Adam Taylor
Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd performed a scorching Argentine tango.
Overture Hall was packed with screaming superfans on Friday July 24, all of us charged up to see our favorite TV dancing “pros” in the slickly entertaining production of “Dancing With The Stars Live: Perfect Ten Tour.”
The ticket office at Overture told me the touring-company presentation of the popular 10-year-old ABC reality dance competition, which matches these professional dancers with “stars” of varying degrees of luminosity, was one of their fastest-selling shows.
The stars stayed home (including last season’s champ Rumor Willis, who pops up at “select” performances, but apparently didn’t select Madison), minimizing the drag on the pros’ blast-off into the upper reaches of the ballroom-bliss-o-sphere.
The demographic in attendance on Friday might be politely described as heavy on the grandma contingent, but they were hardly a staid or restrained bunch; when asked by congenial master of ceremonies, all-star competition champ Melissa Rycroft, who they had come to see, they loudly and repeatedly hooted their appreciation for the mostly shirtless male dancers.
Front and center was the amazing Valentin Chmerkovskiy, last season’s winner of the DWTS coveted mirror ball trophy (with Willis), who not only burned up the gleaming light-paneled, single riser and double-staircase stage set, with his supremely athletic dance moves, but also surprised the audience with an impromptu virtuoso solo violin concerto.
A combination of crowd-pleasing, high entertainment-value star turns blended with moments of classical precision and grace made for a consistently delightful performance. If the show never reached a climactic or spectacular show-stopping crescendo, it also never disappointed or failed to accomplish what it set out to do: present a troupe of charismatic top-notch artists displaying a range of dazzling talents and dance styles with glittering showbiz chops and physicality, with charm to spare.
The dancers never took themselves too seriously, and the banter between the dance numbers was filled with good humor and down to earth back-and-forth talk, including some Q & A and other interaction with the audience. This included bringing a volunteer onstage for a dance, taking some selfies, and some entre into the audience and the aisles. A mildly sexy burlesque atmosphere prevailed.
Standout moments included a scorching Argentine tango between Chmerkovskiy and audience favorite Peta Murgatroyd. Rising star Alan Bersten and 21-year-old Emmy nominee (for her DWTS choreography) Witney Carson offered a poignant barefoot contemporary interpretation of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” bringing drama and romance to the deep violet light-bathed stage.
Also dancing to recorded music were Sasha Farber (in a stunning high-energy jive), Emma Slater, Keo Motsepe (megawatt supernova from South Africa), Artem Chigvintsev, Jenna Johnson and Brittany Cherry.
Costume changes came at a breakneck pace. A big bright group salsa number sparkled and fizzed before the intermission, and the second hour began with a cape-swirling extravaganza, followed by samples of country, hip hop, African, freestyle — and enough flawless lifts, hip action, and kicks and flicks to satisfy any die-hard superfan.
