Now, this has nothing to do with perceived arrogance about how good he is, but about my impression that he’s squandering this opportunity in the lovely mishmash of SYTYCD (HT: John) to *get* intensity, to work on his vibe. I saw this great interview with Cate Blanchett, whom I love, where she talks about different acting techniques; one where the actor gathers he emotion they want to convey (and here she bunches her fist) and *throws* it (hurling motion *bam*). Danny really has none of that expressive impact and he has the opportunity to with a larger audience. That attitude really burns my chaps when I think about the NYT piece and the writer’s attitude toward high and low culture because she gives Danny a pass on his shortcomings as a dancer, so she can feel superior. (Before I saw Farrell, I thought, well, if Danny’s the epitome of great ballet, then I guess ballet’s just not my thing and if Farrell’s any indication that’s just not true.)

Beckylooo, thanks for the info on Farrell. I’ll have to check out her doc. Liked your blog, especially my introduction to the phrase “street jazz” re Shane; the phrase really illuminated his style for me.

As an English major I was fascinated by the idea of reader response and perception, so discussing this cousin subject is pure fun for me. John, thanks for the space you’ve provided and your kind words, even though all I know of dancing I’ve learned from Dancing with the Stars season 1 and SYTYCD, no joke.

Back to your point, about Danny’s lack of emotional connection being manifest BECAUSE of his technical proficiency (ie not having anything to fight against, resistence)… It’s an interesting one and I can’t decide whether or not I agree. In reality, as much as I enjoy all this speculation, the core of his issue is impossible to get at with out knowing the guy, watching him put choreography into his body. They snippets we get on the show aren’t enough.

As a side note, I couldn’t be happier to have found a place to have an intelligent conversation about what most would consider a cheese whiz hour and a half of tele. Thanks guys.

I like the note on style. Style has such deep appeal, especially when the style is essentially (as you say here) an expression of technical proficiency. In Danny’s home dance-form, that means a lot and goes a long way.

But, again, I think the mash-up effect of So You Think…? exposes some of the limits of that approach to dance, namely, how proficiency and discipline are not sufficient in all dance forms. Danny’s brilliance becomes, not a shortcoming (he’s too good to not “get” each dance form), but a limit to the kind of talent he has. Whereas, say, the hip-hop dancers “get” intensity and expression yet struggle with precisely choreographed, Danny, when doing hip-hop, “got” the choreography perfectly yet lacked the emotional intensity the (albeit watered-down) routine required.

Danny’s advantage is his total command of his body. Something no one else has, really. That command gives him – appropriately – a real advantage. But the stylistic mash-up highlights what is yet-to-come from him as a dancer.

All that said, he’s my favorite. It’s just that you can see what just a bit more emotional connection would bring…

On new partners, I hadn’t really thought about it, but y’all are right: it will make a definite difference. I wonder if Lacey would bring something out of Danny or, in her intense exuberance, actually make him look a bit wooden by contrast. That’s a problem for any of her partners, I think, given her crazy energy. It would be such an interesting pairing.

For me, Danny does have the this essence (possibly what Nigel calls his X-factor when people like it), but I don’t think it reflects Danny’s self. Instead I think that Danny’s lack of emotional connection manifests because he’s so technically proficient that there’s no change in tempo, no tension when he dances. He’s (astonishingly!) fluid when he dances, to the point were it looks like lines constantly, exquisitely reconfiguring instead of a person embodying emotion, emphasis on person. And you know, there’s a *style* in that, an essence, simply because Danny is so regular that it creates its own pattern, that people read it as self–an arrogant, soulless dancer.

I personally like Danny. If he’s arrogant, I think he’s also probably quite sweet all the same. But his dancing doesn’t move me because there’s no story to his movements, no beginning, middle, end; just an endless morphing of shapes. Mia would probably talking about wanting to tear down his walls, and I think it’s true that he almost has too much control; so much that he’ll never let anything through unless he learns or decides to.

Btw, thanks to Beckyloo, I found Suzanne Farrell on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWzBy3uYjwI)
and Jesus, does she have a story to every movement. In contrast, the guy she’s dancing with is all stocky pantomime. Danny’s light years ahead of the guy, but he’s no Suzanne, not yet. I’m very hopeful for Danny to make progress; he has boatloads of potential.

I don’t know… I feel like there’s only so much weight the judges can give the new possible partnering when deciding who to cut. But really, who the hell can predict this shit. We shall see.

It will be interesting to see what Kameron can do outside of Lacey’s shadow, and give him this: he has yet to air-hump a guest judge yet. At least on camera.