TV : So You Think You Can Dance – Season 5

I am not much of a “reality show” kind of girl, though I must admit that since I have discovered it, I became somewhat an addict of talent show “so you think you can dance”. Last season has brought me chills and occasionally tears to my eyes as I followed the dancers through the competition. I ruled for many (if not all of them), but as every games needs them, my heart sank for the talented contestants that were eliminated and leapt for the winner. Therefore, I am as glad as the judges to see two of them (so far) come back to the stage.

On such a show, the talent is everywhere, from the dancers… to the choreographers, who are very inventive and innovative… to the stylists… to the music, which enhanced my CD collection with artists like Rob Thomas, John Mayer and Imogen Heap.

The show is no masterpiece, indeed the extremely loud and frequent cheering prevent it from becoming one. Do not get me wrong, I am not against enthusiasm and energetic displays of joy… but often, too much is too much. Nonetheless, I bear with it because it is highly diverting.

That being said, I found myself extremely shocked with Nigel Lythgoe’s comment to the male ballroom dancers. They looked very nervous and I guess they had to gather even more courage than other contestant to come up to that stage and dance a routine that is supposed to be a man/woman routine. Nigel underlined a few times that he was criticising the dancing part, but he could not make it so. He made inappropriate comments about one of the dancers’ sexual preferences… sorry, not his business! The judges were so confused that their comments did not make much sense to me and were neither constructive nor professional… Nigel said that he would like to see them dance with a female partner, and who knew they might even like it… that was the most inappropriate of all.

I have an idea: what if M. Lythgoe were the straight contestant, judge by a gay man and was told to dance with a male partner, that he might even like it… it sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it. All I have heard last season on the show were messages of tolerance; where have these gone?

Last season again, the routine danced on John Mayer’s song “Waiting on the World to Change” brought unjustified reaction (according to me) from the military and M. Lythgoe hurried to make a public apology to the soldiers who might have had their feelings hurt by artists praising peace and tolerance in the world. That is not being unpatriotic by the way…

I wish Nigel would step up and publicly apologize to the dancers. Because, even though he is entitled to his own opinion, he should know better. ART is all about TOLERANCE.

So to be clear, if I say that he should not have said or shared his opinion on the matter, it does not mean I am intolerant. I understand that he thinks the way he does… I do not agree with him, but I respect that he does not think like me… making it public the way he did is wrong though, that is what I condemn. I wish someone had said something.

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