'Live to Dance': does the premiere get a gold star?

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Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there's more to than you may have first thought.

So did “Live to Dance” work as a show on its own? CBS made a bold move in putting the show up in place of megahit “NCIS,” but right now the show still needs a bit more of an identity to justify the choice.

Let’s first focus on why this should work:

* Judging format: Having the three judges make their decision before their critiques is a bold move -- even though they can change their mind, more often than not these people won’t want to risk their credibility and become a flip-flopper simply because someone has a sappy story.
* Paula Abdul: People genuinely love her, and that can go a long way.
* The contestants: Even though there are other dance shows, it was still amazing to see how much talent actually made it out there.

Unfortunately, there are still a number of problems weighing this show down:

* The format: This show feels way too much like “America’s Got Talent” -- really, the only differences are a quieter audience and nobody eating fire. There is even the same frustrating camera that drifts from the performance to check out the judges.
* The chemistry: The judges are all fantastic on their own, but the lack of rapport was a bit sad so far.
* The mysterious audience: Where are these people sitting? It was weird to see just the stage, the judges, and applause.
* Hearing “if you get two gold stars…” at least two million times.

All in all, though, this premiere had some promise in it. The judges were fairly harsh, and didn’t just put through dance acts based on their story. The real highlight? A contemporary pair early on who loved each other, were brilliant at their craft, but were hesitant to get together in fear of ruining their performances if something goes south.

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Paula Abdul lost it on 'Live To Dance'

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Paula Abdul, once the country’s most endearingly irritating ditz on American Idol, presided over the premiere of Live To Dance on Tuesday night with a disappointing amount of calm sanity. A seemingly endless two hours of dancers ranging in age from 9 to 90, Live To Dance was constructed around her background as a dancer and choreographer.

What it proved to be, however, was an America’s Got Talent limited to fancy footwork; to a Dancing With the Stars without stars; a So You Think You Can Dance with… well, that’s basically what Live To Dance was: SYTYCD without Cat Deeley, but a lesser host with an accent, the toothy Andrew Gunsberg.

Early on, the crowd favorite was Bev and Hap, a couple aged 83 and 68 respectively, who started out dancing primly to “Moon River” but then elicited the hoots of surprise they sought by breaking and popping to James Brown’s “Get Up Offa That Thing.” After a while, however, the age angle — oldsters or very youngsters — became repetitious. Along about the 90-minute mark, I found it difficult to warm my heart sufficiently to feel the gush of affection the judges felt for the wee tykes who formed the act Chi-Town Finest Breakers, and who drew lusty cheers from the studio audience.

Oh, right: the judges. In addition to Abdul, they are choreographer Travis Payne and Pussycat Doll Kimberley Wyatt. (Wyatt is a lot more bearable than The Sing-Off‘s excruciatingly egomaniacal pussycat, Nicole Scherzinger, but not much more articulate.) The ultimate prize is $500,000. The judging gimmick is that the judges award stars: a minimum of two gold stars (as opposed to red ones) are required to pass on to the next level of competition.

As for Abdul, she seems to have intentionally lost her gift for absurdist gush. This night, it was limited to comments such as, “You can’t teach people what oozes out of you,” “You inspire me so much,” and ” You live it, you love it, you are it!”

Simon Cowell’s contribution to competition show-judging was to offer occasionally substantial, real-world criticism to American Idol contestants. (Ben Folds did it even better, and without Cowell’s smirk, on The Sing-Off.) Post-Cowell, judging got snarky whenever it wasn’t campy. But ever since Susan Boyle singe-handedly shamed the cynics on the Britain’s Got Talent panel into weepy gratefulness, shows in this genre have become soggy with sentimentality. (That’s why Sharon Osbourne went from sarcastic sniper to blubbering booster overnight on America’s Got Talent.)

The trio of Live To Dance judges strove to prove that they’re more tough-minded than the America’s Got Talent crew by rejecting some of the contestants whose pre-taped “personal stories,” such as the hearing-impaired dancer C-Bunny and the Paula-obsessed flight attendant Stone Fleshman, might have helped soften the trio’s hearts and brains. But the numbing procession of contestants soon rendered even this quality wearisome.

On Wednesday night, a one-hour edition of Live To Dance will feature finalists who’ll compete in a live “semi-final” tussle to remain on the show and advance.

