Last night’s premiere of NBC’s Superstars of Dance, hosted by Lord of the Dance and Caricature of Self Michael Flatley (DANCLRD for short), provided an excellent second-rate substitute for anyone who missed the Olympics and needed a two-hour recap. There was a parade! Lots of color! Rhythmic gymnastics! A lady straddling a chair! Okay, fine, this actually played out nothing like the Olympics but a lot like a forced SNL sketch — specifically, the painstaking introduction of the mind-blowingly useless international judging panel. I do recommend viewing the show as if it’s an intentionally arranged nightmare…which is pretty much the definition of what it is ANYWAY…aggghh, mind melt!
P-Dubs, I gave this spectacle a chance, but I could barely keep my head above sea-of-liquid-cheese level a few routines after So You Think You Can Dance alums Anya and Pasha (pictured) slithered through a seriously hot number set to a pounding Russian song featuring dial tones. That really did rule. At 10 p.m., exhausted and gurgling, I was honestly shocked that the premiere would last another hour — not to mention the two-hour extension of the premiere that’ll air tonight.
So many questions. Are you still alive? Will you tune in again? Was I the only one confused by that one judge’s repeated shouts of "NO!" when he pretty much meant yes, a.k.a. 9? How on earth should Irish stepping be judged alongside South African gumboot dance and the little Chinese girl with her sad ribbon? As EW.com’s DWTS "expert" and superfan, who exactly do I think I’m kidding? To sum it all up…WHY?
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When I saw that DANCLRD was appearing, I knew I couldn’t watch this show. I don’t know why, but I just can’t stand that guy. This show does make me miss SYTYCD, though.
Right there with you Annie. Tried watching this too and couldn’t get passed the “solo” acts. What happened to the dance troupes? The pop & lock guy coupled with the solo Argentinian dancer promptly caused a change of the channel.
bad,bad bad so bad it hurts my eyes
Annie, you know Pasha is my boyfriend! I really wanted to like this show. After 3 dancers, I gave up. I did flip back in time to see the Indian dancer (who was not actually from India, I think) whirl clumsily around the stage. Joshua and Katie did Bollywood much better. Argentinian dancer did Caberet to Spanish music. I will not be watching again.
My children are both black belts in taekwondo, and the routine presented by the Shaolin monks at the end was nothing more than a martial arts demonstration. It was fantastic, but it was nothing that I haven’t seen in countless taekwondo tournaments. The series of tricks did NOT belong in a dance competition, especially when they are being judged against other classically trained dancers.
It reaked SNL. However, you must give it up for those Shao Lin Monks. Talk about awesome! I would have liked to see something a lot more diverse.
This show needs to make a quick exit, ala the Rosie O’Donnell Show.
After football ended, I was at a loss as to what to watch, so I turned this crapfest on. I am with Annie on this one – just, WHY? It is so bad. And not in a good way.
Actually Rudy, having studied TKD myself, forms are technically dance only because of the technique and movement. You are given certain steps to follow and then are told to speed them up. The end result is a choreographed dance.
Looooved the Indian solo dance. The other ten minutes that I watched was only good in that it put me back to sleep.
judging and judges were ridiculous, but at least they were short – I did enjoy most of the dancing.
Why must everything be a contest. How can you compare one culture to another. That said, some of these dances were not very authentic. The lead Irish dancer had zero charisma and was not very good.
Horrible. Just horrible. The entire thing was lame, the judging was pathetic, and the “contest” aspect was silly. I would’ve preferred just an exhibition. Or better yet — nothing.
I agree — synchronized gymnastics is not the same thing as dancing… and to have that pompous South African judge call it “the performance of the night” was just preposterous. Personally, I only gasped once — at that incredible tango.
They did “International Idol” for one year, too. Same crappy thing.
The whole time I kept thinking how much I miss SYTYCD and how much better it is. Why can’t they just do SYTYCD, the International Edition? That show is one hundred times better than the over-produced drek on last night
The show was like a bad car wreck you just couldn’t look away from. I giggled at the Argentinian judge who looked like she just woke up moments before they cut to her, and figured she’d say 9 and occasionally switch it up with an 8 so people thought she was paying attention. The South African judge just annoyed me. I think the Irish judge honestly didn’t want to be there and stopped saying his score in two languages midway through. And seriously, the choreographer for “Happy Feet” as a judge.. it’s a cartoon about dancing penguins. How does that equal credibility in the dance world?
The commercials make it look so good and I like that we’re seeing some dances from around the world.
