I know I'm not a dance critic but . . . .

So I've been watching "So You Think You Can Dance" this season and enjoying it much more than I would have expected.  Of course, I can't dance, but then, I can't sing either and I watch "American Idol" and "Rock Star" . . . .

Anyway, we are down to the results show (on Wednesday) when we will find out which of the final four dancers has won.  (What does the winner get?  Some dance contract with Celine Dion, some money, and a car, I think.)  The remaining dancers are Donyelle, Heidi, Benji, and Travis.  From some TV b-boards that I follow, it seems like there is something of a consensus that either Benji or Travis will win, with a majority asserting that Travis is a better dancer but Benji is a better entertainer.

I suppose Travis may be a better dancer, whatever that means.  He certainly looks very good.  But Benji is the one dancer that I looked forward to seeing, because his dancing is, more than anything else, fun.  So if I had watched the show in time to be able to vote (I didn't -- curse you, TiVo! -- no, wait, I'm just kidding, I LOVE TiVo), I would've voted for Benji, not Travis.

Is that a weakness of performance arts where the public doesn't know enough about the performance to judge on the basis of the same things that the elites judge on?  It reminds me of the 2004 men's gymnastics, when Russian Alexei Nemov did what seemed to me to be an incredible routine, only to get mediocre scores.  Apparently, he took a bunch of risks that weren't calculated in the score, and his technical performance included a few missteps that the general public wouldn't have noticed.  So, yes, I guess he got the score he deserved, but his was the only performance from that round that I still remember.  Shouldn't that count for something?

And shouldn't Benji's showmanship count for something?

Comments

[thebizofknowledge]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. You bring up an interesting point. American idol winning contestants have had varying levels of success, but what about all these other instant celebrities?