So You Think You Can Dance: What are you doing?!?!

by Ashley Griffin

One could argue (and I would) that the reality TV show “So You Think You Can Dance”(SYTYCD) has been the primary force behind the advocacy for and advancement of dance for the past two decades. It is a huge reason why a new generation has been inspired to dance, and that dance has begun to be reincorporated into the popular and artistic culture.

Look at the shows on Broadway pre- and post “So You Think You Can Dance.” Before, there was a large divide between the Golden Age style/revival show and a contemporary, largely “park and bark” musical. Now, one only needs to look at shows like “Jagged Little Pill” or “Hamilton” – which were heralded for their unique, story-advancing choreography.

On the surface, “So You Think You Can Dance” is a reality competition show in the vein of “American Idol.” But, largely thanks to producer and long-time judge Nigel Lythgoe (himself a former professional dancer and choreographer), SYTYCD quickly became less a drama-filled competition show and more an artistic venture with the goal of creating dance pieces that were high works of art and helping the dancers on the show develop into the best artists they could be.

They even deliberately changed the prize title from “America’s Best Dancer” to “America’s Favorite Dancer” – pushing the idea that, yes, in the end the audience would vote for the dancer they enjoyed the most, but that had nothing to do with who was the “best” – because when you’re dealing with artistry, there is no “best.” (As Nigel said in one episode “we don’t vote dancers off this show, we vote dancers on…”)

The format of the show changed a bit over the years but was always grounded in the same structure.

I am a huge SYTYCD fan. And I was so excited for Season 18, which premiered a few weeks ago. But pretty quickly… my heart started to hurt, and all I can say is…

“SYTYCD – WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

I want to be very clear – this is not about the dancers (they’re fantastic, maybe some of the best contestants that have ever been on the show.) And it’s not about the judges (beloved and excellent at their jobs SYTYCD alumni Alison Holker and Maksim Chmerkovskiy along with (for the initial auditions only) Comfort Fedoke and (starting after the auditions) the always entertaining JoJo Siwa.

This is about fundamental changes to what SYTYCD IS.

Let’s start with a rudimentary list:

We only saw the initial solo auditions of a clearly curated group of dancers (obviously, we’ve never seen EVERYONE’S auditions, but this felt hand-selected to a “fake” degree.) We don’t know where they were auditioning, but it was only one location, begging the question – were auditions only open to those living in a certain area this season? Did they fly prospective dancers out?

Either way, it feels like the pool was a lot more limited. They also completely cut L.A. week, so we didn’t get to see the dancers fighting (and learning) as they worked in different styles and grew over the course of the week. The most we got were two group audition numbers that were well within the comfort zone of most of the people there, and by the time we got to them, the auditionees had already been culled down to a VERY small number (with no explanation as to how cuts had been made.)

And that brings me to…

There is no explanation about how very important cuts were made. Theoretically, this doesn’t seem like a big thing, but when you take into account the fact that SYTYCD has always featured diverse dancers – including those of different body types and some with disabilities, it leaves a funny taste in your mouth. For example, this season we watched Kaylee (we only ever learned her first name,) a wonderful dancer who was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome at the age of 21, meaning that she is a wheelchair user and her mobility will continue to deteriorate.

She gave a stunning audition and was put through to the next round. In previous seasons, this would mean that we would get to watch her in L.A. week and see how she would adapt the choreography to her wheelchair use. Even if she didn’t make the top 20 (or 10), we would have gotten an explanation from the judges.

But on this season, we celebrated her at her audition… and then she just vanished into thin air, leaving us to feel that, despite the support on camera and off-screen, someone decided that she just wouldn’t be able to keep up. This is doubly upsetting in that Kaylee wasn’t the only diverse contestant this happened to… there were several wonderful dancers (including (forgive me for not being able to find their names…), a larger dancer, and a drag performer, who were celebrated, put through to the next round, and then just quietly went away…

The final group that made it onto the show was a top 10 (which has been done before, but it is a LARGE quelling of numbers before the show has even properly begun). Then, the very first week, they sent TWO people home… last week, they sent ANOTHER two people home, meaning they’re down to six people two weeks into the show, and we haven’t really gotten to know or seen anything from basically half of the initial top ten.

The show decided that this year, the focus would be “finding dancers who could work in the real world right now and give them real-world challenges.” This included a music video challenge in the first week, where the top ten were divided in half. Then, each filmed a music video with minimal actual choreography, where you barely registered who was on screen at any given time. The second week was a Broadway challenge where, once again, the group was divided in half, and each group had three days (THREE WHOLE DAYS!) to learn a short routine.

Now, I’m sorry, but what the dancers have had to do in every previous season is so much harder and more of an indicator of how they would do in the real world than anything that happened in Season 18. In previous seasons, contestants would have minimal time to learn a complicated duet, often completely out of their comfort zone, in addition to group routines. Three days to learn a short group musical theater number is more than I’ve ever gotten working on a professional show.

Not to mention the fact that keeping it to only two numbers a week that involve larger groups means we still don’t really know who these dancers are, nor have we been able to focus on creating art through dance…

For some reason, someone thought they needed to up the DRAMA, and so had all the contestants live in a house together on camera. I have no idea what the living arrangements were in previous seasons (I would assume they were in some communal living situation). Still, the difference is we weren’t following them into the kitchen and (in clearly staged fashion) hearing them talk about competing with each other/who likes who/dating drama.

I am very happy to report that the contestants don’t seem interested in drama at all, so these diversions to their house seem more like a team having fun together than “The Real World.” But either way, why are we spending time on this when we could be, I don’t know, watching great dance?

The only live audience is at the reveal of who’s getting sent home. There’s no more live audience for the performances, so there are no live reactions, cheering, or applause. It makes all the performances feel completely sterile and only for the purpose of, well, winning a competition, not moving people.

My understanding is there will be no audience voting this season. So this no longer feels like a communal celebration of great performers but the world’s longest and most tedious job interview.

PLEASE put the focus back on the artistry! Let us have more numbers with fewer people in them and return to spending time talking about crafting the dances, why certain artistic decisions are being made, etc. I don’t know who the contestants are, they’re being eliminated SO fast without our ever getting to see them do anything! (In the past, even the person who was eliminated first at least got to do one big duet on the first episode) Being in the background of a fake music video isn’t actually testing them as dancers, and giving them three days to learn a relatively simple Broadway routine is nothing like the real world.

Knowing what this show CAN be makes these changes all the more painful. I don’t know anyone who will be inspired to start dancing (or even go to a dance show) watching this season – and that breaks my heart. SYTYCD held an incredibly unique place in our culture – it was where the new dance was being cultivated globally, and if that goes away, I’m scared to think what it will do to the dance world. PLEASE put artistry and move an audience back to the center of this show. You’re in the process of alienating a lot of people… there’s still time to change course.

And, on a brighter note, here are some of my personal favorite SYTYCD numbers: