Such a shame after just two weeks that Channel 10’s new show celebrating DANCE has been axed!
Everybody Dance Now had the Australian Dance World on its feet, ready to embrace a new show that had the potential to fill the void left when So You Think You Can Dance disappeared from our screens two years ago. Disappointing ratings were attributed to a number of contributing factors including going head to head with the Olympic Closing Ceremony, the initial 2-hour length, awkward format and unpopular choice of host in Sarah Murdoch for the die-hard dance community. Numerous critics and social network posts called for Aussie Dance Celebs to take Team Leader positions held by US Celebrities Kelly Rowland and Jason Derullo and at-home audiences simply didn’t catch the hype of the studio audience.
Dance Captain for Team Kelly, Marko Panzic, had this to say tonight:
“It’s really sad to see a Dance show gone off TV. This is hard for the dance industry. But my experience on the show was so incredible. Working with Kelly Rowland was a dream come true. All the talent in the show was amazing and did prove to me Australia has so many Amazing dancers! My biggest advice to every dancer is SUPPORT dance. We need to keep our industry strong. Thank you to everyone who supported the show and to all the people involved in the show thank you for taking a risk on Dance! Will always be a great memory for me :)”
… And for Team Jason, Dance Captain Amy Campbell said:
“I’m sad the format of the show wasn’t a success. But more than that I’m sad that Australia won’t get to see its fantastic dance talent at the forefront of a show. So many times we dance behind and as part of other entertainment but when a show comes along that makes dance the star it’s has such a great ripple effect through our whole industry. Dancers are resilient by nature and I know that this will only be a bump in the road for those dancers who didn’t get the chance to perform. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to have been apart of EDN and to have met and worked with lots of amazing talent and of course my great friend Marko Panzic.”
Shortly after the premiere going to air, Fremantle representative Craig Forrest had said:
“It is an honour to be working on a show that explores and celebrates all forms of dance. Australia has some amazing talent and Everybody Dance Now gives us a chance to bring this into the homes of those that wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to see all the hard work that goes into their act. The commitment and sacrifice these dancers make is purely inspirational. Personally I am proud to be working with everyone involved.”
As die-hard DANCE FANS here at DanceLife, who will support every opportunity to promote and celebrate Dance, Dancers and Performing Arts in this country, we find it most disappointing for the performers who didn’t get the opportunity to showcase their hard work and talents. There is now an even louder call to bring back the successful format that So You Think You Can Dance brought to our screens. Our industry is relatively small in comparison to the dance communities of countries such as the US, UK and Euro regions that have continued screening SYTYCD successfully year after year, so it’s vitally important that if we are ever to regain a purely dance-based production to our screens that we, as an industry and community, support it totally so it, in turn, can support everything that we do and love as well!
Chins up guys… let’s hope Channel Ten’s ‘I Will Survive’ can satisfy our appetites for all things sequinned and skilled!
Chookas!!
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Deb says:
SYTYCD was a great show. Bring it back Fremantle!!
Tash says:
The main issues with this show and the reasons the Australian public didn’t embrace it are simple;
Sarah Murdoch was awkward on screen and didn’t have enough personality or energy to captivate and lead the audience from one section of the show to the next. She also didn’t know anything about dance which became obvious with her comments and questions to the dancers. If you compare her to someone like Cat Deeley from ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ who was bubbly, funny, a little bit quirky, worked the camera and although Cat didn’t know a lot about dance you could tell she was trying and just giving it a go, which the Australian public loved. Television Executives need to understand that Australian’s love the idea of the kid next door, they love someone that just try’s, they love the underdog, someone who makes them smile or laugh but mostly it’s someone that they can relate or connect to.
The show lost what it should have been about… The Dancers. It should have been about how good one dance act was from the other and all the talent within Australia but instead the dancing and talent was forgotten about. The only thing the audience really saw was the constant rivalry and bickering between Jason and Kelly and their desire to out do each other. It’s sad that the dancing had to come second on this show when it should have been the focus of the show.
Yes the editing was poor, it looked very pre-taped and it definitely could have been better. It was weird that when the dancers made it to the next round they repeated 30 seconds of the dance they had just done. It would have been better if they showed the audience a different dance routine so that the audience knew that the dancers weren’t just one trick ponies before giving them $10,000. Any good dancer can remember and perfect at least two different dance routines, especially when one is only 30 seconds. Also involving the general public in the voting process should have been a priority, making the shows live and setting up a way for people at home to vote (ie. facebook, sms or twitter..) would have held and captivated the audience.
Overall I think the concept and idea of the show was good, everyone in the dance community knows that dance as a whole needs the publicity and hype that this show should have given it. Lots of great live shows and companies are suffering because they can’t fill an audience and a show like this should have inspired the Australian public to go to the theater or a local performance. Unfortunately it didn’t.
I hope that this isn’t the end of Australian reality dance shows on the television screens but next time maybe the TV Executive will involve some dancers during the concept and building stages of the show.
chrisduncan says:
HI Tash,
Your views have been echoed throughout the dance industry over the past few weeks – let’s hope, as you say, that there will be more dance reality shows on air in the future.
Cheers
Chris Duncan
DanceLife Australia
Kate says:
What annoyed me the most – having to watch Sarah Murdoch host the show and then having to watch her ad every single time there was an ad break!…..omg…..