Is it just me or are all the dancing shows on free-to-air television getting more and more successful after each season?
I didn't want the last season of Channel 7's Dancing with the Stars, but I've been kinda following the current one and can't choose a favourite couple because they're all pretty damn good. I love Fifi's smile, Kate's strong will, Tatiana's legs and Jamie's butt. But besides all the perving that EVERYONE who watches the show does, you can't help but encourage them on, seeing them progress to absolutely amazing dancers with incredible costumes each week. It makes you think, "I can do that too!"
So who's your favourite? Who do you think will win? Tim seems to be winging it and getting almost perfect scores, but Fifi and Jamie aren't far behind.
Then there's Strictly Dancing on ABC which is the more professional type of competition, covering New Zealand as well as Australia, and broadening their styles from ballroom and latin to jazz, funk, hip hop and rnb. I don't watch it for the latter styles because they're usually not done well by ballroom and latin enthusiasts.
Channel 10 did a smart thing by buying the rights to show the second series of So You Think You Can Dance which is huge in the States, but because of its timing I never got to watch it, except for the first episode from which I remember the face-plants and the weird guy who names himself "Sex". After seeing a bunch of losers on the show, I got turned off and turned it off for the rest of the season. Yes, people at work were talking about it, in the grocery store and in shopping malls as I walked past them, but a lot of dancers weren't watching the show either.
Maybe it'd be more appealing if we held it here on our shores, and saw people more real like us instead of the weirdos in America which we're not surprised to see at all.
Anyway, the point of all this is I hope more people take up some form of dancing, being inspired by the show, and get their kids into it to learn discipline, respect, and a healthy lifestyle.
Alright, that's it. I've had enough of people ruining it for the local hip hop dancers and bboys/bgirls by polluting people's minds and making them think that we're only worth 50 bucks or less each for a standard 3-5 minute dance performance.
Don't get me wrong, I'm talking about real choreographed performances, not just a battle or a showcase battle. I tell organisers the rate and they basically say to me, "You've got to me kidding me". I couldn't give a fuck if we miss out on that gig - fuck the mentality of "well $50 is better than nothing because I love dancing so much, I'll do it for free". I will slap you with a 21inch dildo if you ever say shit like that to me or a promoter/organiser/pimp. We're worth more than that and a bag of Kettle chips (Herb & Spice to be exact), so stop selling yourself short, because in doing so, you're selling everyone else (i.e. the povo dancers) out too.
I used to be a sell-out like that. Well maybe not, because my level of dancing and of those who I was dancing with, weren't of a $100 per person standard, so fine. Charge what you think you are in value. The industry standard is just over $200 per person for a standard performance plus hourly rate for rehearsals.
So $100 is really good value. The problem is, people won't pay performers this much if they know others are charging $50 or even nothing to perform. And I'm talking about really good quality groups too.
I don't care if they have to spend a lot of money on the venue and other shit, which leaves a budget of $200-$300 for the dancers. They don't understand the time and effort put into a performance, which inludes choreography, rehearsal time, making the music and costumes. After all that, $50 isn't shit.
I'm not even gonna get into the whole "show-pony" thing, where the people who do get the gigs only do so because they can headspin or have an agent. That's a whole 'nother frustration which is the commercial side of things and because I work in that business, I know what the corporates are like, and what they want.
I blame the dancers, or those who represent them, as the main culprit for holding dancers back in the scene. Overworked and underpaid, kiss some ass or get laid, that's the hip hop dancer's way.
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