There is a very long rant behind this LJ cut
It's long. It's a rant. But, I think it's interesting. Any dancers/performers/theater people should give it a read if you have some time.
Some problems plaguing So You Think You Can Dance:
The most obvious problem is classically trained bias. Classical dance training means ballet training. Contemporary, Jazz, Lyrical, and Broadway are all essentially ballet-based dances. Since these couple categories more or less make up half the competition, it really does give the dancers from that background a gigantic lead.
While we're on the subject of classically trained dancers, I have something else to point out. Some people have gotten the impression that studying ballet allows you to adapt to other styles better, as lots of contemporary/jazz/modern/lyrical dancers have shown technical excellence on the competition. I believe this is a misunderstanding, as everyone who studies those styles study them in studios, which most of the time offer a wide variety of dances, most often canonically offering hip-hop and tap. Ballroom studios, on the other hand, rarely offer other styles, seeing as there's 10 international style ballroom dancers and too many swing/club/other latin dances to list. And hip-hop/break dancers often learn their skill on street. Have you ever heard of a girl who learned her pointe from those kids dancing around the stereo in the subway? It's just another classically change bias.
The next worst thing about So You Think You Can Dance is the fucking hyper-active camera. Extreme long shots should NEVER be used, unless there's NOTHING happening on stage (and then why are you filming?). We don't want to see the audience, and we sure as hell don't care about the stages flashing lights and patterns- we're watching a freakin' dance show! The camera needs to be thoughtfully placed and the routines them selves should be choreographed for television (The infamous Bob Fosse has been doing this for years; Go watch Cabaret, All that Jazz, or Liza with a Z). 360 rotating shots can be used to enhance certain parts, but need to be used sparingly. The hummingbird dance is a good example (it really helped with the feeling of the dancers being intertwined). As for close ups, they should never be used except to show the dancers emotions (which needs to be emphasized, as in a theater you can never get that close), or rare cases (like the finale version of Jeanine and Jason's If it Kills Me contemporary, when she has the necklace in her mouth).
As for choreography, it needs a harsher selection process in particular, the contemporary choreography needs to be overhauled. Yes, being able to do a 6 o'clock ponche is amazing, but if you do it ten times in 90 seconds, it looses its impact. Maybe I'm just thinking back to when the show had to narrow down the top 20 to the REALLY good dancers, and the choreographers couldn't throw ridiculous extensions everywhere. Now they use them left and right (and upside down), and between that and random thrashing around (which is always done with the lady's hair down and the man's shirt open) contemporary went from being an under utilized style to just being bland. Teenagers at a bad punk rock concert thrash with more personality nowadays.
When it comes to the competition itself, the dances given to the dancers each week needs to be regulated more so that they don't get repeat styles. Kayla from season 4 had four contemporary routines (that's not including jazz, broadway, etc.). Luck (or, dare I say it, producer intervention) plays too much into whether someone will stay or not. Had they never done a smooth ballroom routine? Have they not done of the various once-a-competition styles (lindy hop, bollywood, etc.)?
Lastly, the judges need a wake up call. They need to stop giving positive judgment on dancers that are okay on the first show. It's like they're trying to hype it up, and then they start throwing super-superlatives out like their paycheck depends on it. Every year it's "the best group of dancers they've ever seen"...that is, until the next season when they actually say what sucked about the previous years. There's always one ballroom guy and girl who are the best they've ever seen, and there's always that hip hop guy that's "grown more than everyone else". If the judges continue with their trite, scripted, melodramatic comments, they're going to single handedly destroy a show that has given new life to such an under appreciated art.
Some problems plaguing So You Think You Can Dance:
The most obvious problem is classically trained bias. Classical dance training means ballet training. Contemporary, Jazz, Lyrical, and Broadway are all essentially ballet-based dances. Since these couple categories more or less make up half the competition, it really does give the dancers from that background a gigantic lead.
While we're on the subject of classically trained dancers, I have something else to point out. Some people have gotten the impression that studying ballet allows you to adapt to other styles better, as lots of contemporary/jazz/modern/lyrical dancers have shown technical excellence on the competition. I believe this is a misunderstanding, as everyone who studies those styles study them in studios, which most of the time offer a wide variety of dances, most often canonically offering hip-hop and tap. Ballroom studios, on the other hand, rarely offer other styles, seeing as there's 10 international style ballroom dancers and too many swing/club/other latin dances to list. And hip-hop/break dancers often learn their skill on street. Have you ever heard of a girl who learned her pointe from those kids dancing around the stereo in the subway? It's just another classically change bias.
The next worst thing about So You Think You Can Dance is the fucking hyper-active camera. Extreme long shots should NEVER be used, unless there's NOTHING happening on stage (and then why are you filming?). We don't want to see the audience, and we sure as hell don't care about the stages flashing lights and patterns- we're watching a freakin' dance show! The camera needs to be thoughtfully placed and the routines them selves should be choreographed for television (The infamous Bob Fosse has been doing this for years; Go watch Cabaret, All that Jazz, or Liza with a Z). 360 rotating shots can be used to enhance certain parts, but need to be used sparingly. The hummingbird dance is a good example (it really helped with the feeling of the dancers being intertwined). As for close ups, they should never be used except to show the dancers emotions (which needs to be emphasized, as in a theater you can never get that close), or rare cases (like the finale version of Jeanine and Jason's If it Kills Me contemporary, when she has the necklace in her mouth).
As for choreography, it needs a harsher selection process in particular, the contemporary choreography needs to be overhauled. Yes, being able to do a 6 o'clock ponche is amazing, but if you do it ten times in 90 seconds, it looses its impact. Maybe I'm just thinking back to when the show had to narrow down the top 20 to the REALLY good dancers, and the choreographers couldn't throw ridiculous extensions everywhere. Now they use them left and right (and upside down), and between that and random thrashing around (which is always done with the lady's hair down and the man's shirt open) contemporary went from being an under utilized style to just being bland. Teenagers at a bad punk rock concert thrash with more personality nowadays.
When it comes to the competition itself, the dances given to the dancers each week needs to be regulated more so that they don't get repeat styles. Kayla from season 4 had four contemporary routines (that's not including jazz, broadway, etc.). Luck (or, dare I say it, producer intervention) plays too much into whether someone will stay or not. Had they never done a smooth ballroom routine? Have they not done of the various once-a-competition styles (lindy hop, bollywood, etc.)?
Lastly, the judges need a wake up call. They need to stop giving positive judgment on dancers that are okay on the first show. It's like they're trying to hype it up, and then they start throwing super-superlatives out like their paycheck depends on it. Every year it's "the best group of dancers they've ever seen"...that is, until the next season when they actually say what sucked about the previous years. There's always one ballroom guy and girl who are the best they've ever seen, and there's always that hip hop guy that's "grown more than everyone else". If the judges continue with their trite, scripted, melodramatic comments, they're going to single handedly destroy a show that has given new life to such an under appreciated art.