Expert Article

From Stage to Screen

How dance competition shows have changed the way society views dance.

Written by Renee Jhu

First comes hair and make up: hundreds of hairpins keeping my bun in place. Then comes costume: tights on, some sort of sparkly outfit over. And then comes last minute preparation: stretching, marking movements one more time before heading backstage.

This is the world I grew up in. I danced ballet for 3 years, figure skated for 7 years, and have dabbled in contemporary, jazz, and even hula throughout my dance career. I took classes for dance, read magazines about dance, picked up a minor in dance, and most recently, have spent a lot of my free time watching competition shows about dance.

I am constantly inspired by the talent, creativity, and athleticism I see in the dancers that get cast on these shows. As fun as these programs are to simply sit back and watch, the dance enthusiast in me also wants to analyze the importance of dance coming to television and its impact on society today.

Why Do Televised Dance Competitions Matter?

Since the early 2000’s, dance has taken to the screen through shows like Dancing with The Stars (DWTS), So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD), and America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC). The premise of each of these shows is similar: a person or a group of people performs a dance number, the judges score the piece, and in the end only one winner is left standing. Think of it like a new form of sports competition – dance, which was once limited to the concert stage, has now adapted to the world of videography and reality television.

There are a lot of mixed feelings about this new platform for dance. Some argue that televised dance competitions motivate dancers to become even better than they already are – more well-rounded, more creative, and more knowledgeable. Famous judges like Julianne Hough from DWTS and Jenna Dewan Tatum from World of Dance are great proponents of this view (Wagmeister). However, there are others like David Parker from the renowned Julliard, Barnard College who believe that this new platform has diminished the quality of dance, citing videography as a safety net and noting how dance is now seen as simply “slick, flashy entertainment” (La Rocco).

Back It Up – How Exactly Do These Shows Work?

I will be focusing on the 3 most viewed dance shows, according to tvline.com:

1.     Dancing with The Stars (DWTS):

Viewers: over 10 million

Description: DWTS focuses on all types of ballroom dance. For each season, about 12 celebrities, or “stars,” are chosen from all walks of life. Each star is paired with a professional dancer, and together the pair performs an assigned ballroom dance for the judges on show night. Each week, one pair is eliminated based on the judges’ votes and the popular vote, which is determined by the number of viewer texts, emails, and social media tags.

2.    So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD):

Viewers: over 3 million

Description: Unlike DWTS, SYTYCD doesn’t focus on any one type of dance. There are 10 All-Stars, or professionals hired by SYTYCD, and they each choose 1 contestant to compete on the show based on a competitive audition process. Week after week, the dancers perform solos, duets, and group numbers with the help of the All-Stars, and each week one dancer is eliminated based on the judges’ votes and the popular vote.

3.    America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC):

Viewers: over 2 million

Description: ABDC is all about crews, or groups of dancers. Each week, the judges give the crews a challenge, and the crews’ choreography must meet those challenges. Unlike DWTS and SYTYCD, the judges have all the power in choosing who stays and who goes each week.

What Beef Do People Have with These Shows?

There are 3 major critiques people have about dance competition shows:

1.     Videography leaves more room for error. When a dance is filmed with multiple cameras from multiple angles, it’s very possible and in fact quite easy for producers to cut any mistakes that the dancers make. So while the judges are there in person to see all the details, viewers only get the edited version.

2.    Dancers are expected to be multi-faceted. On SYTYCD, for example, each dancer is expected to perform a different style of dance each week, regardless of their individual specialties. Someone who is highly trained in tap may not be very advanced in hip hop, and because of the way these competitions are structured, it is impossible to win based on great skill in only one category.

3.    Dancers are judged more on their personality and story than on their actual dancing. In Week 8 of Season 24 of DWTS, judges Julianne Hough and Carrie Ann Inaba both commented on the “inauthentic” smile of star Simone Biles and gave her a score of 36 instead of a full 40. This is just one example of personality playing a factor in a contestant’s scores. Not only are judges and viewers swayed by personality, but they also form emotional connections to certain dancers after watching recaps of the week, which are often filled with personal stories and tears. Of the 25 DWTS winners, 40% were not the highest scoring dancers according to the judges, which means they won based not on skill alone but also on America’s popular vote. Popularity is often valued just as much as technique and skill.

What Good Comes Out of It?

Despite the criticism, dance competition shows have had a significant positive impact on the way dance is portrayed to the general public:

1.     They showcase all kinds of dance styles, some of which have not received much public attention before. Ballet and other “concert” dance styles have long been celebrated as an art form in America because they are backed by wealthy investors and audiences. Lesser known dances often come from the margins, where there is little exposure due to cultural differences or little funding, or both. The beauty of these shows is that they bring these lesser known dances to the forefront. ABDC often features crews that perform street style dances like krump or break dance, which is starkly different from the professionally trained ballet dancers art companies tend to hire. SYTYCD recently added Bollywood and African Jazz as styles the contestants must perform, acknowledging that American and European dance styles are not the only ones that exist.

2.    They open conversation for difficult topics. Dance is not just about performing movements to a tee; it is also about expression. Nigel Lythgoe, the executive producer of SYTYCD notes that shows like these allow for “choreographers [to] tell stories that sometimes you wouldn’t even discuss at home – about addiction, breast cancer, homosexuality – through movement” (Friscia). Through shows like these, viewers come to see dance not only as this highly trained art form, but also as an avenue for personal expression and exploration.

3.    They bring the general public closer to the dancing experience. Not everyone who watches these shows have dance experience, so not everyone knows what it feels like to do a turn or to perform a lift. These shows use the power of videography to give viewers a glimpse of what these things feel like by spinning with the dancers or panning above the dancers. Not only do viewers get a better idea of what it’s like to dance, but they are also invited to join in, regardless of any barriers they may face, like age, gender, disability, and background. SYTYCD offers spots to dancers ages 18 to 30, even though the most athletic dancers tend to be about 24 years old or younger. The Season 22 winner of DWTS was a deaf man named Nyle DiMarco. ABDC crews have come from some of the poorest neighborhoods in the U.S. These shows portray dance not as this elite sport, but as a sport that all people are capable of.

Works Cited

ABDC (no longer running): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1145872/

DWTS: http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars/news/updates/dancing-with-the-stars-by-the-numbers

Friscia, Suzannah. “The ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Effect: How a TV Show Changed the Dance World.” Dance Magazine. June 5, 2017. <http://www.dancemagazine.com/so-you-think-you-can-dance-2430601241.html>

La Rocco, Claudia. “TV Gives Dance a Boost, and That’s Good, Right?” The New York Times. June 11, 2010.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/arts/dance/13tvdance.html>

SYTYCD: https://www.fox.com/so-you-think-you-can-dance/

Viewer numbers: http://tvline.com/category/ratings/

Wagmeister, Elizabeth. “Jennifer Lopez’s NBC Series ‘World of Dance’ Marks Game-Changing Moment for Dance Industry.” Variety. May 30, 2017. <http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/world-of-dance-jennifer-lopez-interview-nbc-show-premiere-1202448083/>

Webber, Stephanie. “Simone Biles Claps Back at ‘DWTS’ Criticism: ‘Smiling Doesn’t Win You Gold Medals.’” US Weekly. May 9, 2017. <https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/simone-biles-claps-back-at-dancing-with-the-stars-criticism-w481388/>