Mr. P and I are watching So You Think You Can Dance, of course, though on a 24-hour delay because we're also watching America's Got Talent (which is mostly dire, but about 30% of the acts are not too painful, and we enjoy Howard Stern).
For the record, I love Chehon and Eliana. Cole is also a nice piece of eye candy but as of this writing he hasn't (for me) surpassed the paso doble.
We're also watching All The Right Moves, which is a docu-soap about Travis Wall, Nick Lazzarini, and Teddy Forance putting together the Shaping Sound dance company. That one's on Oxygen and is consequently predictably light on substance. However, each of the two episodes we've seen so far featured at least one full dance number (well-photographed though hyperactively edited).
This week, the first and best was a number Teddy and Nick put together using Stephen "Twitch" Boss and Allison Holker of SYTYCD legend. Of course, it's hard to go wrong with those two dancers (who can apparently do anything, and WOW you should have seen Twitch lift her!), but it was really effective movement.
Another thing I like about this one is that issues of gender are front and center. It can only be a good thing that it is finally okay for gay dancers to say, quoting Ellen, "Yep, I'm Gay."
And finally, we're watching A Chance to Dance, which is on Ovation and was put together by Mr. Nigel Lythgoe, who is definitely becoming a force in dance. (And for that I love him, despite his occasional bizarre colloquialisms and tragic hair.) In this one, two extremely accomplished British ballet dancers, founder of Ballet Boyz, are tasked with assembling a company and premiering a new piece within the span of 28 days.
The premiere episode concerned itself entirely with introducing the concept and covering a first day of auditions in Salt Lake City. (The powers that be in Utah have obviously figured out that dance is just about the best thing they have to export, since most of the world can't afford to ski or go to Sundance.) Allison H. showed up here, too, since she's a local (and a favorite of Mr. Lythgoe's).
This show is much more behind-the-scenes of the mechanics of professional dance, providing a close and rather heartbreaking look at the ruthless process of elimination that goes into casting a company. The first episode also revealed some significant weaknesses in the training many of America's dancers appear to be receiving.
Previously this year there was a ballet-company-set docu-soap called Breaking Pointe, also set in SLC. I watched an episode of that, but it was too much soap and too little dancing for me ... also, 100% classical ballet, which is not really my bag. And of course, there was another edition of America's Best Dance Crew.
It is pretty much to the point now where there really is something for every dance fan on TV. I LOVE THAT.
Comments