Hollywood Week: And the Oscar Goes to ...

The first ever “Vegas” week of SYTYCD is actually in Hollywood. This turns out to be an appropriate setting, as the dancing is mostly just background for all the drama. It is hard to remember that the point of this show is to find a talented, versatile, and charismatic dancer.

The “stars” of this episode are mostly dancers who are some combination of terrible, delusional, or unable to handle the intensity of the week. I’m clearly supposed to enjoy watching these people fall apart, but mostly I’m just finding it painful. The good dancers are generally only shown if they have a bad day. Now, I have to admit I’ve been getting sick of the standard Vegas week narrative that the producers repeat every year (the one where they focus on all the wonderful people and dancers who are heartbroken when they are sent home). If this is the alternative, however, I suppose I’m grateful they switched. But there must be a hidden option #3 somewhere, right?

The actual plot of the episode focuses around two controversial male dancers who conveniently happen to be roommates: Alan (a.k.a. “Big Poppa”) and Blake. Alan, as his self-proclaimed nickname implies, is quite large, and his bulk makes it harder for him to manage some parts of the choreography, especially in the ballroom styles. On the other hand, he is incredibly likable – unlike his roommate. It’s clear from the first time we meet him that Blake will be season one’s villain. It’s always tempting to blame the producers for turning someone into a villain in the editing room, but honestly, Blake doesn’t do much to help his cause. He’s arrogant, cocky, and inconsiderate. He smuggles his dog (a chihuahua named Pancake) into his hotel room, where he leaves it all day. Pancake then spends the day – how should I put this – making “pancakes” of his own all over the room. Alan, needless to say, is furious, especially after he steps in some. Blake apologizes and promises the problem won’t happen again – but really, how the hell did it happen in the first place? When one of the choreographers (Dan Karaty) repeatedly warns him that his attitude is hurting his chances of being cast, Blake just becomes more self-assured. During various interviews with Lauren Sanchez, Blake declares that he could handle Dan’s job better than Dan himself, and that the criticism is simply because Dan is jealous of Blake’s superior talent. By the end of the episode, I honestly can’t tell if Blake is covering up insecurity by bragging, or if he really is just that full of himself.

“Meeting” the five choreographers (familiar faces all) brought in for Hollywood week was my favorite part of the show. Mia's teaching contemporary (known as "lyrical dance" in this season for some reason), Mary's teaching ballroom, Alex da Silva is teaching salsa, and Brian Friedman and Dan Karaty are teaching two separate hip hop workshops. All of the choreographers have introduction packages that mention the celebrities they’ve worked for. Because obviously, if they haven’t been hired by celebrities, why should we care about them? Dan Karaty, by the way, is introduced as having worked with "some of pop music's biggest stars, including Jessica Simpson, Ricky Martin, and 'NSYNC." How times have changed …

At the end of the episode, all five choreographers sit down with Nigel to do a first cut (unlike later seasons, all fifty dancers have stayed the full week so that they have a chance to be seen trying every different style). At this point, the goal is to narrow their choices down to 24 dancers. Later, they will review the tapes and select the top 16 dancers (yes, top 16. Can you tell no one was sure this show was going to work?)

This is by far the most interesting part of the episode. Everyone’s clearly forgotten they’re on TV, and no one’s got their “I’m in public” face on – which makes it feel as though we’re watching reality, as opposed to “reality TV.” The most noticeable difference is how Mary behaves. Usually Mary is so chipper I want to squirt her with water – just to dampen her spirits to manageable levels. Here, though, we get to see an entirely different side of Mary. This is Mary the consummate professional, comfortable judging dancers’ ability to handle ballroom dancing and not afraid of being ruthlessly critical. I would love to see this side of Mary more often – and not just because it’s easier on the ears!