cancer – day 390
OK, my two cents on Dancing with the Stars . . .
1. It is a reality TV show first, popularity contest second, dance competition third.
2. The first season I saw (season 2?) the real winner got robbed. Actually, I think there have been at least three seasons where I thought the real winner got robbed, but season 2 was an absolutely obnoxious theft. The star tripped on her own feet for goodness’ sake, and the judges gave her tens because the public had already voted her the winner because she was a popular soap opera star. Plus the guy who got second got nine’s with a flawless quickstep. What kind of scoring is that? To this day I wouldn’t recognize the woman’s name from season 2 if I heard it. Who the heck watches soap operas anyway??
3. Anyone with the entire NFL voting for them is always going to last at least two episodes longer than I can stand to watch them dance.
4. I never watch the show live because I have no tolerance for commercials. And come season finale, I can’t stand all the waiting and column fodder, I fast forward through a lot of it. I also always wait and watch the competition show and the ensuing elimination show back-to-back, for the reasons noted above.
5. Tom Bergeron’s jokes may fall flat on other shows (according to my parents), but he may be the best live show host I’ve ever seen. I really like his wit on the fly.
6. Most unforgettable quote: “Winner, winner, chicken dinner!”
7. Maxim Chemeyakovski is even hotter in person, even more stern, and even more intimidating. But he touched me once during an audition, which I’ll never forget.
8. I love Lacey’s personality, but I don’t think she’ll ever win because not enough people know how to appreciate that much individuality.
9. Louie Van Amstel is the greatest choreographer ever.
10. I’ve trained with about half the pros on the show, it’s neat to see my teachers getting recognition for being amazing. The general public has no idea how incredibly talented and committed champion dancers are, but a champion teacher is not only a world-class dancer, as an instructor they are always focused on the student and making sure the student has the best possible experience falling in love with dancing.
11. I was going to stop at ten, but it has to be said, the judges know very little about what they’re looking at when it’s not a ballroom dance. West Coast Swing, Argentine Tango, Salsa, oh how I hate watching ballroom dancers “perform” those dances. There is no bounce in west coast, salsa is not mambo on 1, and there is no “frame” in tango, it’s an embrace, and so intimate you feel like a voyeur. I’ve become a dance snob, I’ve come to think club dances belong in clubs and ballroom dancers should stay in the ballroom. Hard to believe I was ever a ballroom instructor, eh? Oh well, guess I’m getting crusty with age.
I wonder who made it on So You Think You Can Dance this year?