Mia Michaels

One of my favorite things about summer is that I get to watch So You Think You Can Dance. I have watched it from the very first episode. I vote for my favorite dancers, I discuss it friends and family, and I make Diggity watch my favorite routines over again on the Tivo. I have to say that I like it more than American Idol. (And since I am a singer, that is saying a lot.) I think part of my fascination with SYTYCD (as it shall henceforth be called) comes from knowing there is NO way I could do what these amazing dancers are doing. I know I could do what the singers do, so though I love watching AI, I'm not as moved by it. I've taken dance classes. I know I can't do what they do. I have so much respect for these dancers.

But mainly I love it because I love great performers. People that transcend the technique of their art form and create something bigger. It's hard to explain what I mean. I'll think about it and try to be more specific in a later blog. I also love watching people who can create and bring out great things in other people. On SYTYCD, the choreographers that really create great (and completely different) performances are Mia Michaels and Wade Robson. In completely different ways, they both drive the dancers to share who they are with the audience through the movement they have created. Mia in particular is very open and raw and shares who she is through the movement she creates. I always get teary whenever I see her routines. Last week was my favorite of all. The dance was her vision of meeting her late father again in heaven. I really can't come up with the words to describe it. Everything dance and art should be. Though this recording won't do it justice, you should definitely watch it.