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Don't underestimate simplicity. In a year that featured some of the consistently worst reality contestants across so many different programs, SYTYCD actually assembled a cast that was likable and capable without sacrificing telegenicness, and which culminated with its festive celebration of a finale. An uncomplicated night, to be sure, mostly free of irony, with four finalists captivating us in their own ways, buttressed by an extravaganza of guest dancers, all of which we could watch simply on the terms of pure dance. No losers this night, everyone came away winners.
Indie rating: Nawal - "Salama"
6 comments:
Did you, by any chance, catch the premiere of "Superstars of Dance" last night?
I went to bed early and watched about half of it, and my impression is that Nigel & Simon Fuller seem never to have put on a reality program before. What'shisfakeIrishface is a negative presence, some of these routines aren't dance, and why the fubar is a Shaolin monk judging dance?
If you could screen out the purring drone of Michael Fatous, the window-dressing hostess who makes Samantha Harris look intelligent, the pseudo-Olympics score nonsense, and the truly heinous camera-work, there were a few golden nuggets of real dance joy carefully hidden away. I didn't watch Sunday, but last night I liked the tapper who got dissed by the judges, the Cossacks (you want us to dance in unison? ORLY?) and the hip hop crew that danced last.
Why they have done away with the backstories, muzzled the judges, and taken the fan votes out of the picture, while fetishizing a stupid scoring system that makes no sense is beyond me. Why not just have the Ed Sullivan show, plant the camera, and let people dance? Let the folks who know the dances tell us about what we're seeing. Dang.
I was planning on catching select routines on the 'Tube, thanks for giving me a list of ones to look for.
I think it's telling that the producers went with a contest format instead of a pure exhibit, that what they know is competition and they're just going to go with competition. But when they barely dramatized any of the participants and made show such an impersonal contest, the whole thing felt very anaestheticized/Botoxed.
Is it bad that I found myself absolutely longing for Mary Murphy's cackling throughout?
And dancing does not require weaponry, China. I still don't get how a martial arts display can be considered dance.
Nigel does not let go of people he likes. Which is cool of him, I guess.
I agree about the SYTYCD finale. Funny, I happen to have 2 friends coming over tonight to watch it! They didn’t get a chance to see it and it has taken us this long to get together. I’m a bit excited! And re: SOD I agree with all the previous comments. Everything outside the dance is a waste of my life, except the South African judge. I agree with most of his comments and scores and he’s the snarky one and this show really needs SOMETHING emotional. And some of the dances are just so blah! The best of the best? But I’ll keep watching for those few good numbers. Any of you who missed Sunday, the A-Tango duo was amaaaaazing choreography and very worth watching, but sadly the chemistry fell short (Mark would have made it perfect. Of course.) And Pasha and Anya’s routine was spectacular. All tricks and very little dancing, so I agree with the low scores, but if you judge it on a Cirque du Soleil scale it was wonderful!
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