So You Think You Can Dance

The day after American Idol ends my favorite “reality” show starts. “So you think you can dance” is also about people who are following their dreams. I like this show more because of the dedication of these people to dance. Before I started watching this show I never thought much about professional dancing, but after watching for several seasons, I found that the some of these people are very special. Some can actually touch or connect to the audience just by expressing themselves through dancing. What amazes me the most is the body control, the movement, the flow, the energy, and how they interpret and perform each dance.

This year on the first show, which is the beginning auditions from all over the country there were a couple of contestants that really impressed the judges and the judges are professional choreographers. One fellow even made the one judge sob with joy as she watched the performance. It was a powerful performance I agree and this fellow made the top twenty last year, but was cut early. I see this year he has “grown” hugely as a dancer. Another contestant this week was a girl that was the last contestant cut before the final twenty last year and she is amazing this year also.

In case you haven’t seen or heard of this show this is the process for picking contestants. Like Idol, they go to cities all over the country and hold auditions. Each person dances their specialty dance, like hip-hop, contemporary, tap, ballet, ballroom, etc. The judges decide if they have enough talent to continue on (also like Idol) to the next level. On the next level, just like Idol’s “hell” week, more dancing to see who will be chosen for the final top twenty. This is where it gets interesting. Even though the show is looking for one winner, the contestants now get pared off as couples. Then they pick out of a hat the type of dance they will be performing on the next show. With the help of various choreographers they are taught a routine for the each dance routine. This is interesting to me because now you have hip-hop specialists learning the waltz for example.

Last year’s winner was Joshua Allen, the 19-year-old, untrained hip-hop dancer who I loved watching throughout the entire competition. He was truly amazing and did “moves” that had me in awe as I watched.

Just by watching the first show this year it looks like it’s going to be another great season of watching dedicated people who are following their dreams to dance.

I have nothing more to add at this time.