American Idol generally sucks. I’ve gone to church with literally hundreds of folks who can sing a billion times better than almost every one who has ever appeared on that show. The most under appreciated talent show on the air is So You Think You Can Dance? I can read music, I can sing carry a tune, etc., but I cannot dance even though I have basic rhythm. I have always been in awe of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Donald O’Connor, Cyd Charisse, et al. I like watching people do things at a high level that I could never do and it’s refreshing to watch young people working their asses off to reach a goal and want something. Yeah dancers are an emotional bunch and the gay quotient is a bit higher than the general public and the hosts are your typical TV hosts, but the show is great viewing overall. Even the “bad” dancers are pretty damn good — their top 20 are all talented and even if they do have a good backstory there is no room on the show for someone who cannot dance and/or does not have a lot of potential.
The judges are all dancers/choreographers and they take dance seriously. They don’t like pretenders — not in the calculated way that Simon pretends to hate bad singers — these people get pissed off that someone is taking something they take seriously lightly. It’s the good kind of elitism. Yes, they do hip-hop but there is a very fair amount of nods to the greats — Nicholas Bros., Gene Kelly, Fred/Ginger, et al. These guys know their stuff and they make sure the kids learn it and do it the right way. In their own way — they are almost as refreshing as the kids that go to the military. Yeah they’re probably liberals — what 19 year old “artist” isn’t — but they think they can dance and they can dance and they work hard for it. Below is a clip from last year’s show — the guy won the contract. Fast forward to 1:15 and you can stop it at 3:00. I couldn’t find the dance without the chatter., but the money part is between those times. It blows the hell out of what I’ve seen of Dancing With the Stars — this is more akin to Singin’ in the Rain.
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It’s very refreshing to see someone with a talent this good.
You’re exactly right, Floyd. I’m sure I undervalue singing and the effort that goes into doing it well, but I can’t watch American Idol because I feel I’ve seen just as good performances at the neighborhood karaoke night.
I am astonished by good dancing. I’ve never watched “Dancing with the Stars” because I want to see nothing but good dancing if I’m going to watch it at all.
I don’t watch every week, and I don’t watch the audition shows, but “So You Think You Can Dance” is the only reality show I watch. (I especially like it when the guys get flustered and cry.)
Plus you’ve got Mia Michaels as a judge:
And when two guys danced together in their audition, here’s what judge Nigel Lythgoe said:
After a complaint by GLAAD accusing him of homophobia, he said:
He definitely said something, but it’s not showing up there!
He said: “I am very sad the word ‘homophobe’ is being used. That is someone who hates homosexuals. I dislike effeminate dancing! Wake up and listen!”
I don’t watch these shows. These two did good but I wouldn’t compare them to Astaire, Kelly, etc. This dance routine lacks the grace of those dancers and is more like something you’d see at a Hawaiian luau. For the most part, these two seemed to be doing background dancing with little interaction which seems to be the trend in modern dancing. That’s what you get from the neo-me generation.
Matt — of course they’re not Astaire and Kelly — they’re only 18 or 19 years old — and they only had maybe 3 or 4 days to learn the routine before performing it live before a huge live audience. Kelly was a dance teacher in his 30s before he hit it big. He used drill sgt. tactics on a 17 year old Debbie Reynolds to get her up to snuff for Singin’ in the Rain. Imagine those kids a year or two later after solid dance training with professional choreographers and a chance to get on Broadway…. It’s a “diamond in the rough” show — not the Gene Kelly/Donald O’Connor Hour. Bollywood routine was just cool b/c it’s different. The whole show has lyrical, jazz, Broadway, tap, ballroom, hip-hop styles… they’re all pretty great actually.
Yes Floyd, I know all that about Kelly and even the tactics he used for Reynolds. I’m almost a film historian, with what I know about film, for crying out loud. I just can’t compare what these kids did on TV to a make a definitive art regarding film.
And I mean that in a pleasant way.