There’s no de-feeting the spirit of ‘Spirit’

Friday, March 21, 2003 | 8:27 a.m.

What: "Spirit of the Dance."

When: 7:30 p.m. nightly.

Where: Golden Nugget's Theatre Ballroom.

Tickets: $45.

Information: (702) 386-8100.

Rating (Out of five stars): ****

Whadaya know, cast members in "Spirit of the Dance" do have feet.

I took a look at this spirited display of international dancing at the Golden Nugget's 400-seat Theatre Ballroom when it opened last fall. I liked it, but noted that most of the audience couldn't see the most important element of the production -- namely the feet of the dancers.

The room's seating was such that only those in the first couple of rows had a good view of the dancers, who do mostly Irish numbers but delve into jazz, flamenco, tango and other styles.

Since then, the Golden Nugget (showing tremendous faith in "Spirit") has gone to the trouble of creating a four-tiered room that allows an almost-perfect view of the stage (however, at one recent performance a couple in the last row stood several times so they could see better).

And the venue has officially announced that the David King production has been extended through May. Unofficially, it probably will be there much longer.

There are six international touring troupes of "Spirit of the Dance." Those productions last about two hours and have somewhat of a storyline, just as its competition up the street ("Lord of the Dance" at The Venetian) creates a story involving a fight between good and evil.

But for Las Vegas audiences, King has pared his show down to the basics, turning it into a fast-paced, hourlong dance revue. If there is any kind of a plot related to what's happening onstage, I missed it.

"We're trying to entertain the people," King said during a telephone interview from his London home. "We're not trying to educate them. We want to put a smile on their face, get them to clapping. To me, that's what show business is all about, and so far as we are concerned we are 1,000 percent pure entertainment."

The producer has accomplished his goal, in spades.

Fans love the show, giving the performers several standing ovations during every performance, as well they should. "Spirit of the Dance" moves like a bullet train through the night, driven by a troupe of talented, high-energy performers whose love for their art is obvious in their enthusiasm.

Although there have been changes in the show (and there will continue to be, from time to time) most of the more exciting numbers have been retained, including the Bob Fosse jazz dance tribute.

Fiddler Simon Painter bit the dust. He was one of the more energetic and talented performers in the production that opened last year. But I felt then that he had much too large a piece of the show, which is about the spirit of dancing, not the spirit of fiddling.

Joe Leone, entertainment director for the Nugget, couldn't be more pleased with the show's unqualified success.

He said he knew the room had some "sight-line" problems before the production opened, but before they made any changes they wanted to see how audiences reacted.

"Once we got it here, we knew it was really something we wanted to do," Leone said. "We're really happy with what's happening."

And what's happening is near-capacity rooms every night.

"It's been a success all around," Leone said. "We are planning to extend it through the end of the year, at least. The cast members are great ambassadors for the hotel."

The fact that "Spirit of the Dance" is not "four-walled" speaks volumes about its popularity.

Las Vegas lives in an era of four-wall deals, in which venues lease their showrooms to producers, who assume all the financial risks. Most hotels have no vested interest in the success or failure of the shows on their property, and consequently the rooms go to the highest bidders (regardless of the quality of the productions).

"This is not a four-wall deal," Leone said. "We have pretty much bought the show."

The investment was a pretty safe bet.

"The show had a track record," Leone said. "Not only the cast, but the organization. David King has been tremendous, extremely cooperative in making the show fit Vegas.

"We hear about a lot of interesting marriages out there. I have to say, ours is a very happy one for both sides."

Kind of makes you want to dance.com

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