The Death of Dance Reality Television

Are we nearing the end of dance reality television? It's hard to imagine America's Best Dance Crew continuing for another season if they plan to only draw from the available dance crews in our country. They'll have to open up their doors to crews from others nations, like what they did with Canada's Blueprint Crew in season 5, to keep things fresh. The challenge of this show is that while there are many highly skilled crews, there's only a handful that can translate well on television as entertaining personalities. The same is true for So You Think You Can Dance. After multiple seasons, this show can only go as far as their contestants' ability to connect with the audience. There doesn't seem to be any new ideas emerging from dance reality shows, which makes us wonder how long they can last.

From a business standpoint, these reality shows are kept on the air because they represent a demographic that's targeted by advertisers. For a network, maintaining a reality show is slightly more cost-effective than a scripted drama or comedy. That's why MTV evolved from a place where we watch music videos to a lifestyle branded channel filled with faux reality programs and lower-cost game shows. It's perceived that these dance reality shows attract largely youthful female audience although it's still valid to see the audience as coed. You can sense the intentions of advertisers through the frequent appearance of cosmetic and hair product ads that play during the primetime airings of these programs.

So if advertiser money is a justification for these shows, the only way they'll go away is if there's a ratings drop. Any new radical ideas for portraying our dance culture on mainstream television isn't likely to come from the usual Hollywood channels because of this business model. While networks may still choose to push these reality shows, creatively they're barely breathing. Would it be better for these shows to take a hiatus? Maybe let some time pass, reenergize the concept behind the show, and launch something new? Could we see cable channel networks create more documentary-style series investigating dance cultures across the world? Can we see a HBO or Showtime series focusing on dancers while giving them strong dramatic storylines to play out? There's a lot of creative territory that's unchartered but little confidence from networks that money can be made through these projects.

It still boils down to the same business question - what can dancers sell? Even for a show about performers like Glee, money can be made through the sales of songs via iTunes and the upcoming live concert with the cast. None of the dance reality shows have cracked this question yet for television. What dancers can sell is still an unanswered conundrum. And if it isn't answered in the near future, dance reality television will likely become extinct without a creative influx.