"But they do say some pretty harsh stuff and it affects everyone and their inspiration. You do 30 hours of practice a week and it's hard to go into that after some bad feedback."
Damien Leith, June 30th 2011 – Dancing With The Stars Constestant 2011
When will dancing return to being a beautiful classical form of expression that people enjoy as opposed to a money hungry media blood bath?
I became nervous, back in 2004, when I heard that Channel 7 was producing their own version of the BBC’s Dancing with the Stars, as did most in the dancing community. Since its first airing on Australian screens, the culture of formal dancing, not just boogie on down at the disco, has taken a three hundred and sixty degree circle of popularity and influence on the community. And in ten years time, I doubt we will remember what it felt like to be in height of the dancing hype.
I am a Ballroom and Latin dancer; I say that with much authority. I can teach the styles with confidence as leader and follower; simply put I can be the man or the woman depending on the situation and how many champagnes I have under my belt. I have learned dancing since I was eight. Now that I am twenty three I can say I am an old fart at the sport.
My dancing life started with the movie Strictly Ballroom and a square patch of concrete in my backyard. Hours upon hours I would spend trying to replicate the moves, especially that magnificent Samba that Scott unveils his devilish “own steps” to. The movie nailed the costumes of the era, the styling of the dancing, as well as the controversy of the industry, but also highlighted just some honest, good dancing. Every dance in that movie was beautiful to watch, giving credit to the Australian actors who passed the acting and dance tests. What spawned from Strictly Ballroom, besides my immediate rush to become the world’s best ever dancer, was a greater realisation by the Australian cinematic industry that this country has potential to make quality films that translate into other audiences. The movie grossed eleven million in the US; that was a lot for the olden days. But the film did dick all for dancing industry. Instead it painted most dancers as pretentious, over dramatic queens that have nothing better to do than just destroy the confidence of the pure hearted. Ok, yes, they nailed the type but still, it did nothing.
So hope could have been restored with the premiere of Dancing with the Stars; experts in their field lay it on the line to dance for a disco balled crowned statue. How courageous they are to receive payments for stepping out of their comfort zone on national TV. If it was “inspiration” I was after, I would rather see them be thrown into snake pit and watch them try and crawl their way out. If they got out alive, that’s worth admiring them for.
Within the first moments of watching the show, the way in which the “celebrities”, if we are to so call them that, bitched on about how hard it was to learn the routines made me think: “Bull shit. You have been taught for a full week of intense training and you have learned basics with flares and tricks at the end. Any moron could learn that.” To make matters worse, a friend at the time asked me if it was really that hard to learn how to dance. I naturally scoffed; the show has painted this as the most challenging thing to do ever!
As I scoffed, dance instructors laughed their asses off as the work just poured in. I guess you just can’t fault the power of what celebrities can influence. It is the simple case of monkey see, monkey do and even the most intelligent of people are not immune to media influence. The dancing industry became big booming business overnight; people flocked into the studios, all wanting to learn what Bec Cartwright performed the night before. So as the show gained its mass following, the dance industry reaped the rewards with money flowing into lessons every day.
But I think the show, and other shows like So You Think You Can Dance and the ....Got Talent franchise, has turned the actual experience of dancing savage. Younger generations are learning that dancing is purely competitive and about being the best technical and creative dancer possible. They are learning that if they don’t achieve this level of dancing ability then they do not amount to be a “Dancer”. Even the title premise of “So You Think You Can Dance?” suggests that those who thought they could move will be no doubt be proven wrong because their ability to dance will not be good enough. The sad part is that unlike Australian Idol, there is no high paying career or career projection from winning the show. So many dancers go through the turmoil of being made to feel inadequate and for what?
So what enjoyment is there of dancing when constantly being judged with every move being scrutinized and there being no reward in such criticism? If you played a sport I would understand; the potential to earn big money is very real. In Australia, there is not much for a dancer and the entertainment industry is tough and cut throat.
The backlash that the celebrities go through on Dancing With The Stars is even worse. And we seem to except it as celebrities get roasted daily on the front page of Newspapers and magazines so why not whilst they dance too. The saddest part of all is dancing is so beautiful and so pleasurable to be a part of. And teaching dance is such a rewarding profession. But, as the show approaches its eleventh series, the dancing industry no longer feels the warmth of enthusiasm from the public to dance. The influx of business has slowed and as the public grows tired of the show so do they of the industry. Now we suffer with the burden of expectation of excellence without the support of the public.
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