Don’t mess with what works. Or at least, not too much.
Jennifer Lopez brought her Fly Girl skills back to TV by starting the reality show “World of Dance” on NBC…12 years after “So You Think You Can Dance” premiered on Fox.
Let’s compare the two shows:
The host
SYTYCD’s Cat Deeley vs. WOD’s Jenna Dewan Tatum
Here’s the thing. Dewan Tatum actually is a dancer (“Step Up” forever!). Deeley is not. We’re talking zero experience.
Dewan Tatum acts as host and mentor on WOD as part of the show’s structure. She can give real feedback to the dancers.
But she’s a bit awkward as a host. She hasn’t gotten her footing yet. I fully believe she can, but her banter is more mechanical than natural right now.
Deeley may not know dance, but she has a natural flair for hosting. She has her lovable quotes (“Here are your…judges!”). And she banters well among the dancers, judges and audience.
Edge: SYTYCD
Judges
Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and more vs. Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo and Derek Hough
Both sets of judges have a good amount of knowledge. Not all do; SYTYCD usually brings in a guest judge whose dance knowledge is hit or miss.
Murphy and Lythgoe have chemistry thanks to years of working together. I could take or leave Murphy and her Hot Tamale Train, but I know some viewers eat it up.
I appreciate the range WOD’s judges give. They have experience in more styles, I believe, than SYTYCD’s mainstays. But SYTYCD judges have more range in how they critique performances.
Edge: SYTYCD (ever so slightly)
Scoring
On SYTYCD, most of the scoring is based on viewer votes. In the beginning, the judges choose who goes home from the bottom three after they dance for their life.
On WOD, the judges score based on five categories for a score out of 100. The higher scoring dancer/group moves on.
As a dancer, I appreciate WOD’s method. On SYTYCD, many times a better dancer would get kicked off because they somehow didn’t get enough votes, which always frustrated me.
The scoring on WOD seems to be more fair because it’s more based on technique and ability.
Edge: WOD
I’ll give “World of Dance” credit, it’s definitely better than some other reality dance TV shows. In another season or two, as it gains its footing, I think it could be as good as “SYTYCD.” I’ll keep watching both for now.
“SYTYCD” airs Mondays, while “World of Dance” airs Tuesdays until Aug. 8, which is the first season finale.
