I'm going to start this entry by being 100 percent honest, I barely watched this season of So You Think You Can Dance. And I have no regrets.
From what I've seen through my fast-forwarding of this season's episodes on my trusty DVR, the show has lost some of its authenticity. Not to take ANYTHING away from the dancers who are gifted, and talented and bursting with personality but the essence of the show seems to have floundered a lot this season.
This was the first attempt at a fall season for the show with five previous summer seasons that were filled to point of explosion with dynamic choreography, touching moments and more dance than one could hope for. But this season's finale episode last night summed it up.
With three musical performances, Leona Lewis, Mary J. Blige and even Jennifer Lopez (hello this is a DANCE show) and a top 6 rather than their traditional top 4 dancers the feeling of forced positivity shone bright on the Kodak Theater stage. I must say, to begin with the move the show took from the intimate studio stage setting that fans have grown to adore over the past 5 seasons to the immense "above seating" feeling of this theater has left a bad taste in my mouth.
Seeing as I'm being honest I'm also going to admit I have not seen ALL of the dances this season, but every time I tune in whether it's a Sonya funky jazz piece, one of Tyce's contemporary pieces, or a newbie's Afrojazz piece (one of the only highlights) the choreography has taken a backseat. With the absence of Mia Michaels' genius, one could accept lackluster movement but the dance pieces were either overly conceptualized to the point of being too theatrical, or they had no real story behind the movement. It's as if the SYTYCD world lost inspiration for a few months, which is a sad, sad event.
Nothing stands out to me about this season, not a single dancer, not a single song, not one piece of choreography. It's disappointing that seasons has failed us after five years of a show that has truly brought dance to the forefront of entertainment and solidified what myself and many, many others have known, that dance is not only a wonderful art form, but a vital one too. I'm sure that Season 6 Tour Sales will show what the fans are feeling, lackluster.
Maybe they just had an off-season. I'll give them that because I know I've had off days, off weeks, hell probably a few off-months in my 23 years of dance, love and life. But I truly hope they take a hard look at the past season and instill some of the simplistic authenticity back into the show because so many changes all at once has shaken my SYTYCD beliefs and fan-aticism to its core.
The search for Season 7 begins this January 2010 in NYC and Miami ... let's hold our breath and hope for the best!
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