SYTYCD: So You Think You Can Dance Around the World

It's amazing to think that So You Think You Can Dance started back in 2005. Most people know the idea came from American Idol, and Simon Fuller started it with Nigel Lythgoe (who's still a judge on the US version, while his ex-wife Bonnie judges on the Aussie show).

I didn't see the first series, so I don't know how the format has changed since then - but I can't help feeling that these days, it's not So You Think You Can Dance, really - it's So You KNOW You Can Dance.

What the judges are looking for is young dancers who, whether they're in formal dance training or not, have been learning their genre seriously for several years.  They're looking for dancers who just need an extra push to move into the professional dance world.

Every year, we hear the judges tell a promising dancer to "come back next year", because they're "not ready yet".

So the show really is for people who know they can dance - they're just looking for a way to get into the business. And though it's a great opportunity for them, and produces some very watchable dancing, I can't help feeling it's a missed opportunity.

Take Me on a Journey!

There's something magical about taking someone with talent but no training, teaching them to dance - then watching the wonder dawn in their eyes, as they blossom into a dancer.

You see that happening sometimes on that other TV dance show, Dancing with the Stars (Strictly Come Dancing in the UK).

Sure, the contestants are professional performers, so maybe their "journey" seems less important.

Sure, some of them have two left feet, or turn out to have been dancers secretly all along, because they took dance classes in drama school.

But every now and then, you get a celebrity who starts out from nothing and evolves into a wonderful dancer - and that's lump-in-the-throat material.

That's what I miss in SYTYCD.

The judges are always talking about "the journey", but let's face it - these are youngsters who've been practising dance for hours, week after week, for years. They're already comfortable with working their body and learning dance steps.

Yes, learning a new dance genre means they have to move their bodies in a different way - but they're used to using their body as an instrument, so it's not something totally new and alien.

I'm not belittling the energy and commitment the SYTYCD dancers put in over the course of the series.

They put in long hours in a pressure-cooker atmosphere, dance through injuries, and absorb an enormous amount in a very short space of time.

But if you watch a clip of the average SYTYCD dancer at the beginning and end of the series, you won't see a huge difference in their performance ability.

Whereas if you watch the dancers at the beginning and end of a series of Dancing with the Stars, the difference is sometimes simply stunning.

That's the kind of thing I'd love to see on SYTYCD - the opportunity to nurture a talent that would otherwise be totally lost.  SYTYCD isn't going to find the Susan Boyle of the dance world!

In collecting the clips for this Hub, I was amazed to discover how many countries now have a version of the show.

I don't know whether all countries take the same attitude or set the same standards - I'm sure I recall seeing a clip from a Middle Eastern version where one of the contestants looked a long way over the age limit set for the Australian version, but maybe my memory is playing tricks.

Currently there are series in New Zealand, Ukraine, Turkey, Israel, Canada, Germany, Greece, Poland, Malaysia, Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands, South Africa, United Kingdom, Australia and Portugal, which is pretty impressive.

I was heartened to find this clip from the Turkish version and find that belly dance, ignored in the American and Australian version, gets a look in!

Now, if they'd only decide to run a Masters version...