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Dancing with 'Superstars' Michael Flatley and Nigel Lythgoe
by Troy Rogers
 Given the merging popularity of reality television, competition, and dancing, America has been enjoying a modern renaissance of dance. When you look back to the roaring '20s and earlier decades of the 20th Century when America was infatuated with the boogie, salsa, jazz, bop, ballroom and ballet, even Disco in the late '70s with dancing TV host Denny Terrio, the popularity dancing is far from a new phenomenon. Dancing is a fundamental expression of who we are.
Since popular TV dancing competitions have become gargantuan hits on the TV airwaves, NBC is hitting the dance floor on January 4 from 9-11pm for the two-hour world debut of Superstars of Dance, which has all the right moves to become TV's next hugely successful reality competition. Created by the producers of American Idol and hosted by the legendary Lord of the Dance, Michael Flatley, Superstars of Dance pits the masters of various dance genres against each other, as the best dancers in Ireland, India, USA, Argentina, China, Russia, South Africa and Australia square off in a larger than life reality competition, which TV viewers have never seen before.
With 2008 now wiped clean from the TV dance floor, as the world's dance masters get set to take the stage to kick off 2009, we put on our dancing shoes for a quick chat with the superstar dancer Michael Flatley and former American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe to find out how Superstars of Dance will fit into the reality genre, how dancers can be compared to athletes, and how the masters react to critical feedback from the judges. And judging by what Nigel told us, some masters aren't quite receptive to being told their routines need improvement.
THE DEADBOLT: Nigel, you’re pretty forgiving with up-and-coming dancers and with giving them a second chance. How forgiving can you really be with masters of dance?
 NIGEL LYTHGOE: Oh, they’re not [easy]. I wanted to go out there last night and say, "Excuse me!" They’re not is all I can say. I don’t want to tell you too much, but they’re tough. And I’ll tell you what; the masters don’t like it. You should see some of these faces when they leave. They are not happy. They’ve come here to show how brilliant they are and represent their country, and they do not want to be told that they didn’t do it well.
MICHAEL FLATLEY: Absolutely. The judges are really, really tough and they call it like they see it. We’ve got one judge in particular that absolutely just goes through people for a shortcut, and some of the coaches of each team have approached him and went after him for his answers. You’ll see. They have quite a set, too, right there on screen. That, I find, is very amusing because you get both sides of the story. And at the end of the day the audience kind of has to make up their own minds.
LYTHGOE: And this isn’t just being nasty for nasty’s sake - which is what I love about it - is that if he doesn’t do that well, you may have sang all the right notes but they weren’t in the right order, you know. It isn’t a clever remark. That isn’t good because then he tells them why, so that we can all understand why. So he’s not just doing it to be clever. It’s not the normal sort of reality show judge. This is a man that actually states why he does not think they are right.
THE DEADBOLT: Michael, given your travels and experience, are there styles of dance that lend themselves better to competitive formats instead of a stage production?
 FLATLEY: Well, let me say from the outset that I wish this was not a competition. I wish that it was just a celebration of dance. But, in truth, it’s actually both and it turns out to be both. And because it’s a competition I think it’s done in a good spirit and it makes it actually that much more entertaining. I don’t think there’s any dance form in the world that couldn’t participate in this. And I’d imagine in future years as this show grows and grows you’ll see more countries entering in, and trying to enter in, and sending through their different forms of dance.
You know, we accept each one for what they are. We showcase each one. Nigel and his team have put together the set in such a way that each one is showcased properly in a classy way - very big, bright, fast and exciting, and very fast-moving. So you’re seeing the best of each team, and I don’t think there’s a form of dance out there that we couldn’t do that with in order to showcase it to the world. The judges then make up their minds on what they see. Sometimes it can be difficult.
If you’re looking at the Shaolin Monks doing a lot of Kung Fu, using knives and blades out on the stage and standing on spears, it’s difficult to compare that with one of the prima ballerinas from Russia who is doing something incredibly traditional to incredibly traditional music. But we leave that to the judges. Let them make of it what they will and I find that’s all the more entertaining.
THE DEADBOLT: Can you talk about the competition among professional dancers and how it compares to athletes or actors, or anything else?
 FLATLEY: Sure. I think it’s not really that different, you know. We’re talking about professional dancers here that have seen the whole world. They’ve been to almost every city. They’re not doing this to become rich or to get famous quick. They’re doing this because they’re dancing for the pride of their home nation and they’re professionals already. They’re already famous in their own country and they’re already famous in many other countries around the world. So naturally, competing to them is going to be just like it would be if they were going to the Olympic Games and representing their country there.
It’s no less important to them. This is what they do. This is who they are. They’ve done it since they were little children and they’ll do it until the day they die. If they come out of this with a gold medal, a silver medal or a bronze medal, that will mean so much to them, their families, their country and their children. And they know that.
I mean, there are a lot of nerves. There’s a lot of excitement. There’s a lot of tension. There are a lot of sleepless nights here. But all that, I think, is a great thing. And to see them dancing for pride, I think, is much more valuable than seeing somebody dance just to get famous.
LYTHGOE: You know, the dance shows are really successful in America but they are all over the world now. And there’s a great integrity that has now been brought back into dancing. And I think this will expand that.
-- Troy Rogers
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