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Kimberly Wyatt Goes From Pussycat Dolls to 'Live to Dance'

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There's a Pussycat Doll at the judges' table on Paula Abdul's new reality show Live To Dance.

Kimberly Wyatt, who left the Pussycat Dolls in 2010, will share her dance expertise on the CBS competition starting tonight. But why did she quit the hit pop group in the first place?

Kimberly has said in interviews that she had differences with the group offstage and she chose to follow her heart. Apparently, her heart has led her to the Live to Dance judges' table. "I have been dancing since I was 7 years old," she said at the opening of the show. "As a professional dancer I have a lot of advice to give, and I'm not afraid to give it."

What do you think of Kimberly Wyatt's debut on Live to Dance? Let us know in the comments!

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Live To Dance - Premiere Review

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Oh Paula, oh Paula…how your fans missed you. Our wait is over, as Paula returned to our airwaves January 4, on CBS’s Live to Dance, a real dance competition, unlike some others we know. If you’re a fan of competition dance, this show did not disappoint. Those of us who were embroiled in the Dancing With The Stars controversy are pleased to see that Live to Dance clearly defined itself from the opening sequence: it is looking for the best dance act, and by best, they mean the act that breaks barriers and gives us something we’ve never seen before. A tall order, but we know the journey on which we embark.

The premiere night gave us auditions from L.A. and New York, with an hour devoted to each city. The auditions were pre-produced and pre-packaged in front of a studio audience; some were full 30 second auditions, while others were shown in lightning speed montage sequences, along with a quick clip of some injuries and snafus (always fun). Live to Dance moves at an extremely fast pace, keeping the contestant back stories and judge bantering to a bare minimum. If you blinked you would have missed an audition.

Two or more gold stars by the judges moves a contestant to the “short list” of consideration for the semi-finals, while 2 or more red stars mean better luck next time. A judge has a chance to change his or her vote, and the first and only one of the night was a change from Travis Payne, who caved to audience pressure for an aging trio of former Solid Gold Dancers. While the show lacks the nitty gritty of the raw auditions we are so familiar with from American Idol, it does show us that the judges are clearly within their element. Travis Payne, a dancer from the age of 9, was a choreographer for Michael Jackson, while Kim Wyatt, also a choreographer with a long list of credits, is the founder of the Pussycat Dolls. Paula of course, is an esteemed dancer and choreographer in her own right. The judges clearly work as a team. Their comments were warm, uplifting and professional, while criticisms were positive, encouraging and helpful. No nasty tirades to talentless hopefuls, and no backbiting or controversy at the judges table. Even the host was a sweetheart, humorously admitting to knowing the Solid Gold dance routines as a child.

Live To Dance Premiere ReviewContestants ranged in age from 9 to 90 (yes!). There was the cute kid groups, the elderly couples, the darling ingénues, and while many forms of dance were represented, tonight’s contestants relied mostly on hip hop, ballet, beat box and break dancing. Naturally, there was the funny character who performed to the requisite Paula Abdul song “Forever Your Girl”, which succeeded in bringing Paula to tears. He wasn’t voted through, but he did get to share a sentimental moment with Paula on stage. As she hugged him, she revealed that the song was and will always be about her Dad, who was sitting in the audience. Perhaps the most heartbreaking audition was the quartet of little girls, somewhere between toddler and pre-teen age, who danced their hearts out to Justin Bieber’s Baby Baby Baby. They were so cute, but alas, the judges felt they needed to work on their cohesion as a group. The standout act of the night was the pre-pubescent boy/girl Latin dance couple who treated us to an amazing rumba complete with splits and lifts. Not only did they earn 3 gold stars to see them through to tomorrow, they earned a rousing standing ovation from the audience and judges as well.

While I agreed with most of the judges picks for the semi-finals, there was one I did not understand. One young man was a contortionist as opposed to a dancer, and they sent him through. “Innovative and different” was the comment from Travis and while it is in keeping with the "breaking the barriers" theme, to me it just wasn’t dancing.

Perhaps the most refreshing element about Live to Dance is that it is an extension of Paula Abdul’s vision of dance competition. It reflects love, encouragement, and gentle criticism but without the snarkiness that so embodied her previous show which clearly upset her more often than not. I have the feeling that this show’s overall aura was at her insistence. Live to Dance radiates heart, light and soul. Pure Paula. Tomorrow night’s show is all about the suspense as the judges review their short list to see who makes it to the semi-finals: January 5, 8pm on CBS.


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