Back to one Winner for SYTYCD
Nigel Lythgoe made this announcement on twitter today. He also said that the Judges will no longer be able to save people once we get to the Top 10. I’m not sure how the voting will work for this season but I’m going to take a guess it will go back to voting for the couples until the Top 10 and then voting for the individual dancers after.
After the last two seasons when the Judges could save dancers till the top 6, I am happy about the Judges save ending when we get to the top 10. I feel like it gives more power back to the viewers/voters.  Now I feel about going back to one winner…honestly I’ve got mixed feelings about it. I think I’m on the fence about this idea because I did like recognizing the best female and male dancer.
What are your thoughts.
I like the idea of one winner. I think that’s better, but what about still saying the top male and female pro and then having them battle it out to be the big winner?
Well that’s a fun idea. I think I was just more excited that the judges were going to have less say in who’s America’s favorite. Last season it felt like they were more involved, Jenna was a perfect example of them having more of a say.
I think it’s silly to have both male and female winners because it wrongly insists that the sex/gender of a dancer is the most significant factor in determining the difference between one dancer and another. How is it appropriate for a male ballroom dancer and a male hip-hop dancer to compete directly against one another, but somehow inappropriate for a male hip-hop dancer and a female hip-hop dancer to compete directly? Having separate “favorite boy” and “favorite girl” winners is at least as arbitrary as it would be to have separate favorites for each style of dance.
The way the show locks dancers into male/female couples, and coerces obviously gay male dancers to feign masculinity and “play straight” for the audience has always been problematic. They’ve similarly coerced masculine and androgynous women contestants to present as more feminine and “sexy” in a way that is intended to appeal primarily to the male gaze. It all seems to emerge out of an oppressive desire to maintain the stifling “traditional” gender role mores that the ballroom world in particular has established and continues to reinforce, and to avoid offending the audience. One of this shows greatest challenges has always been how to present dance to a commercial audience that is significantly more heteronormative than the dance community is. Having a “favorite boy” and a “favorite girl” felt like just another attempt to gender police the dancers and the audience by dictating that “male dancers are like this” and “female dancers or like this,” and that those are such different things that they cannot possibly be compared against one another, which is specious in the extreme.
Sorry for the rant! I do love the show, but I love it in spite of its commercial and cultural baggage, because I am an admirer of dance.
Thanks for this post – I didn’t realize they were changing back the format. I’m uncertain why, as they spoke glowingly of having 2 winners and said they wished it had been done a long time ago.
I’m ambivalent myself. There are pro’s of doing it both ways, so the change doesn’t bother me.
So excited about the new season. It seems like forever btwn episodes, but realize the excitement this stirs for the show. Now…I too feel its most important to recognize the best male and female dancer in America. Reason being the style for guys is different, with regards to flexibility, strength etc. Please rethink this idea.