Floor Play has endless appeal to a wide demographic (including young people interested in dance) and features sixteen exquisite dancers (eight couples) from such far flung locations as Russia, Britain, Italy, Sweden and Australia. The youthful and thoroughly professional cast performs Aussie Jason Gilikson’s inspired choreography with sinuous perfection and unbridled energy. Previous to the opening number (the Brazilian Samba, “Magalenha”), several members of the company playfully interacted with audience members until the entire cast entered the theatre from various egress points, pulsating and resonating with the electric samba beat created by the two percussionists onstage. The mercury rose so high during this number that it was almost as if the audience were being saturated with liquid pheromones. To quote from the Oscar-winning film, Jerry McGuire, “They had me at hello”.

Floor Play is the effective distillation of what Producer Harley Medcalf has learned from all of his successful previous productions. Instead of being overwhelmed by mammoth set pieces and unwieldy character costumes, Brian Thomson’s stage setting is oddly spare — giving the dancers a terrific, open tri--level dance space, allowing the dancers to enter and exit the apron from locations inside the theatre — involving the audience and making each person more than merely an observer. Lighting designer Jason Fripp created stunning night-sky projections on the scrim, and the liberal use of the smoke machine created a dream-like environment, that transported the audience into an alternate reality where emotion, beauty and romance run wild. The evening was 'hosted' and interspersed with performances by two skilled vocalists, Kieron Kulik and Rebecca Verrier. These two versatile performers (notably Kulik — who also displayed considerable dance chops) parenthesized the dance numbers, set the stage and mood, added dimension and provided the melodic structure for the various choreographed pieces.