"So You Think You Can Dance" Phoenix Auditions

I have to admit I was a tad skeptical with Nigel's wording and how he was talking.  Part of it was that he was trying not to insert foot into mouth...again.  As for Mary, I think part of her confusion from last season's same sex couple audition was that the two men were switching back and forth in their routine. That is they were both leading and following at different times.  Still.....the treatment last season was anything but stellar.

Willem and Jacob were damned good last night.  I have to admit I hope they get more camera time in Vegas.  Doubtful they will be doing any ballroom together for the rest of the season though.  Hopefully they can prove themselves in Vegas.  That is one hell of a demanding week for any dancer.

Nigel doesn't like men dancing together in a ballroom style... I doubt many 60 year old men could wrap their heads around the concept. At least this time he focused on the dancing, which in my opinion was 50 times better than the last same sex pair that auditioned.

I was more happy that FOX didn't set up the audition with another camptastic disco song.

 

Let the dancing speak for itself!

Go check out the latest Mores for Gays episode:

http://www.afterelton.com/blog/dennis/mores-gays-119-balliamos

Also they are the teachers of those gay celebrity(Chad Allen,Robert Gant & Candis Cayne,etc.) dance teaching episodes on OUT.com

http://out.com/showandtell/index.asp

I`ve been a fan for quite a while now ever since the first OUT.com webisode of them was out.

I didn't think Mary's comments were homophobic the last time. I actually agreed with her. Those dancers weren't very good, gay or not. These dancers were. That's the difference.

Mia Michaels is always very honest. Almost to a fault actually. She can be very critical of most the dancers, especially the cocky ones, but when she praises them I tend to agree with her.

Nigel is really the only person I would have doubts about but I'm not going to not watch a show with such fabulous dancers season after season because of one guy. If I did that I would have nothing to watch on tv.

 

Please, anyone who thinks this isn't a "my bad" semi apology for last springs fiasco is fooling themselves. All this is is SYTYCD's way of saying "see we aren't a bunch of homophobic bafoons". It will never cease to amaze me that in certain areas where gay people are thought to flourish (i.e., dance, ice skating, theater, etc) that it can also be the most homophobic, with most of the homophobia coming from other gay people. I am looking at you Mr. Shankman.  One would think that out of all the gay men in dance Nigel would know that gay men can dance with women. How anyone that dumb could be so successful is a mystery to me.

The way he said "Thank you for showing me that same sex ballroom can be strong" makes me think that he now realizes that the reason he didn't like last year's same sex duo had more to do with their individual dancing abilities, rather than the fact that they were two guys. I think last year he assumed that any problem he had with them had to do with them being a same sex couple, but this year he realized that he can recognize good talent regardless of who the dancer is partnered with.

"Willem and Jacob begin dancing. I'm not quite sure what to call the style – it’s partnered, but not an identifiable ballroom dance to my untrained eye. It’s really quite lovely though."

 

it's a rumba

I appreciated the guys who auditioned last year, but let's face it: they weren't as good as they could've been.  They switched roles back and forth, and they even fell over.  The whole thing came across as awkward, which I think impacted the judges beliefs about two men dancing together; based on that audition, it would buttress their opinion.  (Nigel, however, definitely did cross the line with a couple of his remarks.)

Last night's pair, however, were obviously VERY talented dancers, and clearly had their act together from the get-go.  It didn't surprise me that Mia liked them--she's a cutting-edge kinda gal--but the fact that they won over Mary the ballroom taskmaster was a definite plus.  Nigel may have just been in the "I'm going to try to keep an open mind" mindset to make up for last year, but he definitely seemed to be won over by their talent. 

This is an interesting subject, because I know in the past I've gone to see theater or movies or bought a CD from an artist which I knew wasn't necessarily "A+" quality, or necessarily my kind of thing.  However, I recognized early on (this was the 1980's) that it was important to spend my time and my entertainment dollars on openly gay artists and art, in the hope that they would keep kicking the doors open for others.  I still sometimes have to stop and think, "Do I REALLY like this artist or movie, or am I just appreciative that they're 'out' and 'representing?'"  But as time has gone on, we've seen more and more gay-themed art and artists being embraced by straights because it is unquestionably the best thing out there--and that can range from "Angels in America" to "Brokeback Mountain" to Matt Alber or Ari Gold to "Modern Family."  We don't have to give gay-themed art a "pass" or an "A for effort" like we used to, because there's enough of it out there now that it should be able to stand on its own terms.  Similarly, if one doesn't care for some kind of gay-themed art or an artist (yes, "Sordid Lives," I'm eyeing you), one shouldn't feel "obligated" to embrace or defend it the way we used to.

In summary: yes, last year the judges misspoke, and Nigel was inappropriate.  However, maybe we defended those auditioners out of loyalty to their "representing" us, rather than their actual talent.  This season, however, Willem and Jacob kicked ass and took names from the minute they stepped onto that stage, and they soared on pure, inarguable talent--talent so obvious, the judges instantly recognized it, and it blew away any potential reservations they might have had.

Is this an odd example of the "model minority" syndrome, where we have to be twice as good to be considered half as accepted?  Maybe.  But I'm damn proud to have Wilem and Jacob out there for "our team" this season, and hope they go very far.

To me it doesn't matter if Nigel or Mary's turn-arounds were sincere or done in response to pressure. As long as they treat gay dancers with respect, their internal homophobia is none of my business. Yay for AfterElton for taking them to task last time. Now if we could only get the words "masculine" and "feminine" off the table as adjectives used to praise or blame dancers.