So You Think You Can Dance

NOTE: The 6 rating is for the show itself, the way it's run, not the contestants, these incredible troupers, who deserve a 10.

The thing I like most about this show is how the dancers have to step up each week and perform in a genre that is usually much different than their own; this requires the performers to be unbelievably flexible - not just physically but mentally and emotionally, and most of them are genuinely inspiring to watch.

I don't think the judges are really fair, especially Nigel, who seems to not appreciate anyone whose style and personage is different than the mainstream ideas of gender-acceptability. He has more of a problem with some of the guys, whom he berates for not being 'masculine enough' to take the lead with a female partner. Very limited - and limiting - imagination, he has. I really like Mia Michaels, who's the complete opposite: very open-minded and fair, a true artist and an inspiring creative force.

I also don't think it's fair that the 3 lowest-voted boys and the 3 lowest-voted girls each week get THIRTY SECONDS ONLY to show what they can do individually before the judges make their decisions. This is ridiculous, it's clearly not enough time - they should be given at least 2 minutes or at the very least a minute and a half so they can allow their chosen routine to build a little; with the THIRTY-SECOND time, everyone usually winds up looking frantic. Give these people a break, I say. They have time for a complete performance from a guest star, like Neo, this week, for instance, but they don't have time for the actual contestants? This is absolutely pathetic.

The show is clearly a personality contest, and they admit it. They're not looking for 'America's BEST dancer' but rather 'America's FAVORITE dancer,' and this is okay, because let's face it, any public competition generally winds up being a popularity contest anyway. So at least they're up front about that. I especially appreciate how they show the performers practicing each week in the genre they've found themselves dancing in. Sometimes it looks like they'll never be able to pull it off, but 90% of the time, once they're in their costumes and the audience is present, they manage to shine.

8/16/07 : THRILLED that Sabra won tonight! I didn't think she had a chance; I was sure Neil or Danny would take it, and I have a feeling she felt that way too. I've been watching nearly ever week just to see her numbers - when she dances, you can't take your eyes off her, plain and simple. The judges did get it right about her - she has The Magic. Something you can't buy, steal or be taught. A thrilling performer.

8/8/08 : This time around, I was rooting for either Katee or Joshua to take it, and I couldn't have been any more pleased that Joshua won last night. Another great year, very inspired and inspiring.

I am disappointed in so you tycdance. In the final episodes randomly pairing people & deciding who remains based on the best of the pairing. Who in the world thought this would be a viable way to end up with the best dancers. Could you have not spent a little more brainpower to come up with another way to eliminate people. If you wanted to do the pairing-do it-give each dancer a score then after all dancers have performed base the elimination on score comparison amongst all of the dancers. The dancers with the lowest scores would then be eliminated. The process you used was totally unfair- made no sense. Totally ridiculous brought me such disappointment in the show.

Coming from a point of view of just a "regular person" I watched So You Think You Can Dance and fell in love. It does have a lot of the same tricks as American Idol, but there's one big and important thing that it does not share, and that is when they eliminate the contestants for the purpose that America does not pick the best dancer based on just personality. What actually happens is that America picks the bottom three couples, and then they each have 90 seconds to prove themselves(it is obvious who has practiced or not) and then the judges eliminate two of them. And I think majority of the time, the judges give very good reasons, they are not biased, they are fair. But afterwards, when it comes to the top 5 couples, they are separated and then randomly chosen for one another to see the chemistry they can have with other partners. In that voting process, America chooses who stays and who leaves, until the final four where one is chosen as America's favorite dancer. (not America's best dancer) Another thing I liked about the judging process is that they switch judges to prevent a bias, but they are usually judges of different styles just as the contestants are. The contestants are obviously chosen because of their strength in their own style, but in the process of trying out, they are tested if they can follow different sorts of choreography well to test their versatility and if they can, the judges tell if they are voted into competition or not. But throughout the competition, they do beautiful and fun pieces, which makes the show very addicting to watch because no one knows what type of dance will be chosen for them or how they will do.

Unlike singing competitions which can begin to feel like karaoke night twice a week, So You Think You Can Dance is fresh and will keep renewing itself. Dance is always changing, always becoming more global, technical, artistic, theatrical, and more. There are no limits in dance, and thus this show has the potential to go on forever.

The greatest thing about this show is the showcase of the different genres by gifted dancers. Not only is it a "competition" show, it is a performance show. Sure there are the judges to comment, phone numbers to call, and bottom three to fret about, but in the end this show achieves the most in broadcasting the world of dance.

After many talent competitions, it has a virtue- it is different. Profound different. And it reminds the force of dance, genre by genre, to say, in profound sense, with deep intensity, the truth about skills and art and people on the scene. In same measure, it is a contest in which the viewer is part moment by moment. Because the fair judgments , the each move, the music are tools for discover yourself and for remind the intensity of dance as pure form of art. So, for many reasons, the show.