So You Think You Can Dance?

Last week I had a painful goodbye with LOST, Grey's Anatomy and The Office- today and tomorrow mark the season culmination of American Idol. Mad Men returns in August and Project Runway makes it's debut later this summer- what are we to do? I'm thinking of tuning into Glee, it has gotten some great reviews. There is still a void in my schedule for a reality tv show competition- and we all know that my champion syndrome has me constantly craving something/someone to root for...

Laura guest blogs today and gives us the answer: So You Think You Can Dance. I'm an "America's Best Dance Crew" loyalist but my awe of anyone who can bend, flip, fly and demonstrate rhythm at the same time can basically hook me on to any reality dance show. Laura presents a pretty good case for SYTYCD, and she has signed on to guest blog for this season. May I suggest that you tune in this Thursday night- we can all be in this journey together and perhaps you will like them more than my widely neglected American Idol re-caps:


As a retired American Idol fanatic (I was scored by the defeat of Clay Aiken- pre faux father days- and never returned), I needed to fill the "reality talent competition" vacancy that was left in my heart. Enter So You Think You Can Dance. I started watching halfway through season 3 and was a die-hard fan by Season 4. Being that one of my life's missions is to force my loved ones to watch TV shows that I love (by the way, you should probably Netflix Friday Night Lights and Veronica Mars), I present to you the reasons that you should tune into Season 5 (premiering this Thursday on FOX). Besides, it will soften the blow that A.I. ended the night before.

1 - Dancing! Duh. Perhaps you watched the Wade Robson Project back in it's heyday, and you probably loved America's Best Dance Crew (which starred SYTYCD vets Hok and Dominick in Quest Crew, PS), but let me tell you when it comes to dance shows, SYTYCD takes the cake. There is just something that fills your heart with joy when you see a classically trained contemporary dancer pull off a hip hop routine, and vice versa. The choreographers they rely on are amazing. It was a crushing blow when America's Best Dance Crew took Shane Sparks from the show, but the hip hop duo of Napoleon and Tabitha filled the void and then some.

2 - The host. Sure Ryan Seacrest is unstoppable these days, but I dare you not to be charmed by Cat Deely, the British (Australian?) host. She is hilarious and clearly loves the contestants (there is no invisible wall like there is between Ryan and the idols). Plus her dresses never cease to amaze.

3 - The Contestants. Now I don't watch American Idol, but from what I remember in the early seasons, you got to know the contestants during their prepackaged interview which were kind of lame. The interviews with the contestants are always quirky and random, plus you get to watch a few minutes of their practices, allowing you to see what they're really like. Since the contestants get paired up randomly, you get to see how they interact with each other and see relationships really grow. One of the most oddball pairings last season produced both the winner and the runner up.

4 - The Judges. Now this is where I have to give you fair warning. Mary Murphy will scare the bejeezus out of you at first. She screams when she loves a performance. Like legitimately screams. She also puts people on what she refers to as "The Hot Tamale Train" (This usually comes after a samba, naturally.) But after a while you will love her. You won't know when it happened, or how, but trust me you will love her. Nigel Barker is the Simon Cowell of the group, but instead of his snarkiness being his trademark, he relies strictly on creepiness. The third judge is always a guest judge and they are always bizarre. Finger's crossed that Hairspray director Adam Shankman returns and fights with Nigel for the Spotlight.

I will end the talking points here and leave you with some of my favorite routines from last season as further evidence that you should watch. And trust me, it was hard to stick with just 5. Enjoy!

Chelsea and Mark: Hip Hop with heart, my personal favorite.


Twitch and Kherington: A Mia Michaels routine never disappoints. (She has actually won an emmy for one of her Season 1 routines for choreography)


Twitch and Katee: Also one of my absolute favorites. It is so fun, it really makes me wish I could fight with my boyfriend through dance. (starts at the 1:30 mark)


Featuring the winner of season 4- Hip Hop bad boy with braces, Joshua, and runner up Katee.


A special season 3 dance for Jaci, as I know this is one of her many theme songs. (starts at the 1:10 mark)