So You Think You Run the Show

Tonight I watched auditions for the competition program So You Think You Can Dance. As with all these programs, there are people who for some inexplicable reason believe that even though they have no formal training, they can compete with people who do. There also are some people who have formal training but no talent. What's worse is that many of these wannabes waste time quibbling with the judges. These "dancers" can't understand why Lythgoe gets the last word. Well, let me explain: He's the one with the money for the show, and he's the one who gets to decide how it's spent.

Nigel Lythgoe, judge and co-producer for the show, vowed he wouldn't be cruel to contestants this year. In the past, he's told some who auditioned that they had no future in dance, and to some who claimed to be teachers, he said it was a disservice to the students. As much as it hurts, he's right. If no one has the courage to stand up and tell these poor deluded souls the truth, they will continue to spend time, energy and money on a fruitless effort. And as the mother of several ballet students, I must say it is unfair for parents who don't know better to continue seeking the services of people without an ability to teach.

Lythgoe and American Idol's Simon Cowell, both of whom are British, serve the same function on their respective programs. Neither likely intends to be mean, just practical. What one must understand, is in other parts of the world, it's perfectly OK, and in fact expected to mete out and receive constructive criticism. This is how people can become better at what they do. In the United States, however, we're afraid to correct one another and say it's rude. We'd rather allow someone to spin his wheels unnecessarily. As a judge, however, Lythgoe is expected to give -- and should be respected for -- his opinions.

During last season's American Idol auditions, at least one, if not more, contestants lamented that Cowell wasn't qualified to judge what was acceptable to Americans because he wasn't and should return to England. They questioned his credentials, as some have done in the past, and no doubt this season, with Lythgoe. Without going into their backgrounds here, suffice it to say that both men are fully qualified to pass judgment in their respective fields.

In Lythgoe's case, there's another reason he's qualified: he's one of the men with the money. As a co-producer, he's responsible to either chipping in himself or finding investors for the television program. Either way, this is a business, and it's expected to deliver a decent return to the investors. So when Lythgoe says that someone won't make it as a dancer, what he's saying is that this person has little to no possibility of developing marketable skills in the area of dance. What he isn't saying in so many words, is that he has a sense both of what he finds marketable and what other producers will find marketable. And as long as they are putting up the money and taking the risk, they have every right to decide who has the skills to move on.

Of course, there's the outside possibility that one could become a William Hung. But Cowell and Lythgoe aren't in the business of ferreting out potentially successful novelty acts. Yes, there can be a breakout performer, but the financial risk here would be even greater than with a competent entertainer. I assume, however, that most of these contestants want to be take seriously and really aren't keen on building careers through buffoonery.

The beauty of being in America is that if we don't agree, we can become producers ourselves. We always have the option of putting our money where our mouths are and developing an act. We can pay for the venue, staff and marketing. And it's even possible that if we can prove there is an audience and earning potential, Lythgoe might back the show.