Dance show's feats don't fail

By Michael Mehle, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

F. Scott Schafer / Bravo

Host Elizabeth Berkley, center, stands amid the contestants of Bravo's "Step It Up and Dance."

The first rule of reality TV: Why stop at one successful series about a particular field when you can cram cable full of three or four more shows of the same ilk?

Thus we get not just Top Chef, but also Hell's Kitchen, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, The Restaurant, Iron Chef and even Celebrity Cooking Showdown. Project Runway allegedly didn't sate our appetite for fashion and models, so we also got saddled with America's Next Top Model, So You Want to be a Supermodel, America's Most Smartest Model and The Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency.

And then there's dancing.

As if watching C-list celebrities make a mockery of the tango and waltz weren't enough, Dancing with the Stars begat So You Think You Can Dance, the Jennifer Lopez-created Moves and Randy Jackson's America's Best Dance Crew.

But the copycat syndrome doesn't deliver exclusively bad news: Witness Bravo's Step It Up and Dance (8 p.m. Thursdays), helmed by the same producers behind both Project Runway and Top Chef.

Why we'll keep watching these hoofers in the weeks ahead:

Berkley's in the background

Two words that don't inspire confidence in any project out of Hollywood: Elizabeth Berkley. It's not like America was clamoring for the wretched nostalgia of Showgirls, and if anyone craves another dose of Saved by the Bell, they need only watch Hannah Montana, The Suite Life of Zach and Cody or any of the other Disney Channel programs that offer the same combination of insipid writing and bad acting. But, in the first two episodes of Step It Up, Berkley proves to be a competent and - more important - briefly seen hostess.

These dancers aren't bad

This isn't amateur hour. One dancer has been on tour with Mary J. Blige, Beyonce and Kelly Rowland. Another was on Broadway in Mamma Mia, Moving Out and Grease. Yet another was in the stage production of Lion King. The rest have experience in various dance troupes.

They're not looking for a break - they're looking to break out. Pity poor Jessica who admits to being "completely intimidated" because she's the lone hoofer without any professional dancing experience.

The dancers have different tastes

Dancers are a different breed, and they don't hesitate to share sentiments that might repulse the rest of America.

Quote one dancer upon learning Berkley was the host: "I loved that movie Showgirls!"

Quote another upon learning Mel B. (Scary Spice) would be judging their performance: "I have liked the Spice Girls, like, forever!"

Or quote yet another upon learning they would be dancing to the Spice Girls' Spice of Life: "It's my favorite Spice Girls song!"

The judges don't sugarcoat

In week one, judge Nancy O'Meara told the hyper-aggressive Janelle, who scowls and grimaces as she dances: "Don't dance like a mean, ugly man." Later, she instructs Miguel, "I need you to butch it up out there. I need you to be very strong and masculine. I don't care if you like girls, boys, giraffes or monkeys. I need you to man up."

Even Week One's guest judge, Scary Spice, got into the act, telling the classically trained Tovah that she ought to be more comfortable with hip- hop, saying, "You're black, c'mon!"

The challenges intrigue

In Week One, all the dancers were celebrating their first night together at a Hollywood club when suddenly Berkley told all the extras to get lost. Turns out the judges already were eyeing the competitors' freestyle moves on the dance floor and the competition was under way.

The second week, the dancers broke up into two groups to perform a racy burlesque style in which they were all either pimps, prostitutes or johns.