I too am a dancer.

I am also an LDS member and did serve a mission in Rome, Italy also.

One of the mamy things that I learned on my mission, is that, it is the spirit that counts!

So what if Benji is not Technically Perfect…he didn’t look terrible to me. It’s the feeling that moves people and that is why Benji won. Not because of his Technical ability but how he made people feel when he performed. After all, isn’t dance a physical representation of what we are feeling inside when we hear music. What about tribes in Africa that dance to the beats of drums…are we looking at how technically correct they are?? OR are we trying to feel the inner connection that they have to their music. After all isn’t one of the roles of The Holy Spirt to connect with our own spirit through feeling???

That is exactly what Benji did and techincal dancing will never substitute the spirit of the man in dance when he’s connected to its purpose.

Dancing is a feeling first!!

To answer your question you made at the Beginning….it’s that wonderful, beautiful feeling of his spirit when he dances, that tingles us all on the inside, that makes our spirit crave for more.

As brother in Christ, I hope that you have not reached that dangerous point that has been written in the sciptures, that an individual has reached “Past Feeling”

As far as professional dancers’ admissions…..that’s all I work with…..believe it or not.

As far as ““line” (alingment), expression, flow (gracefull, seamless continuity), ability to emote, and endurance…there are standards, but to explain them to you here is FAR too laborious. It would be like a mechanic trying to explain fuel injection and rear-wheel suspension to me. Suffice to say I’ve spent my life studying dance and choreography, consequently, I know what I know.

Ah…the lurking question of how does America know the difference?….I’m not sure that they do…or even have to. I believe Nigel answered that question for all of us on this evening’s show…….he captivates them…..he “draws them into his performance (“even when another dancer might do a certain move better”)”. Well said Nigel! Or as Blaise Paschal would put it: “The heart has its reasons, of which the mind knows nothing.”

I can’t believe that many professional dancers would admit that they don’t have the whole package. Our dancers the first performers ever that are humble enough to admit it? I’d like to see that.

Thinking about my initial remark, my intent was to ask why America was so crazy about Benji. Even if I give you that Benji is a fantastic dancer with the “whole package”, why does America know the difference? My guess is that first impressions are more important than actual dance technique. Unless of course you really suck, but that wouldn’t really fit any of the finalists.

I still want to disagree with you that “line” (alingment), expression, flow (gracefull, seamless continuity), ability to emote, and endurance can be looked at objectively. What’s the standard? Thinking outside of the box has been emphasized by the choreographers time and time again. Doesn’t that often mean that the conventional “standard” lines, expression and flow could be thrown out the window and still make something beautiful? Beautiful and all the other adjectives that the judges use are really quite subjective without a standard.

I agree that Benji has awesome endurance. Look at the video at the top and you’ll know that. Swing dancing is an awesome workout(and tons of fun). However, here again I don’t know why America cares about endurance? They don’t!!

An LDS community “call-a-thon”? Sounds like a good idea. All the Young Men and Young Women could have a super-mutual night where they all vote for Benji and Heidi. Sounds like a great idea to me.

Jenga,
I’m not sure if you are right or wrong about the producers staging Benji to dance with Heidi. If they did stage it…then it had the desired effect on me. I’ve loved Heidi ever since Heidi saved Benji!!

I hear ya. BUT a few points of edification (if you don’t mind).

First of all, Benji is NOT a professional dancer (not yet, anyway). Don’t get me wrong, I love this guy. But by definition, a professional dancer is someone who (quite literally) dances as a profession. THAT’s what makes Benji SO special….the fact that he is already as good as he is, WITHOUT being a professional. (I can only imagine what he would be like with a few more years of ballet, jazz, etc……this guy is clearly Broadway-bound if he so desires).

You say that: “almost all professional dancers have “THE WHOLE PACKAGE” (boy, do I wish that was true….my job would be SO much easier)!

This simply is NOT true. In fact, only a minority do. I know….I choreograph (for a living) true professional dancers (Broadway National Tour folks). They all WISH they had “the whole package”, but they don’t (and most of them would comfortably admit it). The truth is, in the history of professional dance, “whole packages” are NOT the majority – quite the contrary.

You also say: “…I’m not sure how you judge between professional dancers. They all have excellent technique which is the closest to objective as you can get. After that, I believe it is really a subjective preference that each of us may have or feel.”

Excellent technique is NOT the only element of critique. You may recall one couple being criticized as “dancing by numbers”. They “did the right steps” (and they did them accurately), but it was empty otherwise. What was missing was the all important issues of “line” (alingment), expression, flow (gracefull, seamless continuity), ability to emote, and endurance (note that Benji is one of the FEW contestants on that show who doesn’t “loose steam” half to three-quarters of the way through an up-tempo routine (by this choreographer’s observation). These elements are measurable – subjectively AND objectively – and at the end of the process, the dancer who has “the whole package” is the dancer who excels in each of these criteria (e.g., Benji).

We DO agree on the improvement issue, and I also offer agreement that the “idol effect” could impact the outcome of this or any contest that depends strictly on “call-in” votes. If I were Benji, I would rally the entire national LDS community into a “call-a-thon” for that last show. Afterall, I believe his talents are “God-given”…..why shouldn’t they be endorsed via a similar mechanism

second, sometimes i doubt the judging/voting/audition process. this routine is the same one benji did with heidi when he had to dance for his life in the vegas round. seeing what a fantastic dance benji is, i find it hard to believe that his dancing abilities were EVER actually doubted by the judges. furthermore, benji’s father was originally supposed to be a choreographer on the show and he told nigel that since his son was going to be auditioning, it would be a conflict of interest and therefore couldn’t be on the show. clearly, going into the vegas round, nigel and the judges had to have the following information:
1. benji came from a family of world renowned dancers.
2. benji (together with heidi) won the 2005 U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships… this would be pretty obvious based on their resumes.

personal conclusion: the only reason they asked benji to dance for his life is that, with both performers so conveniently in the audition process, the producers wanted to showcase this fantastic, award winning routine to boost ratings.

i simply refuse to believe that benji ever would have truly given the judges a reason to doubt his dancing ability.