So... can YOU dance?

I was sad to see American Idol come to a close. Not because I wanted to hear more Adam-worship. (If I had to hear the judges rave even one more time about yet another kooky, loud performance from Adam, I might have gone crazy. Er... craziER. :) No, I was sad to see it end because I knew it would be a few weeks of crappy filler shows from Fox while they prepared to launch their summer hit So You Think You Can Dance. The show that has made me appreciate contemporary dance (that prior to SYTYCD, I described as uncoordinated people rolling around on the floor.) and has made ballroom dancing cool again.

But... I was pleasantly surprised to see that SYTYCD was debuting the week after AI ended! Woot! Someone heard me complaining and decided to end the pain. (The pain of those listening to me whine, of course. heh)

Unlike AI, SYTYCD only tortured us with two weeks of episodes with the people who only THOUGHT they could dance, but in reality were just a trainwreck waiting to happen. It amazes me that there are still people who go on these shows without, at the very least, recording themselves 'auditioning'. I guess that would require them to be honest with themselves when watching the recorded performance ... and that's not going to happen either. *sigh* Oh well... I guess that's part of what makes these shows entertaining. The deluded people who think that they really CAN dance.

So here we are now, three weeks into the show, and tonight we will be watching the top 20 contestants perform for audience votes for the first time. Some of that will almost certainly include watching ballroom dancers murder a hip-hop routine, or a hip-hop dancer destroying a jazz number. But, if the past few years have been any indication, we will also be witness to some amazing talent! The kind that knocks your socks off!

Last year's winner, Joshua, was a great example of someone who was just born to dance. That guy could do ANYTHING! He was amazing to watch ... and holy cow... could that boy jump! And from season 2, Benji! He was a west coast swing dancer and the son of a former West Coast Swing champion. He is the first dancer that made me want to go out and sign up for classes. He always looks like he is having so much fun!

So I will be watching tonight, hoping that somewhere amongst this top 20 we will find another Joshua. Or Benji. Will you be watching? And what's your favorite part of the show? Do you LIKE the trainwrecks? :) Or tolerate them to see the real dancers?

PS... All that jabbering and I didn't even talk about the choreographers. I'm sure this won't be the last time this season that the focus of the blog will be about SYTYCD. Maybe next time it will have a more choreographic focus. =P