One of my favorite TV shows, especially in the summer (and I am so psyched that it will this year be shown in the fall as well), is “So You Think You Can Dance,” a dance competition along the lines of “American Idol,” but with much more heart. My lifelong secret ambition has been to be a dancer, though I ruled that out early on because I am the world’s worst kinesthetic learner.
Over the five seasons of the show, the judges have always seemed to give more positive critiques to the young dancers whose choreographers gave them a story to dance to. The show always presents a clip of the dancers working with the choreographer, who usually reveals the story behind the dance. Sometimes there is no story. Ballroom dance tends to be story-less, though not always. Some genres — Broadway, hop-hop, lyrical — almost always have a story.
I find it fascinating to speculate: Would I be able to see and interpret the story if I did not hear the choreographer describe it in the rehearsal clip? Now, there’s a great exercise: Mute the TV during the rehearsal clips, watch the dance performances, and see what story the dance tells you.
Can you guess the story the dancers pictured are portraying?
They are Brandon and Janine playing thieves in the midst of a caper choreographed by the brilliant Wade Robson.