Time to Give "So You Think You Can Dance" a Second Chance?

All photos credit: Kelsey McNeal/FOX

Something has changed on So You Think You Can Dance. And I'm not just talking about the sad departure of Mia Michaels, or that strange sulphuric smell ever since an over-hyped Katie Holmes stunk up the place with her pre-taped Judy Garland song and dance "tribute." (Yeah, we're all still scratching our heads over that one.)

No, the change I'm referring to is a good one: The show isn't so darn homophobic these days.

This season's Top 10 dancers: Pictured back row L-R: Russell Ferguson, Mollee Gray, Nathan Trasoras, Ryan Di Lello, Jakob Karr, Ashleigh Di Lello and Legacy Perez. Bottom row L-R: Kathryn McCormick, Noelle Marsh and Ellenore Scott.

In previous seasons, SYTYCD had a readily apparent mean streak when it came to the gays. Male dancers who were on the... uh... lesser side of butch were routinely criticized for not having enough "chemistry" with their female partners. Meanwhile, praise was heaped upon the more manly dancers for being "good representatives of dance," even when it seemed their technical skills didn't justify it. Add to that last season's truly repugnant audition segment that went out of its way to hold up a pair of male same-sex dance partners for ridicule and it's no wonder that a lot of gay viewers pretty much threw in the towel with this show.

Well, one has to give credit where credit is due, and it does seem like Nigel Lythgoe and co. have lately taken steps to make their program more hospitable to gay viewers.

It started early this season when the show donned kid gloves to handle a second pair same-sex ballroom dancers. These guys made it as far as the Las Vegas auditions and Nigel, Mary Murphy and the rest of the judging panel actually went out of their way to say nice things about them. It was as if the show wanted to demonstrate that they took same-sex dancing seriously. The show could easily have left these two early round contestants on the cutting room floor, thereby ducking the issue entirely. But they chose to spotlight them and treat them decently. Certainly SYTYCD deserves some credit for that. 

The show spotlights two same-sex dancers this season — without ridiculing them.

Another step in the right direction was installing out gay choreographer/director Adam Shankman as the third permanent judge. He may have been a bit of a gay apologist for SYTYCD last season, but having his permanent presence on the judge's panel (complete with the occasional oblique reference to his own orientation) has been welcome. In terms of positive gay representation on TV it's a win and a canny move on the show's part. Shankman is a very affable, non-threatening guy — sort of a male version of Ellen DeGeneres. Even viewers who might otherwise have a problem with gays would find it hard not to like him.

The affable Adam Shankman

The third step is a bit more subtle, and that's how the judges are critiquing male dancers these days. The judges (and in particular, Nigel) no longer seem obsessed with enforcing traditional gender norms. While the show still makes a big fuss over the chemistry between the male contestants and their female partners, and judges heap praise on the more overtly macho dancers (this season it is Ryan and Legacy), at least they don't seem to be penalizing the more "lyrical" male dancers as they would have in previous seasons. There's a recognition that not all "chemistry" has to be romantic, and not all male dancing has to be testosterone-driven. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

In fact, this year the clear favorite among the judges is contemporary dancer Jakob — He's an absolutely amazing performer and about as unapologetically lyrical as you can get.

Jakob Karr (left) and Jakob with dance partner Ashleigh Di Lello (right)

It's a relief to see SYTYCD become a bit more gay-friendly (or at least not as gay antagonistic), because aside from that glaring problem I've always loved this show. The dancing and the choreography beat the pants off of anything produced by B-list celebrities on Dancing With the Stars. And here's the proof: Despite watching Dancing With the Stars a number of times, I can't remember any specific performance from that show. (Okay, aside from the one where Heather Mills' leg flew off. Now that's good TV!) By contrast, there are a great number of SYTYCD performances that are indelibly fixed in memory. Just a few examples: Kayla and Kupono's haunting addiction number from last season, or Joshua and Katee's exhilarating Bollywood number from Season 4, or Pasha and Sara's insane West Coast Swing number from Season 3. 

So what do AfterElton.com readers think? Is it time to cut the show some slack for past transgressions and give it another chance? Moving forward, can gay viewers enjoy the dancing on this show without feeling guilty about it?