The Glee Question: Can It Happen For Dance?

Fox's Glee is one of the hottest tv shows on primetime networks in the past two years. What was once a curiosity has now become a pop cultural phenomenon, fully embracing the American Broadway musical, love for showtunes, and the show choir subculture that exists in many of today's high schools. Sure, the characters whom we love on this show are probably more colorful, interesting, and well-written than their real-life counterparts. But it's brought music and the love of singing back into America's consciousness without framing it in a reality show format.

Yes, Glee would have a harder time getting on the air if it wasn't for American Idol. That's why it made sense for Fox to broadcast Glee given the network's success with the infamous singing reality show. The cultural impact? We're still witnessing its progress as a new generation of youth discover songs from twenty to thirty years ago as hit iTunes downloads from the show's cast. So the question is: can we see a show that brings our love of dancing to the cultural mainstream in a non-reality show format?

Three decades ago, we had Fame. There hasn't been much on primetime shows since then. Even So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew are shaped around reality shows. Dancing is a much harder nut to crack then singing. The musical format is more commonly understood and shared since we often see drama clubs in high schools. Many of us have had exposure to singing through musicals or musical films from the Golden Age of Hollywood. With dancing, it seems harder to tell an emotional story on its own. And we've seen the lack of strong acting skills among dancers even in Step Up 3D and The LXD. That's not the case for musical actors who can sing, act, and even dance a little. So drawing from Broadway, a show like Glee can bring in talented actresses like Lea Michele and Jenna Ushkowitz to play convincing characters on screen because they've had the training. Where are our Fred Astaires and Gene Kellys for the dance scene?

It would be amazing to see a show like Glee for our dance generation. No, it doesn't have to be the same format or use similar characters. We'd just like to see a dramatic or comedic show set in the street dance world and bringing its richness and variety to the masses. Typically, street dancers are not seen as "full" characters in films or shows. They're just performers who do amazing things with their bodies. But we don't cry with them as we do with Lea Michele or Jenna Ushkowitz or Cory Monteith on Glee. That's a shame because dancers possess so much passion and drama in their souls. Why can't we see that in a well-written and well-acted story?