ThinkDance

So You Think You Can Dance is a good show that has not yet lost its luster like most other shows in its vein tend to do after a while—ie American Idol. I’m admitting bias in this situation because I used to dance. I was never anywhere near as serious as most of the hopefuls who turn out for So You Think You Can Dance, but it’s a better show than Idol. Here are my top five reasons why Dance wins.

1. Debbie Allen – The best thing about Debbie Allen is that she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. She’s a beautiful, seemingly low-key older woman, but when people suck she puts them in their place—and it’s always concise, to the point and brutal. Plus, it’s great that she really knows what she’s talking about based on her billions of years of dance experience. I love that she never tries too hard to be witty or funny like Simon. When she tells people they suck, it’s like a mother running an intervention with her mediocre child—pure unadulterated honesty not intended to offend, but that still gets the point across. I like that about her.

2. No corny language – On Idol, Randy uses “dawg” and various other played out idioms in urban jargon ad nauseam. It’s like painfully watching your 60-year-old uncle still trying to be down. I appreciate that Dance is void of that.

3. Better contestants – I like to watch Idol in the beginning so that I can laugh at people who have lied to themselves about their singing ability make fools of themselves, but after a while it gets old. On Dance, there are fewer goof balls and more people who mean business. These folks are so serious about their craft that you feel their pain when they get cut.

4. High intensity- I never get sick of watching people dance. It’s amazing to see what years of training have done for people’s bodies. The way they defy gravity with their leaps and barrel turns is unparalleled. Singing is cool, but Idol can sometimes become a wail fest with contestants sounding like cats in heat because they’re trying too hard. A dancer’s sauté, however, is silent and beautiful (if they do it right).

5. Better judging – I like that the overall judging process is not shady. Appointed judges pick the winner and it’s as simple as that. On Idol…er, we’ve already discussed the voting shade that possibly exists with votes being rigged, but I digress…

Do you like So You Think You Can Dance? What are your reasons?

TAGS: Debbie Allen, So You Think You Can Dance

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