dancing around the stars

Let me preface this entry by saying I’ve always thought that the best athletes in the world are gymnasts and dancers. Yes, dancers. I’m sure anyone that has ever trained or practiced dancing for some time would say it is not as easy as it looks. They have my respect for making it look easy when it all comes together. Artistic physical disciplines, besides dancing, figure skating, aerials, the half pipe or whatever, for me are something of a mixed thing when applying it as a sport or competition. I can appreciate the power, strength, balance, and coordination… I guess because to me that comes in sweat and practice. I can appreciate the grace, choreography, and interpretation… for me that comes from within the soul somewhere. What is the right balance? And who decides what is the right balance?

I guess what always casts my doubt on sports with judges determining the outcome is the very fact that the thing they are judging is subjective to everyone individually. Everyone has their own idea of beauty… granted there may be universal ideas about what is pleasing to the eye or soul. I guess it also depends on how people judge things – is someone being judged against perfection (and what is perfection – who decides that?), against history, or the current competition?

Rules are a good thing in sports. They help to define criteria or in the case of subjective sports, guidelines for judging.

All I know is that the things these dancers, these athletes, do with their bodies… well, I can’t do all that well.

And dammit, they make it look easy.

***

It’s not a real surprise that my mom watches that tv show “Dancing With the Stars”. I find it amusing to listen to her rant about how some certain celebrity should have left the show “a long time ago.” Okay, I admit I’ve seen it now and then. Although my reasons for doing so are… umm, slightly different that my mom’s reasons.

(insert halo here)

I have to admit, towards the end of the season, they dance amazing (although, anyone who can put together 2-3 steps looks amazing compared to me). Sometimes though, I find some of the ones who continue and some of the ones who go home puzzling.

It didn’t take me long to notice that there had only been one female winner (the first one, no less) since this whole thing started a few years ago. I brought up this fact with Mom.

We were in the middle of a commercial break when she flipped to another station. (My Mom has this insane tv schedule in which she wants to watch about 3 different shows at the same time. With no Tivo.)
“There’s only been one female winner in this thing?”
“Yes,” she said after thinking for a moment. “It’s all been a guy the other times.”
“Like three or four in a row?”
She paused to think again. “Yes,” she said.
“You know why it’s been like that? I have a theory.”
“What?”
“Cuz the only ones who are really voting are women, and they’re all voting for the guy.”
She laughed out loud.

Five minutes later, I caught her on the phone voting. For one of the guy contestants.

In fact, I don’t think (from what my mom has told me) she has ever voted for a female on that show.

Hmm…

(So of course, a guy wins this season as well… despite being the only guy left with three other female contestants. Oh well.)