Thursday, May 21, 2009

KRIS WHO? This shouldn't come as a news flash to most of you, but there is nothing in the universe of pop culture that I advocate so strongly as the watching of "So You Think You Can Dance." Last year I offered up a list of things I love about the show -- and here are four more reasons why you need to tune into Fox at 8 pm tonight and every Wednesday and Thursday thereafter until America's Favorite Dancer is selected.

The Galaxy is Expanding. SYTYCD mastermind, former dancer, president of 19 Entertainment -- and BFF of KCosmo -- Nigel Lythgoe sees the show's mandate as bringing dance to a larger audience. Every season, new choreographers and styles of dance are added to the show -- last season, we watched the dancers' maiden incursions into Bollywood (a roaring success), Texas Two-Step (an unmitigated disaster), Trepak (the Russian guys-in-fur-hats stuff), and actual honest-to-God ballet (a glorious pas de deux choreographed by Alvin Ailey alums Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden). And then there were all the usual styles -- contemporary, hip-hop (in its many flavors), samba, Viennese waltz, disco, Argentine tango, Broadway, mambo, jive, jazz, rumba, smooth waltz, cha cha, krump, non-Argentine tango, salsa, quickstep, lyrical jazz, foxtrot, West Coast swing, paso doble, and I'm sure Nigel will come up with a few new doozies this year.

The Experts Are Part of the Action. Unlike that other show where we see the guest mentor for maybe four minutes of clips one week plus a quickie performance of his latest song and then he's gone, never to be seen again, the choreographers on SYTYCD are as core to the show's narrative as the dancers themselves. We as viewers get to see how the choreographers create, how they use the talents of each dancer, and how they teach. And many of the choreographers sit in the judge's chair at various points through the season, giving us the chance to hear their views -- actual views, articulated clearly and usually concisely -- about each of the competitors' strengths and weaknesses. Who among the show's longtime fans isn't excited to see what Mia Michaels comes up with for this season? Wade Robson? Sonya Tayeh?

The SYTYCD Tour Kicks the AI Tour's Ass. It's ridiculous how much better the SYTYCD tour is than the AI tour. AI gives you ten discrete mini-sets from each of the ten finalists who made the tour (and aren't you excited to see Michael Sarver and Scott McIntyre concerts, America?) and . . . that's pretty much it. No interaction between the singers, no interesting duets or small group performances, nada. SYTYCD takes a totally different approach, cramming every great dance from the entire season into two hours of constant entertainment, plus oddly entertaining patter and comedic sketches from the dancers.

Cat Deeley. I love Cat. Everyone loves Cat. You, too, will love Cat. She's a big dorky geek trapped in the face and body of a Glamazon goddess. What's not to love?

See you tonight. (Can't wait until then? Our Friend Joanna Weiss offers her own views as to why SYTYCD is "TV's most satisfying reality competition.")

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