TV & Dancers

Ok, this has been LONG overdue, but I will finally just drop the bomb which I feel needs to be dropped....

I see and hear a lot from dancers about the ABDC show. In the first season, there was a big rumble within the California Dance Scene about the whole Kaba Modern issue. There was suspicion that the votes were rigged and this was partial to MTV's judgement that "America" would not want Jabba and Kaba in the finals since it wasn't as diversified. No matter how to receive that and run in either direction, it's sketchy and it could be true, it could be false.... One thing WE as DANCERS need to remember....

TV is about entertainment, it's not about truly who's the best. An easy analogy for everyone to grasp for this is to think about all those sports packages you can buy on TV. "Watch all NFL games with this package." Why is this package essential? It is essential for all those who are true fans of a team/franchise. This is for when you have a bad match up, or a good match up. Regardless, what day, time, or who's playing with this "sports package" you can see anything and everything you want.

TV will show the entertaining teams, the entertaining match ups because that's what sells. That's what gets people who run commercials (pepsi, coke, verizon, etc.) to pay for commercials which help pay for production, staff, etc.

Bringing this alllllll back....

TV is what? Entertainment. I will not say that they do or do not, but knowing this about the TV industry, isn't it not really an actual shock that MTV would change anything, rig something, fix something for the sake of having a better turnout? To get more viewers, it could've been smarter to have an eastcoast and westcoast team. To get more viewers, it could've been smarter to have status quo (who is an all black male dance group) vs. Jabbawockies (a mostly asian/islander group. i got you kev, saso & eddie, this is just for the sake of argument). The thing is, we don't know.....

So if we don't know why MTV's marketing department picks, or does whatever they do/did, are we signing up for something unclear? Are we setting ourselves up to be cheated or fall on our faces?

Who knows, MTV wants to entertain the world. Ironically, the events where the entertainment value doesn't rule, but true talent rules are the local grassroots events thrown by promoters all over the country. These are the events people need to be as excited about as they are with MTV.

I had the honor of having someone from my dance group audition for So You Think You Can Dance last season and she was eliminated in the first round because of how she looks and her "story". Again, it was real easy as her director to be upset and even hating the show, but I understood. I understood that, that's their marketing. That's their angle. They aren't truly looking for americas best dancer (no disrespect to anyone who has won, placed, etc.) but they are looking for an entertaining dancer. A dancer America can grow to love for their trials and tribulations, or their looks and appeal.

Each show has it's own theme, it's own agenda. As dancers we all need to really read the fine print. We need to understand that we dance and trying to break in the mainstream means you have to play by mainstreams rules.

I see LOTS of posts on the internet (mostly myspace) from people complaining about judging, or votes, or the "mainstream" issue of ABDC. What do you truly think was going to happen for us to reach the mainstream?

I know what you're thinking.... "Now that dance is on TV, this guy thinks it's ruining dance." No. I don't think that. Again, this is all for entertainment. You can be a great dancer, but not be an entertainer. You can be an entertainer without telling a joke, or moving your feet.

Recently, I seen this on mySpace and it's funny because people are upset because they say who is giving their opinions aren't "dancers" or "true dancers" ....



Does it make me upset? Not at all. How many times has ANYONE watched a basketball game, and said, that was a dumb shot? That was a dumb foul? You can't help but get attached, you can't help but feel involved or want to get involved. There's plenty of folks who got so much to say about where Brett Farve will be play, but you know what, it's ok... get it out, this is all that people who are seeing dancing become mainstream are doing. They want to play.

As dancers, we cannot sit here and want money, fame, notoriety and at the same time, want no one to have anything to do with it. The more dollars we want, the more scrutiny we will receive. Tony Romo can't even see his girlfriend jessica simpson, and has anyone put 1 + 1 together yet to figure out, just by out of some chance, if dance truly blows up.... it could get that way? People can be fishing for information on someone in Super Cr3w (what up homies) to just cause a ruckus in that persons life.

Is anyone getting this?! The more fame and money you want, the more people want to know what you're doing. What you're doing with your time and money. Dancing on TV is truly a blessing, but you have to understand that it has it's good things and it's bad things. Often most things we as dancers consider "bad" aren't bad, they're just normal steps of progression for the fame of dancing (even if it's temporary).

So my finaly question to all you dancers is this.....
Do you really want dancing in the mainstream or not? We can't have it in the mainstream with special adjustments or situations.