Listening comprehension exercise about the Hungarian shadow dancers, Attraction.

Listen to the article and decide if the statements are TRUE or FALSE

1)     The Hungarian shadow dancers have a very big chance of winning Britain’s Got Talent.  T/F
2)     Their act made many people want to cry.    T/F
3)     Zoltan Szucs says the success of their show depends on what shape the dancers are in and how and where they stand during the show.  T/F
4)     The founder of Attraction says he creates the choreography and story and then finds the right music for it.       T/F
5)     Zoltan Szucs also says that learning the steps of the dance is not the difficult part of the show.        T/F
6)     The dancers can affect the whole performance by moving just a single millimeter from their positions.       T/F
7)     The dancers train 11 hours daily.            T/F
8)     They have many accidents so they need physiotherapy and sports massages every day to be able to perform.     T/F
9)     The British public welcomes artists from other European countries to participate in Britain’s Got Talent.    T/F
10)  Attraction will feel that they have won when they perform for The Queen.       T/F

Answers: 1) T, 2) T, 3) T, 4) F, 5) T, 6) T, 7) F, 8) F, 9) F, 10) F

Out of the shadows and into the spotlight: Behind the scenes with the amazing dancers tipped to win Britain’s Got Talent (despite being Hungarian)

The stunningly clever silhouettes of the shadow dancers from Attraction have made them the bookies’ favourite atodds of 11/10 to win this year’s Britain’s Got Talent. Thirteen million viewers watched them storm through their audition on the first night of the current series and many were left, like Amanda Holden, in tears at their poignant act. It’s all down to firmly shaped bodies and exact positioning, explains Attraction’s founder and choreographer Zoltan Szucs. He uses a simple back light to project shadows of the dancers’ bodies on to the screen to form seemingly impossible images and scenery in an emotional storyboard set to music.  The performance stunned the judges and brought the panel and entire theatre audience to its feet. In the past month, Attraction’s audition has captured a further 17 million hits on YouTube.‘I choose the song first and after I create the dance,’ says Zoltan, 40, an award-winning breakdancer, who founded Attraction in 2004 as part of Hungary’s Black Lights Theatre group. He runs it with his wife Eva, the troupe’s manager. Although all the performers are a mix of ballet, modern, hip-hop and street dancers, Zoltan says the moves are easy for the troupe to master. ‘The real work is having the core strength to hold the shapes and also to work with the projector with precision,’ he says.‘A mere millimetre out of place can change an entire shape. It’s all down to the distance between the light and the screen, which can shrink or magnify a body,’ says Zoltan. Thousands of tiny fluorescent stickers are dotted over the soft dance mat, each colour representing the foot and hand positioning for each shadow for every dancer. No body part can be allowed to stray, otherwise the entire shadow collapses. This is why the eight dancers have to train 11 hours nearly every day, perfecting their flexibility as well as concentration. ‘This is very hard work — you need physical and mental stamina and that’s why we practice long hours to achieve it,’ warns Zoltan. ‘Accidents can easily happen when we’re standing on each other’s’ backs. We have daily physiotherapy and sports massages to prevent injuries.’ There have been complaints on Twitter that European artists are being allowed to compete in a British show. But they have Simon Cowell’s support. He says: ‘We are part of Europe; it’s flattering they fly all this way to enter the show. It means our Brits have got to step up.’ Attraction’s ultimate dream is to win and perform for The Queen. ‘We hope we are popular and would like to go through to the final as we want to thank the British people. But we are also realistic. The most important thing to us is that we feel we’ve already won because Britain’s Got Talent has put Attraction on the worldwide map,’ says Eva.

source: dailymail.co.uk

stunningly– döbbenetesen
bookie – bukméker
odds – (százalékos) esély
to storm through – átviharzani
current – jelenlegi, aktuális
in tears – könnyekben, könnyes szemmel
poignant – szívbemarkoló, megrendítő, elsöprő erejű
firmly shaped – feszes alakú
positioning – elhelyezkedés
to project – kivetíteni
screen – képernyő
seemingly impossible – lehetetlennek tűnő
emotional – érzelmes
entire – egész, teljes
to capture – megragadni
troupe – színtársulat
to master – (mesterien) elsajátítani
core strength – elemi/elementáris erő
precision – pontosság
mere – puszta, csupán
it’s all down to (something) – minden azon múlik, hogy …
distance – távolság
to shrink – összemenni, zsugorodni, zsugorítani
to magnify – (meg)nagyobbítani, (ki)nagyítani
to dot – pöttyözni
dance mat – táncszőnyeg
to represent – képviselni, jelképezni
to stray – elmozdulni, kóborolni
to collapse – összeomlani, összeesni
stamina – állóképesség, erő, energia
to achieve – elérni
to warn – figyelmeztetni
to prevent – (meg)akadályozni
injury – sérülés
complaint – panasz
to allow – (meg)engedni
to compete – versenyezni
support – támogatás
flattering – hízelgő
to step up – fokozni, növelni, emelni