Superstars of Dance

Michael Flatley is a refreshing host. Direct, to the point, passionate but not arrogant. He is not a camera hog and he is not prone to Hollywood star diatribes as other TV hosts. He came off as genuine and sincere which, for me, equals easy to watch.

The other good thing is having a TV show showcasing dancing traditions from other countries. Something not seen much on network TV.

The biggest problem with SUPERSTARS OF DANCE is that it is a competition. The idea that a Punjabi bhangra can be measured against an Irish step dance -- what? -- is like asking what tastes better: a hot fudge sundae or southern fried chicken. Yes, some people will like one, and not like the other. But, for people who like both... how to measure if one is better than the other? OK, what is better: a dance of male strength, or a dance of female grace? Which is better: an orange cake, or a lemon cake? Even that is impossible!

Because a direct competition between wildly different international dance styles makes no sense, the scores given by the judges seem to be more personal or political rather than objective.

A smaller problem is having Miss USA as a co-host. She does not have the same credentials as Michael Flatley, and sad to say, does not add much to the show.

Last, I can't put my finger exactly on it, but somehow this show is not capturing the magic of these dances. Perhaps after seeing these dances in person, a lot seems missing when seen on TV. Still, I wish this show all the best.

I agree with Pro Jury in that this show does not capture the magic of the dances and I think I know why - the absolutely atrocious camera-work. Even though I believe I would truly enjoy the show, I can't bear to watch it due to constant frustration with being unable to witness what I'm sure the dancers and choreographers want us to see. Additionally I agree that it seems difficult to judge such disparate dance styles. I'm no professional, but I couldn't understand most of the judge's opinions – they seemed completely arbitrary. One thing I can't agree with is that Michael Flatley is a good host – he is too rigid and everything he says seems forced and unnatural to me.

Wow, I am about halfway through the second show and I can barely watch it, which is a shame because the dancing is rather good - at least what you can see of it. Where to begin? First, while there is plenty of good dancing, since when did Kung Fu become a form of dance? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching Shaolin monks perform some of the most complex and difficult martial arts moves on Earth, but on a show that features ballroom dancing?

Which brings me to my second point. What is with the rating system? How the Hell can you compare clogging/tap dancing to traditional South African dance? There is no rhyme or reason to the scoring system other than it being a 1 to 10 scale and the judges are atrocious. They seem to have no concept of multi-cultural dance and can't score anyone lower than a 7 or higher than a 9. The whole concept of this show being a contest to see what country has the best dancers in the World is laughable at best.

Let me indulge you a little further with my third point, the directing/cinematography. When the camera comes around front of the dancers the flood lights on the back of the stage at stage level wave around and shine directly into the camera making it impossible to see parts of the dance. Then they do a sweeping view from in the audience and you are so far from the stage while the camera is moving that you miss even more of the dances. One point that sticks out in my head is on the second show the duet from Australia was performing a lift where the girl was above the guy's head horizontally, or at least I think horizontally but I wasn't really sure because the camera angle was so horrific.

The only reason I rated this show a 5 out of 10 is because the main point of the show is to showcase dance from around the globe. The dancing (from what you can see) is intriguing and captivating, it is such a shame that the show is trivialized by some phony competition when it solely could be about dance. Also, I do have to give props to Michael Flatley as host, he is genuinely a gracious host.

To sum all of this up, good idea, poorly executed. I don't know what is more appalling, the format of the show or the fact that it doesn't surprise me that NBC would put such a show on TV. What is this country coming to?

This show comes up short...you cannot compare the dancing because it is all so different. I feel sorry for the judges, and I would not even call what the young American guy did "dancing"! (Popping??? What the heck was that???) Sorry, peeps, but give me Dancing With The Stars any day. I am watching it now and the first show is only 1 hour in and I won't likely waste my time watching more episodes. There are far better offerings, but I had to check it out. I rated this show a 1 because there is no Zero! By the way I am not a dancer, just a dance appreciator! It will be very interesting to see how the rest of the world rates this series...

This show was awful. I expected so much more, especially after such fantastic dance shows such as Dancing with the Stars/Strictly Come Dancing, and So You Think You Can Dance. There was nothing fantastic about any of these dancers with the exception of Anya and Pasha (sytycd alumni might I add) or the American duo. I hate the fact that there is this stereotype that all Americans can do is Popping (David Murraine is over-rated) and Hip Hop, but of course that is what we have fore our soloist and group dance. Can we not see some modern or contemporary dancing.

Scoring is crap too, half the judge probably don't understand some of the styles of dances that have been shown on this program. That Argentine Judge is a b****, I couldn't stand her and her negative bias toward the American contestants.

Furthermore as awesome as the Shaolin Monks were, it was just a bunch of circus tricks. This had better be the only season of this show or they need to really re-do the production. Finally, the show needs new hosts, Flatley and Miss U.S.A. are too dry and have no chemistry to be decent hosts. All I know is that for now I can't watch this anymore.