Today marks the beginning of the next season of "So You Think You Can Dance". For those of you that don't know what this show is I'll make my explanation very short: it's the search for America's favorite dancer. Every years thousands of people (some who've even taken at least one dance lesson) audition for judges who actually have experience with dance (choreographers, professional dancers, producers) and can give real feedback. They then get cut down into a top X (I'm never sure what the format is going to be so I can't give a concrete number) and they are then whittled down by the audience's voting. The competitors come from all sorts of dance backgrounds, from ballroom to krump. There are a lot (i.e. too many) competition shows on television now, including "American Idol", "America's Got Talent", "Chopped", "America's Next Top Model", "Project Runway", "Face Off", and those are just off the top of my head at 11 at night. I firmly believe that "So You Think You Can Dance" is the last good reality show and here's why:
The Judges Possess Relevant Knowledge
Every judge on the show dances. Even Nigel, the producer who started out on the panel as a pointless Randy Jackson equivalent for SYTYCD started taking tap lessons a couple of years ago. He even performed with a group of tappers from the school where he was taking lessons on a results show. Regardless of how shrill and rage-inducing Mary Murphy may be, she is a highly successful ballroom dancer. Unlike "Idol", "Next Top Model", "Project Runway", or most of the other shows out there, the majority of the judges are relevant in their field. Mia Michaels, a sometimes-judge and show choreographer, won an Emmy for one of her numbers and continues to inspire dancers, audiences and her peers with her routines. Adam Shankman is a higly active producer of films such as Step Up 3D. Tyce Diorio is a choreographer and a judge during audition rounds. The list goes on, but by now you should have gotten the point.
Other shows have judges like washed up supermodels, musicians trying to reclaim (or gain) fame, actors who failed to remain relevant as they got older, etc. It's not rare for the panel to be made up of people who shouldn't be giving any sort of advice, much less advice that determines someone's fate. Mind you, Face Off has some relevant people, but no one has heard of them before and they aren't doing anything astounding (it's a movie make-up competition show). No show that I know of holds a candle to the SYTYCD panel of judges.
They Inspire People to do Something Besides Become Celebrities
Name an "American Idol" winner. Even if you've never watched the show (lucky you) you can probably name one. Winning that show shoots that person into super-stardom instantly. Even contestants who don't win become household names overnight. Unless you watch SYTYCD I almost guarantee that you don't know anyone who has been on the show (some Gleeks may know that Heather Morris tried out, but not many). That's because the show isn't about creating a celebrity; it's about giving people the opportunity to pursue their passion. People who dance on this show can go from nobody to a member of a dance company, and that's the goal of every true dancer. Some get small parts in movies or get to tour with singers, but as long as they can keep dancing and pay the bills they're likely to be perfectly content.
Last year the show creators and others in the dance community worked with a congresswoman to get National Dance Day created. The point was to get people active, having fun, and promoting dance. People were encouraged to learn a routine and upload videos of them performing onto a website. As people become less active it's important to promote fun ways to stay healthy and, for those who don't break out into hives at the thought of it, dancing is a great alternative to conventional exercise. It's also a great form of self-expression. All of these things are promoted by the show instead of becoming a huge celebrity. The prize is excellent for a dancer, but paltry for many of the other shows out there, especially when you count in the fame that comes along with winning many of the other shows.
The Contestants HAVE to be Talented
I keep using "American Idol" as a comparison, but it's the most well known. Anyone who's watched more than a couple of episodes has seen some truly terrible people make it through and some really talented people get cut. That's because it's easy on that show to fake it. "America's Next Top Model" is the same way; as long as one amazing photo is captured by the photographer time after time, the model can be garbage (not even pretty garbage half of the time) and still win. I assume some talent s required for "Face Off", but not the same type. People have to press themselves past their breaking point, learn quickly, be amazingly talented, and never give up in order to succeed in the dance world; SYTYCD is the same and more because it is a crash course in being a professional dancer. It's still a popularity contest like all reality competition shows, but they're vying for the votes of people who are going to know for certain if they make a mistake. You can't fake dance. Don't believe me? Go try to dance the Nutcracker Suite RIGHT NOW. Can't do it? That what I thought. You did not it? Tights and all. Well, that's kinda gay, even for the ladies. . . Moving on. Some skills can be faked. Skills that require you to leap in the air, catch and life another person, drop quickly onto the ground without shattering things, and the like are not among those skills.
Finally. . .
NO ONE SAYS "DAWG", "YO", "DUDE", OR ANY OF RANDY JACKSON'S WORDS MORE THAN ONCE IN AN EPISODE. The contestants might have, but I don't believe so. People (who make it past the first couple eliminations) on this shows are of at least average intelligence, even if their ditzy, and are usually pretty intelligent. I appreciate a show cast with people who don't need to ride the short bus everywhere. It doesn't make me feel stupider for watching it. Quite the opposite: I feel emotionally and artistically enriched. It's a show that speaks to anyone who cares to listen. So go ahead, turn your TVs to FOX tonight an join me in seeing some amazing dancers and some really weird failures. At least one artist, not celebrity, will be born this season. Don't you want to be there when that happens? I know I do.
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