However, the judges are useless and I’m pissed that the Irish are getting such high scores when the lead dancer is a very poor Michael Flatley imitator. Flately was amazing in this role and he did amazing choreography. They shouldn’t be doing his work if he’s the host. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
Nigel really loves Robert tho. Seriously. I miss SYTYCD.
As a the mother of a competitive dancer, I wanted to like it; I really, really did. A great premise but it turned out so bad!! I didn’t mind the concept of the international judging panel but why did they never ask them to explain their scores? When they gave a dance an exceptionally low score, or a 10, why didn’t the judge explain why? Michael Flatley was bad in a creepy way and for God’s sake could they not find someone more knowledgable about dance than Miss America? Really? I also thought it was weird that they never explained the rules, format, etc. How many, when, and by what measure will dancers get cut? Is it the whole team (country) or just the dancers in that dance??? So confusing and so bad. At least I know I can go to bed early tonight knowing I won’t miss anything.
The show started out well and went downhill fast. I’m really hoping our American group number is Hip hop but Michael said something about tap? We already had two tappers! Robert (the popper) was good but I knew the judges wouldn’t get it. The American couple was great and got crappy scores. Pasha and Anya were great as well and you could see the SYTYCD influence…put on a good show. I agree with most…it just makes me miss SYTYCD and the quality of the routines.
I was so excited for the show to begin but truely one of the biggest disapointments on tv yet! WOW It was like an episode of punked.The best dancers in the world? Michael Flatley? Miss America? Don’t even get me started on those lame judges. oh, painful, so painful.
I was so excited for the show to begin but truely one of the biggest disapointments on tv yet! WOW It was like an episode of punked.The best dancers in the world? Michael Flatley? Miss America? Don’t even get me started on those lame judges. oh, painful, so painful.
It was horrible. I love SYTYCD and was so excited to see this show. For some reason it just got worse and worse. The only thing that could have made it any worse was if David Hasselhoff was a guest judge.
Not all the dances were horrible. The problem is that they should have done an international competition based on a specific genre. That way you wouldn’t be comparing apples and oranges. As wonderful as Robert is, there is no way that a tango can compare to that pop and lock routine!
Annie, are you devastated by Maks engagement? I thought about you immediately when I heard the news.
Huh. I must be one of the few people that was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting greatness, for sure, and I was mad when they overscored the Lord of the Dance troupe (the soloist sucked), but many of hte pairs were much, much better than I was anticipating. Plus, PASHA AND ANYA ON MY TV. And hello! That Argentine tango!
OK, I like Michael Flatley, so no issue there. However, I was extremely disappointed in the way this competition was constructed. I agree, the American solo who did the pop-lock routine can’t compete with classically trained dancers and for the most parts judges won’t get it. I personally did not care for his routine, but it is an art, and should be held in competition with similar moves. The Chinese dancers put on a terrific martial arts display. How in the world can that be considered in a dance competition. The solo Indian dancer was phenomenal and passionate, and the two tango dancers were brilliant. Someone needs to ditch that idiot South African judge. He doesn’t get anything. In fact, most of the judges are seriously lacking and the Argentine is way too full of herself! I’ll continue watching because I enjoy cultural dance, and there’s plenty to see. As for the acrobatics/martial arts – that a completely different competition.
What a bunch of hooey this was. I tried to watch it this morning (I love Tivo) and fast forwarded through about 90% of it. UGH! It was truly craptastic! I love me some Pasha and Anya, and was even bored with them. Robert Muraine is so much better than what he showed in his performance. Do we know of any other SYTYCD alumni who might be on?
You are right, How can you judge one dance over another? My country is better than yours? Why is everything becoming a reality show? We already have Idol and DWTS. Do we really need more?
You know, I think a lot of viewers are missing the great thing about this show: educational merit. I had never heard of South African gambool dancing or its history. There were so many styles showcased last night, and while they weren’t all fantastic, at least it was semi-informative.
Ignore the scoring system if you can and just revel in the passion these people bring to their art form.
I was so excited to see the show. The commercials made it look so cool and my mom was actually excited too (that’s a first). I was greatly disappointed w/it. I couldn’t believe how horribly it was conducted. It should of been more organized like solos then duets then group. Why start the show out the show with group Lord of the Dance. That’s my favorite dancing and the group I watched. The judges had no idea what the heck they were doing. The US judge, I think, was just there for the kicks, he doesn’t seem like the dancing type. Most of the time the judges gave high scores to those who did NOT deserve it and low to those who did. The South African judge is a jerk, he needs to be kicked out of there. And, I’m sorry, the whole pop and lock thing is not a dance or if it is, it’s not the best and too new to be on a show like this. I mean it was sweet and all but not dance.
HORRIBLE show!