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I’ve been a fan of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) for the past three seasons. I first became interested in the show in particular with season 4 because I was a huge NSYNC fan and wanted to see Joey Fatone perform again, but of course when watching the season I switched my interest to Apollo Anton Ohno (five time medalist speed skater) and was satisfied with his win. I fell in love with the show that season and have been a fan ever since.

My roommate took me to see So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) on tour in 2007. I didn’t know what to expect because I had never watched the show but I couldn’t help but be in impressed by the incredible dance routines. This inspired me to watch every episode this season and the two part finale Wednesday and last night. Congratulations to Joshua! I was actually rooting for Katee all season so I was glad this season they decided to give a prize to the first place female in which Katee walked away with $50,000.

After watching the two dance shows I thought it would be interesting to do some comparing and contrasting.

Host:

Tom Bergeron (DWTS) v. Cat Deeley (SYTYCD) the clear winner is Bergeron! Yes Deeley may be hot and she is clever at times but Bergeron is just amazing at what he does. It’s no wonder he’s up for an Emmy in the new category, Best Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program, which he is the most qualified for compared to his competitors (Ryan Seacrest – American Idol, Howie Mandel – Deal or No Deal, Heidi Klum – Project Runway, and Jeff Probst – Survivor). He’s been around longer with Hollywood Squares and Funniest Home Videos under his belt he’s just grown and has strengthen his host abilities. He is very talented in his improvability and you can’t help falling in love with him.

Judges:

DWTS Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli. I really like all three of the judges and the way they interact and compliment each other, for the most part. When I first started watching I thought Len was another cranky harsh British judge (another Simon) but as I tuned in longer I realized he does usually give honest criticism and he is capable of plenty of positive comments as well. Carrie Ann always gives helpful tips for the dancers to improve and she seems to really care about their progress. Bruno at times can seem over exuberant but he has yet to get to the point of complete annoyance so I don’t mind his over exuberance, I find it more entertaining than anything. The only thing that does annoy me are the arguments between Len and Bruno, it becomes distracting and by not listening to one another they become childish.

SYTYCD Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and a guest choreographer. I don’t have a problem with Nigel, I think he is a very good judge and he gives out truthful and helpful criticism. I think it is smart to provide a different guest choreographer as a judge each week because it provides a fresh perspective and also an in-depth view since they are the ones working closely with these dancers. But I can honestly say I find Mary Murphy very annoying. I’ll give her respect for her criticism on the ballroom dances, it’s her specialty so she knows what she is talking about, but besides that I believe the reason she is positioned as middle judge is because she doesn’t know how to comment on other dance styles and she bases her answers on the comments of the other judges. Don’t even get me started on her habit of screaming!

Format:

Judging

DWTS throughout the entire season the judge’s points count for half and the audience votes counts for the other half of the total. Therefore the judges and the audience are given equal control over who remains on the show and will become champion.

SYTYCD there are two different voting styles throughout the season. For the first half of the season the audience votes decide the bottom four and the judges votes are the final decision. Then in the second half of the season the judges’ opinions are merely used as guidance and influence on the audience and critique for the dancers, only the audience votes decide who will remain and become champion.

I understand that by providing the audience so much power in voting they’ll have more interest in watching every week to see if their vote had an effect. But I don’t like how the audience will pick favorites based on personality instead of dance abilities, it isn’t fair to the dancers. Especially in DWTS, the competitors are celebrities so of course the audience has favorites but they are supposed to vote based on the dances. So I feel the judges should always have more power than the audience.

Dance Styles

DWTS since it is based on ballroom competitions, the dances are those of ballroom and Latin competition styles including: Foxtrot, Cha-Cha-Cha, Quickstep, Jive, Tango, Paso Doble, Viennese Waltz, Mambo, Rumba, and Samba.

SYTYCD main focus is Contemporary and Hip Hop since most of the dancers are from these particular styles, but there is also a very large variety of other styles thrown in to the mix including Latin dances and ballroom dances along with other unique styles: Jazz, Broadway, Disco, Ballet, Two Step, Bollywood, and Russian.

At first I was thrown by such a large variety of dance on SYTYCD because I was used to the specific combination of dances on DWTS every week in which you see the progression the dancers make with each type of dance. But then I couldn’t help but be impressed by these dancers versatility with such a variety of dance that they’ve never experienced before and are able to conquer in the four hours they are given to learn the dance.

Results Shows

DWTS includes a group dance by the professional dancers, repeat of favorite couple’s dance from the night before, guest performance, along with series such as Macy’s Dance Showcase Performance and DWTS Kids. In the special 100^th Episode past dancers came back and the judges reminisced about their favorite moments of the series.

SYTYCD includes a group dance, guest dance performance and guest singer or musical group which can include back up dancers. Then for their season finale they brought back past dancers and the judges reminisced about their favorite moments of the season.

I believe DWTS has better guests, they seem to have a bigger budget though, and their dance series add a little something extra to the show. Also I enjoy how they have their favorite dance repeated. But I think SYTYCD does it right by having a group performance (although DWTS does have one per season). I think DWTS should take note of SYTYCD’s finale in which there is a greater recap of the series with past dancers, which is a special reward for long term fans.

Quality:

Fox v. ABC, ABC will always be the winner when it comes to quality.

Final Comments: Entertainment Value/Audience:

Each show is for any age but DWTS tends to attract older audiences and SYTYCD tends to attract more of the younger audiences although there is plenty of overlap and plenty of people who watch both, such as myself. This makes sense because DWTS usually has more celebrities known to older generations and very few of the younger generation celebrities and SYTYCD features young dancers in their teens and early twenties so the younger generation can relate.

I believe that after watching both shows and comparing them you can’t say that one is better than the other overall because their focus is very different, even though they are both dance shows. With just the differing fact that one’s competitors are non-professional dance celebrities and the other are aspiring dancers makes a large difference. Therefore I won’t say which is better, it depends on what you want to get out of a show. DWTS is pure entertainment it reminds me of the 70s celebrity shows, I mean seriously- the celebrities reward for all their hard work is a mirror ball trophy (and of course exposure which doesn’t hurt)! Whereas SYTYCD is about watching aspiring dancers go through almost a dance boot camp in order to prove themselves, to become better dancers, with the end goal of making their name known by gaining the title of “America’s Favorite Dancer”, $250,000, a tour contract, and in this season a role in a movie.

Both shows are worth checking out and you can decide which is your favorite but neither will leave you unimpressed.

-Shavon Keller