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So You Think You Can Dance : A child's review

          Yesterday, through the fickle hand of fate disguised as the swine flu, my family found itself at the live show of So You Think You Can Dance at the American Airlines Arena in seats that originally belonged to my brother-in-law and his family. If you are a fan of the show then the live version is nothing more than a recap of the best of season five. The oversized television screens on either side of the stage showed the live action with camera work so similar to the show that it was hard to distinguish if you were watching reruns or not. The retrospectives that happened throughout did not help the feeling that a lot of money was spent to watch a repeat show on large screens from afar and with many screaming adolescents adding to the soundtrack.  The dancing was what was expected from the show but, with the exception of the final number, there was nothing new.  It could have been a disappointment…
          …except for the presence of my children. To see two boys, ages two and five, riveted by the dancing was like watching electrons be frozen in space. Little boys have a type of Brownian motion all their own, a constant entropy that the dancing seemed to suck away. Despite the frenetic energy being pumped into the arena by the teenagers in the audience, the small children seemed to be hypnotized, only swaying gentle to the rhythm and applauding at the end of each dance selection. The time between the dances was filled with scripted banter between the dancers, a reminder that we did not vote for them because of their speaking skills. It was only during the talking that the children even dared to blink.
          Generally when writing an article with a journalistic bend, we attempt to maintain an objective tone but reviews, by their very nature, are subjective. When all is said and done, this is a review though not a critique of technical ability but an appraisal of the shows effect on its smallest fans. So this is a review through the eyes of a two year old, a little boy who apparently likes ballet. This is a critique by a five year old who thinks that Bollywood is the way to go. So for them, until they can write on their own, I will pass on the message. So You Think You Can Dance gets two small thumbs up.    
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          For more from Paul with his wife, Lee, visit CoupleDumb.com