Can You Dance Summer

I was excited to see So You Think You Can Dance make a comeback & also that the show had revamped some of the old format that was becoming sort of predictable & stale. It did bring back host Cat Deeley with new judges: Stephen (tWitch) Boss, JoJo Siwa & Leah Remini. tWitch, a past alumni of the show along with Cat are links to the old days of the show.

To be honest I underwhelmed by the new format, the current competitors, the new judges & the voting system. No longer is it America’s Favourite Dancer but the studio audience at the taping’s choice. Easier to comply votes from, what is it – 500 people? Than from all of the USA. Only one of the competitors has charisma – the Patrick Swayze clone.

Often the most dramatic thing on stage is Cat Deeley’s outfits – who dresses her in the dark? Some are laugh-out-loud messes & others are merely dismaying. The judges aren’t much better. Leah often needing safety pins to keep her cleavage from upstaging the dancers. JoJo, suffering from hideous costumes, often mistakes shouting for energy. Boss hold his own nicely between the two women but at times even he seems puzzled by what his fellow judges are wearing.

As for the dancing – none of the pieces or dancers seem to take joy in the act of dancing deep emotional storylines or jumpy hop-hop fidgeting. The Broadway & jazz routines were flat & forced – but trying to squeeze something into a 2 minute routine doesn’t really give time for anything to develop beyond an emotional pop.

P.S. More AfroJazz & please bring back breakdancing.