Best TV Show of
the Week
So You Think You Can Dance
on Fox
By Ally Matteodo
The July 22nd
episode of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance (Wednesdays, 8:00 p.m. ET)
wins this week’s title of Best TV Show of the Week. This reality
dance competition holds auditions throughout the United States, picking and
choosing from multitudes of talented dancers. The season is close to an end,
and for this particular episode there were only eight dancers left. The judge’s
panel is made up of Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Mia Michaels, and for these
particular performances they were joined by comedian and talk show host Ellen
DeGeneres. The night started out with a high-octane group dance number
choreographed by Travis Wall which captured the spirit of a futuristic
celebration. Afterwards, each of the couples performed two dance numbers of
differing genres, interspersed with solo performances by the eight remaining
dancers.
The
highlight of this two-hour dancing extravaganza was the performance by Melissa
and Ade. Choreographed by Tyce Diorio and set to the tune “This Woman’s Work”
by Kate Bush, the piece was inspired by a friend of Diorio’s who has breast
cancer. The performance captured the crisis of experiencing such an invasive
and terrifying disease in a truly beautiful and moving manner. The routine went
beyond the steps of the dancers and moved into the realm of the transformational
and transcendent. Judge Nigel Lythgoe pondered how much strength the
choreographer had to infuse such raw and powerful emotions into the dance.
Tears streaked the cheeks of many audience members and several of the judges,
and it was clearly a performance that would remain etched in everyone’s memory.
Dance is truly a universal medium, not limited by language or culture, and Tyce
Diorio’s dance routine with Melissa and Ade displays the power and resonance
that two bodies in motion can possess.
Best TV Show
of the Week
The Parents
Television Council -
www.parentstv.org
