'Twist' of Reality: Philharmonic Assists in Creation of Show on Ballroom Dancing
By Steve Penhollow
For The Journal Gazette
If you don’t go see the show I am about to explain here, you may regret it until the end of your days or the end of reality television, whichever comes first.
“Ballroom with a Twist” brings together finalists from “American Idol,” “Dancing With the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance?” for a singing and dancing revue with Fort Wayne Philharmonic accompaniment.
Not only does the Philharmonic perform the music, but the orchestra worked with the show’s creators to craft its current incarnation.
“Ballroom with a Twist” happens at 8 p.m. today and Saturday at the Embassy Theatre.
It was conceived and choreographed by “Dancing With the Stars” performer Louis van Amstel.
The show has been touring for a few months with a CD of songs as its soundtrack. But when producers went looking for an orchestra to help it formulate a version that could be paired with symphonies around the country, someone put them in touch with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, according to the Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s president and CEO, J.L. Nave.
The Philharmonic’s principal bassist and staff arranger, Adrian Mann, wrote the charts for the show, and these same charts will be used by every orchestra that subsequently hosts “Ballroom with a Twist,” Nave says.
The orchestra “collects a little fee” every time this happens, Nave says, but more notable is the prestige it brings to the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
“Because there are maybe a handful of orchestras in the country that produce original content such as this,” he says.
“Ballroom with a Twist” is designed to change constantly and incorporate reality TV alums as they become available.
The Fort Wayne edition will have Ade Obayomi and Randi Lynn Evans from “So You Think You Can Dance?”; David Hernandez, LaKisha Jones, Gina Glocksen and Von Smith from Seasons 6 through 8 of “American Idol”; and professional dancer Jonathan Roberts, who was partnered with Rachel Hunter, Heather Mills and Marie Osmond on various seasons of “Dancing With the Stars.”
Roberts is married to pro dancer Anna Trebunskaya, another prominent performer on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Roberts says “Ballroom with a Twist” features the “best blend of the top reality shows.”
“I’m not sure how many people would want to see a two-hour show that was devoted entirely to ballroom dancing,” he says, “ ... well I would, but having ‘American Idol’ singers makes the show go faster.”
The quality of the dancing in the show thus far has been “at a very high level,” Roberts says.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Roberts says.
Asked whether he could have predicted the explosion a decade or so ago in the popularity of ballroom dance, Roberts says, “Nope.”
“Before (‘Dancing With the Stars’) came along,” he says, “I’d be traveling and people would ask me what I did for a living. When I told them ‘ballroom dance teacher,’ I would get two types of responses: ‘Can you make a living doing that?’ and ‘Oh, my grandparents used to do that.’ ”
This article is featured at www.journalgazette.net
By Steve Penhollow
For The Journal Gazette
If you don’t go see the show I am about to explain here, you may regret it until the end of your days or the end of reality television, whichever comes first.
“Ballroom with a Twist” brings together finalists from “American Idol,” “Dancing With the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance?” for a singing and dancing revue with Fort Wayne Philharmonic accompaniment.
Not only does the Philharmonic perform the music, but the orchestra worked with the show’s creators to craft its current incarnation.
“Ballroom with a Twist” happens at 8 p.m. today and Saturday at the Embassy Theatre.
It was conceived and choreographed by “Dancing With the Stars” performer Louis van Amstel.
The show has been touring for a few months with a CD of songs as its soundtrack. But when producers went looking for an orchestra to help it formulate a version that could be paired with symphonies around the country, someone put them in touch with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, according to the Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s president and CEO, J.L. Nave.
The Philharmonic’s principal bassist and staff arranger, Adrian Mann, wrote the charts for the show, and these same charts will be used by every orchestra that subsequently hosts “Ballroom with a Twist,” Nave says.
The orchestra “collects a little fee” every time this happens, Nave says, but more notable is the prestige it brings to the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
“Because there are maybe a handful of orchestras in the country that produce original content such as this,” he says.
“Ballroom with a Twist” is designed to change constantly and incorporate reality TV alums as they become available.
The Fort Wayne edition will have Ade Obayomi and Randi Lynn Evans from “So You Think You Can Dance?”; David Hernandez, LaKisha Jones, Gina Glocksen and Von Smith from Seasons 6 through 8 of “American Idol”; and professional dancer Jonathan Roberts, who was partnered with Rachel Hunter, Heather Mills and Marie Osmond on various seasons of “Dancing With the Stars.”
Roberts is married to pro dancer Anna Trebunskaya, another prominent performer on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Roberts says “Ballroom with a Twist” features the “best blend of the top reality shows.”
“I’m not sure how many people would want to see a two-hour show that was devoted entirely to ballroom dancing,” he says, “ ... well I would, but having ‘American Idol’ singers makes the show go faster.”
The quality of the dancing in the show thus far has been “at a very high level,” Roberts says.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Roberts says.
Asked whether he could have predicted the explosion a decade or so ago in the popularity of ballroom dance, Roberts says, “Nope.”
“Before (‘Dancing With the Stars’) came along,” he says, “I’d be traveling and people would ask me what I did for a living. When I told them ‘ballroom dance teacher,’ I would get two types of responses: ‘Can you make a living doing that?’ and ‘Oh, my grandparents used to do that.’ ”
This article is featured at www.journalgazette.net
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