There's something that's been getting under my skin about the indignant critical response to the dancing-themed reality TV shows. I wrote to Apollinaire at Foot in Mouth on this topic (I think she's going to post another set of responses to the ongoing conversation later this week) but it's still bothering me, so I figure I've got more to say on the subject.

The argument as I've read it seems to be that the dance shows on TV show a glitzy, Vegas-y take on dance, and critics seem to be disapointed that people enjoy watching them than "real" concert dance. The shows themselves are criticised for not presenting enough artistic content. Over and over, the talk is almost always about *watching* dance: Specifically, why doesn't the popularity of dance TV shows translate into people wanting to go watch live dance?

There's a second effect of these shows, however, that is being consistently overlooked. The ballroom studio that my bellydance teacher rents studio space from seems to be packed, I've heard from many people that these shows, especially DWTS, are bringing people to social ballroom dancing in droves. When I've read this mentioned at all, it is mentioned as a momentary factoid, interesting but unimportant compared to the effect on consumers of professional dance performance.

I do think dance performance is a great thing, but something about framing the discussion as being about passive consumers makes my teeth itch. Why start from the assumption that the viewers you are trying to court are just going to be sitting on their butt and you're trying to get them to sit on their butt in a concert hall instead of their living room? That's depressing.

I don't know anyone who dances, socially or seriously, who has not had their life affected by it. Whether it becomes a passion in their life, or even just if learning to waltz created a beautiful memory for their wedding. The experience of dancing gives people an outlet for kinesthetic expression. And that's something we should be trying to share with everyone, not just reserve for the talented few on stage.

These shows really do seem to be getting people up and into the studios. Isn't that a positive outcome? Why is that not even part of the "are TV dance shows a good thing" discussion? There's an underlying assumption there that I don't like... that somehow for the audience it is more valuable just to be in the presence of art, than to think about experiencing or creating something yourself.

The most ridiculous part of the whole thing is that I think people who have studied dance at some point in their lives are more likely to go see dance performances than people who haven't. So encouraging people to go out an do it builds future audiences, consistent ones who won't just go to a show or two when dancing is fashionable but who will be fans their whole lives.