been featured in ABC’S “Dancing with the Stars,” BBC’s “Strictly Come Dancing” and the newest syndicated release of “The American Ballroom Challenge.”
Wearing outfits that showed off a bit of skin and unpacking moves that drew repeated cheers from the crowd, the couples put on a powerful and graceful show that revealed their skills on the dance floor.
The performers moved to 10 themed numbers, each representing the connection between dancing and life and featuring separate presentations form several of the couples. By the time the show ended, each of the 10 dancers had taken the stage multiple times, having jerked their hops and moved their feet in a waltz, fox trot or quickstep, or swayed and glided to a cha-cha, rumba or mambo. Often they were silhouettes in front of a large video screen that flashed bright reds and oranges throughout much of the show.
Each time the dancers appeared in new outfits, from pinks and blues and blacks to go with the music blaring from the speakers. The variety of outfits changed as often as the color. Sometimes the guys wore open shirts revealing most of their torsos, drawing whistles and hollers from women in the audience.
And usually the women squeezed into two piece outfits to reveial some skin or body hugging tights to get more intimate with their partners. The skimpier the clothes, the sexier the dances as the couples would wrap themselves together before snapping apart and rocking their legs and hips with big grins on their faces.
They knew they were good.
They just had to convince the audience…and it didn’t take long.
On of the show’s first numbers was about couples sharing emotions through dance, according to their narrarator. . Dancers Luis Grijalva and Christan Penatello took the stage and snapped and slid to Latin tunes. Their quick and rhythmic style became a crowd favorite as the evening went on. The dancers spent the evening executing their mover, prancing around the entire depth of the stage during every routine.
The most impressive part? The women did almost every routine in high heels.

- By Michael McHale, Lincoln Journal Star