'So You Think You Can Dance': No chicken dance

If there was any question about why the judges on “So You Think You Can Dance” are relatively mild compared to their counterparts on other reality/talent programs, last night’s episodes answered it: any additional pressure on the contestants would be out and out cruelty.

Every reality TV show has plenty of tears: tears of joy, tears of anger, tears of exhaustion, tears of sadness, and for the most part, they’re over the top pleas for attention. During callbacks this week though on SYTYCD, each and every one seemed warranted. This round in the show is similar to the first week in Hollywood on “American Idol,” when the original crop of contestants to make it through the first round is trimmed down through a series of more intense tryouts.

 

How intense? Consider that it was difficult to grasp the choreographers’ moves from the comfort of a couch and with the benefit of Tivo, let alone having to learn and perform them on the fly and to have to do it again and again in order to pass through. The dancers were quickly taught new steps in hip hop, Latin and contemporary dance. If they succeeded at one genre, they moved on. If not, they were either eliminated or had to dance one more time to prove they were worthy of moving on to the next challenge. And then, finally, the remainders were not allowed to continue unless they were able to expertly perform a group number that was choreographed overnight.

This is grueling stuff. It’s hard to tell these things for certain without being behind the scenes, but it seems that of all competition shows, SYTYCD is the most serious about the competition at hand. While in the earlier episodes contestants may have squeaked by due to a good personality or a unique backstory, the first few minutes of last night’s episode swiftly and mercilessly eliminated several of the contestants who we’ve grown to know. When poor Hannah Lee, who barely survived an accident many years ago involving a collapsing fourth-level dance floor, was cut in the last round after having to dance on a sprained ankle, it was let known: there are no Sanjayas on SYTYCD.

This show is so for real that the judges (minus Nigel Lythgoe, who can do whatever he wants since he co-created the program) actually participate with the dancers and don’t just throw around words like “pitchy” or criticize the contestants’ weight as they slowly put on the pounds themselves.

Weren’t reality TV shows mostly supposed to be about cheesy, manufactured drama and cheap laughs instead of actual talent? Somebody must have forgotten to send the memo to the producers at “So You Think You Can Dance.”

(Photo courtesy Fox)