Katee Shean and Joshua Allen. Photo by Stephanie Quock.
The popular TV show So You Think You Can Dance concluded its fourth season last month, but you wouldn’t know it by the screaming hordes of fans who packed Oracle Arena Tuesday night, Sept. 30, for the show’s live tour. If I hadn’t known it was a dance performance, I might have mistaken it for a big-time sporting event. There were all the marks of fandom: posters exclaiming blind devotion, homemade t-shirts penned with tributes to favorite dancers, team memorabilia. The crowd was diverse and composed of families, couples on dates, grandparents. Sure, there were the clumps of 14-year old girls and a contingent of male superfans who punctured the din with “I love you, Courtney,” but the mosaic of the composite was unmistakable. The show is a bonafide phenomenon that appeals to a wide audience. A man in his 30s with a neatly tucked in shirt leapt out of his seat two rows in front of me and danced. The atmosphere before the “team” took the stage was kinetic.
As smoke crept over the stage, the familiar face of Nigel Lythgoe appeared on a wide screen like Oz's wizard floating above us, ready to conjure up dancers where none existed before. He introduced his favorite auditions from Season Four, then morphed into Cat Deeley who counted down to zero as the team burst into view with the energy of a Joshua Allen flip. This was met with screams from the audience as the contestants launched the show with one of their signature group pieces which allowed them to change positions frequently around the edge of the stage so that each audience member could catch a glimpse of their favorite dancer.
They split into shifting groups and, at one point, Comfort Fedoke became the only woman incorporated into the pack of men, who, as a whole, were a stronger than the women. Fedoke proved why she was more than worthy to be on this tour in the opening act alone. The woman is a born performer, holds her own with every one of the guys and uses her face to reach the audience as easily as she uses her hips.
The charismatic emcee, Stephen "Twitch" Boss. Photo by Stephanie Quock.
This is the advantage of seeing the contestants dance live. If you watch the show, the technical deficiencies and strengths of the dancers become apparent pretty quickly. The tour is an equalizing factor in that it isn’t so much preoccupied with turned out legs and fully extended feet. The tour is choreographed to showcase each dancer’s strengths and, in doing so, the playing field is leveled. What becomes apparent is the palpable performance ability a dancer has to connect with an audience and draw them in. Under these criteria, Twitch, with his irrepressible charisma, and Comfort lead the pack with Will, Courtney and Joshua close behind. Who can combine this ability with technical proficiency? Mark, Katee and Will prove resoundingly why there were such strong contenders.
These are no longer 12 idividual dancers, though. On tour, they've become a strong ensemble and work together to perform a lineup of greatest hits from Season Four for the SYTYCD faithful: Joshua and Katee’s “No Air,” Twitch and Katee’s “Mercy,” Courtney and Mark’s “Garden,” Will and Katee’s “Imagine.” When these crowd favorites were announced, the arena erupted in cheers as if The Rolling Stones were hitting the stage to play “Start Me Up.” Katee and Joshua's “All By Myself” and Mark and Chelsie’s “Bleeding Love” were held until the end of the night and brought standing ovations.
Will Wingfield, Chelsie Hightower, Twitch Boss and Courtney Galiano. Photo by Stephanie Quock.
Clearly, there is something to this familiarity with each of the dances and the choreographers who create them that inspires the fans of the show. The mention of Mia Michaels and Napoleon and Tabitha D'Umo brought thunderous applause and no matter what you think about the show’s reflection of dance, it is heartening to hear choreographers get their due. Unfortunately, when the names of Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden of Complexions Contemporary Ballet were dropped, the crowd was considerably less enthusiastic.
On the other hand, in what other context would this audience sit through a Viennese Waltz? With Twitch Boss and Kherington Payne commanding it, they couldn’t get enough. The surprise of the night was freestyler Boss’s generous partnering skills and ease with the form (not to mention the chaîné turns involved). He personified the key character of the man’s role in a classic pas de deux-the cavalier.
The video footage of the show that interlaced each of the dances tended to stop the momentum these routines provided. Couldn’t Robert Murraine and a few other memorable contestants from the season perform while the varsity team rested? How about a guest appearance by a popular dancer from a previous season? Judging from the audience’s reaction to a video clip of Travis Wall and Dmitry Chaplin, it would be a winner for this rabid fan base.
The SYTYCD 2008 Tour runs through Nov. 17. Check here for cities, dates and tickets.
