Last week Dancing with the Stars took off and started to fly, with 9s being thrown out like they were candy. But this week, despite some great dancing, there was a dark cloud over the performances, and its name was Len Goodman.
The elder statesman of the Dancing with the Star judges’ table was crankier than normal during the week 3 performance show, doling out low scores like he was the Estonian judge at a figure skating competition. The most offensive bit of Len’s foul judging came during Mya and Dmitry Chaplin’s breathtaking Rumba. While Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli gave out the season’s first 10s, mean old Len gave the pair a 7.
Why? The answer is simple: Len hates young whippersnappers.
Len Goodman is obviously an old fogey when it comes to dance, a man who likes all of his routines prim and proper. What he fails to understand is that dance is an evolutionary art form, and that as much as he hates it, change has come.
Most notably, Len seems to hate Dmitry Chaplin. On the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars, Len did the same thing, giving Mya and Dmitry a 5 while Carrie Ann and Bruno gave them 8s for their Viennese Waltz. Len whined and moaned that what Dmitry choreographed wasn’t a traditional Viennese Waltz, so he wanted to punish innovation.
Dance is young and hip. Just look at all the different styles of hip hop, or the success of shows like America’s Best Dance Crew and So You Think You Can Dance. That’s the future of dance, and Len wants to stall the progress that’s going on.
The irony is that Dancing with the Stars itself recognizes the change. While the “winners” from this show don’t do anything (when was the last time you heard from or thought of Helio or Apolo?), shows like So You Think You Can Dance are cranking out great new talent every year. For instance: Lacey Schwimmer, Chelsie Hightower and Dmitry Chaplin, three former SYTYCD contestants now deemed appropriate to become professionals on Dancing with the Stars.
So Len needs to get with the times or resign as a judge. He clearly can’t be objective about Dmitry’s choreographing skills, and he did the same thing by low-balling Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower for being too chaotic. Len doesn’t like frenetic movement or a lot of flashy style in his dance. He wants a nice, quiet and calm ballroom piece.
Well, if that’s what you want, I suggest you hop in your time machine and go back to the 1950s when that was possible. Today, dance is loud, in your face and full of energy, and if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the ballroom.
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
