United Kingdom Burn the Floor presents Supernova Nikita Zuzmin: Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, 21.7.2026. (JP) ****
Burn the Floor is a dance ‘brand’ and as founder and producer explains – in the lavishly illustrated souvenir progamme – that since a very first performance in 1999, ‘Across 30 countries and more than 180 cities, Burn the Floor has toured, performed and won hearts all round the world. In 2026, Burn the Floor will tour the UK and Australia, New Zealand and Japan, with these seasons delivered by two separate touring companies. We will also perform over 1,200 shows across three [Norwegian Cruise Line] ships this year.’ There is more money on the stage for Supernova’s sets, costumes and video design than appears to have been spent on many similar dance – ok Strictly Come Dancing-inspired – shows (and perhaps a number of them combined). Clearly Supernova may have a life after Strictly’s dynamic Nikita Zuzmin and the always strikingly eye-catching Nadiya Bychova (one of three guest dancers, the others were fellow Strictly ‘retirees’ Janette Manara and Karen Hauer).
As for that dance ‘brand’ I can only but look back at my first experience of Burn the Floor in 2013 when much of what I wrote then freakishly reflects how I felt watching Supernova: ‘Burn the Floor is like an unremitting two-hour dancercise DVD performed live: I’m sure you can lose a substantial amount of weight just by sitting … and watching it. As a show it began long before the BBC TV’s Strictly Come Dancing and the various international spin-off shows that has made the ballroom and Latin styles of dancing popular again with people of all ages. The world premiere of Burn the Floor was in July 1999 in Bournemouth [and] in 2009 it reached Broadway … Most of the dancers are dance champions and the show quickly became a training ground for Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing With The Stars, So You Think Can Dance and any number of their other international versions.’
We also learnt in 2013 how ‘Burn the Floor dancers have spent a lifetime training to compete against other dancers; this show allows the dancers to show their love and passion for their art form without being judged.’ My response was ‘That they certainly do in a fast-and-furious show (directed and choreographed by Jason Gilkison) with rapid costume-changes that still often seemed one long rumba “dance off” with only the occasional romantic waltz to provide a little respite from its overall raunchiness. Throughout there are loads of samba hip shakes, intricate lifts and legs kicking upwards or flying akimbo. Thankfully, there is a short interval for the audience – and the dancers – to catch its collective breath because otherwise it all seems so relentless in a way that by the end it actually becomes quite irresistible. Truth-be-told, there is a feeling you have seen many of the routines before – and some earlier the same evening – but the dancers are so talented and full of “their love and passion” that Burn the Floor [Supernova in 2026!] becomes totally engrossing.’ Thirteen years have passed but plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
Also as in 2013, ‘There is no plot to speak of – and ultimately it probably doesn’t need one – because each dance is seamlessly integrated into the following routine. The dancing itself sets the mood and takes you on an individual journey, though it often relies a bit too much on macho, often bare-chested, posturing amongst the men or a competitive one-upwomanship, including hair swishing, amongst the girls.’ In 2026 the bare chest is mainly Nikita’s!
Henry Thomas’s mightily impressive set has a hint of the Strictly balcony and staircase about it and occasionally the dancers run up, across and down for no real reason; but overall what we see is neon-tastic often flashing and changing colour (lighting is by Richard G Jones) with Leo Flint’s video giving some background atmosphere. There are some memorable cityscapes, a Hollywood backlot, a cocktail bar, a candlelit chapel crypt with stained glass window and several starry skies, firework bursts, vortices and solar flares, amongst much else. The costumes of Strictly’s Vicky Gill are also a cut (!) above the norm; yes they are sparkly, silvery and tasselly, but also at times pastel-shaded (with lots of pink) and floaty or kaleidoscopically coloured, as well as some (faux?) fur coats and fans for a catwalk segment. There are several mashups in the music that is heard as backing tracks but there is the welcome presence of singer Lois Faith who vocal highlights – whether powerhouse or sultry – were obviously her Shakira medley, as was ‘Sway’ and Coldplay’s ‘Fix it’. The latter was during an impressive sequence when Nikita expressed – in heartfelt words and through the medium of dance – the recent loss of his grandfather and having not been able to travel to Ukraine.
The general chat between Nikita and Nadiya was of the usual slightly mundane, slightly cheesy, slightly over-scripted level though there seemed a genuine rapport between the two Ukrainians. Nikita had some expected risqué asides or banter with the audience. Adding a futuristic element there is also some supposed interaction with ‘Nova’ who in an AI Alexa or Siri way responds to Nikita. It Googles him and confuses pictures of Claire Balding with his or does background for the Hollywood sequence by referencing a familiar celebrity chef! All this provides some mild diversion from the helter-skelter dancing, though a chaotic ‘How well do you know Nikita?’ audience participation skit in the second half should never have survived the first outing!
Finally, a shout out for the ensemble of seven dancers – Deavion Brown, Nick Chan, Idney De’Almeida, Faye Huddleston, Anna Karelina, Tom Watson, Sasha Woodward – whose charisma and supreme individual talents are the equal of Nikita and Nadiya centre stage. (Karelina stunningly stands on Nikita’s shoulders during one routine!) Their best moments were some of Supernova’s best too. There was salsa-ing to Shakira, and after the interval the red-hot romance pasodobling to some of the soundtrack (I believe) from Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet, and near the end, much Madonna-like voguing (which got the hyped-up Cliffs Pavilion audience even hyper!) with everyone mostly in Fosse-esque black. There was still time for the ‘One Last Dance’ medley finale when all the dancers’ hips went into overdrive and had all those who could manage to on theirs whooping and cheering.
If there is still a performance near you do go, for further information click here.
Jim Pritchard
Featured Image: Nikita Kuzmin in Burn the Floor Supernova © Make a Noise
Burn the Floor presents Supernova Nikita Zuzmin
Director and Choreographer- Jason Gilkison
Set designer – Henry Thomas
Costume designer – Vicky Gill
Lighting designer – Richard G Jones
Video designer – Leo Flint
Musical supervisor – Matthew Howes
Sound designer – James Crichto
Associate Chorographer – Johnny Bishop
Cast: Nikita Kuzmin, Nadiya Bychkova, Deavion Brown, Nick Chan, Idney De’Almeida, Faye Huddleston, Anna Karelina, Tom Watson, Sasha Woodward (dancers) and Lois Faith (vocalist)