Mormons in So You Think You Can Dance
I was going to put this over at Kulturblog but I wanted to bring up the Mormon angle. Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance has been on for a couple of weeks now. The first eliminations were last night. As with last year quite a few Mormons including several from Utah were competing. Most were eliminated in Las Vegas. One that remains is the sister of last year’s winner, Benji Schwimmer. Lacey Schwimmer, if anything, appears a far better dancer than her brother. Her brother struggled with contemporary dance whereas Lacey wowed folks in her first performance of a style outside of her specialty.
An other possible Mormon is Sabra Johnson. I’m not sure if she is. But she did move to Utah when 12 from Norway and lived there until six months ago when she went to New York to pursue dance. Anyone know for sure one way or the other?
So far as I know that’s everyone. Not quite the dominance we had last year where four of the top 20 were Mormon. (Which is why, I think, PBS had that odd segment about Mormons and Dance in their documentary last month)
Concerning the show I’d say that overall the competition is much stronger this year than last. Yes, it’s a little earlier to say since folks may just not have encountered styles they struggle with yet. But last year there was a big gap between the top 10 and bottom 10 whereas this year, outside of a few dancers, everyone seems very strong.
BTW - anyone wondering about Benji? Either he’s trying way too hard to be funny and hip or else fame has gone to his head. He’s been on many of the episodes and he’s trying to be quirky but comes off as kind of egotistical. He was funny and endearing last year because he was struggling. When he tries the same schtick but bragging about grabbing Christina Aguilara’s bottom or about how he won it really comes off crass.
Both my wife and I were talking about this.
Anyway, I’ll confess I’m cheering for his sister and the former Utahn. However there really are some amazing dancers this year. It should be fun to watch.
Clark, great to see you back here blogging!
Sorry, just not a lot of time. The Fancy Food Show is coming up. You’ll note there haven’t been a lot of posts up at my blog either. I’d actually tried doing a few posts here but half the time the server screws up and they “disappear.”
There are a lot of great dancers this year. I think it’s kind of sad that they don’t concentrate too much on the best dancers during the audition weeks. Because the two that got eliminated this week were two of the best, yet people hardly got to see them dance at all. But if all they showed were the shoe-ins during the audition weeks there’d be no drama, and that’s not good tv.
Susan M, because it’s a reality TV show voted on by the audience, the producers don’t know in advance who will still be there at then end. They can guess, and give more air time to someone they think will be there, but that person could get kicked off the next week. The guy that got kicked off first was the same guy that Mia said was her favorite male dancer in the competition, so it really is anyone’s guess.
Clark G, the only reason I even paid attention to the show last year was because of Benji. I think his story endeared him to a lot of the teen girls who vote. Being cute didn’t hurt either. Lacey may be a better dancer, but she doesn’t have the same charm that Benji did. I think her attitude will keep a lot of people from voting for her. As such, I will be very surprised if she wins the competition.
I mean during the audition weeks. They really don’t show most of the best dancers. They show the ones who don’t make it—because that’s where the drama is.
Meanwhile the dancers who did make it that they showed on the audition weeks have a head start on all the others because people are familiar with them.
Clark, I thought he was crass from the very beginning.
Really? I thought he was just dorky but humble. He’s lost that element of humility as I see it. He’s trying to be funny and flirt but can’t quite pull it off.
BTW - two of the more funny folks in the auditions were a pair of (obvious) Mormons from Utah. The guy had had the hiccups for something like 8 years and his partner unconsciously would wink at people. It was pretty hilarious.
I LOVE SYTYCD.
Last year, I was channel surfing and my sister and I stumbled across the show (top 18 week). Benji tripped my mo-dar (mormon radar) immediately, and my little sis and I become instant and devoted fans.
I think Sabra is from Roy, UT, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s LDS. I was ambivalent about her until her solo last night, but now I love her. I like Dominic as well, so I hope they can stay out of the bottom. I’m really excited for this year and all of the dancers seem amazing. Lacey and Kameron are my early favs, but I love Hok, and I think Anya and Danny are pretty amazing too.
I don’t think Lacey self-identifies as LDS, and in that context would be as Mormon as Brandon Flowers, Katherine Heigl, or Christina Aguilera.
I have recently read on blogs and discussion boards that she doesn’t consider herself Mormon.
She is an absolutely fantastic dancer.
Do you have a link to her not self-identifying?
I don’t know if she’s active or not, but I thought it was hilarious when
(a) she blurted out, “Shut the front door!” upon hearing she was in the top 20, and
(b) she pretended to smoke a cigarette after warming up with Kameron.
She certainly comes off as characteristically Mormon whether she’s active or believing.
I don’t think it’s a good thing to assume that someone is LDS just because their parents or siblings may be. It’s also getting to be the case that (e.g. in as is probably Sabra’s case) there are many Utahns who are not Mormons.
On the other hand, the “unlikely Mormons” –such as Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, and Katherine Heigl, who recently was interviewed about her Mormon upbringing–are proof that one can “appear non-LDS” and be very deeply culturally Mormon.
It’s not as cut and dried as it used to be. In other words, this ain’t yo mama’s Donny and Marie.
Brandon Flowers still believes though, despite his obvious (and stated) struggles with the Word of Wisdom. Heigl, so far as I know, doesn’t believe and is quasi-antagonistic.
I feel a bit uncomfortable speculating as to Lacey’s membership. But I’d suspect she still has fair ties to the Church. Maybe I’m wrong in that. I did a bunch of Google searching and everyone (even non-members) appear to believe she’s Mormon. I couldn’t find any non-self-identification claims. So I am a bit curious.
The guitarist for Maroon 5 is LDS. His parents teach at BYU.
Is somebody who comes from a Mormon family and/or culture but is currently inactive a Mormon or not?
That’s a good question, Geoff B.
I don’t know. I would only say that unless someone comes out and outright states it (such as Benji’s being very forthright with his LDS status as a recently returned missionary last season of SYTYCD), it’s sometimes awkward to simply assume religious bent or devotion.
One case in point: Neil LaBute recently left the LDS Church, but in many quarters, especially on the net, he’s touted as being an LDS playwright/director.
There are actors and other entertainers who become Mormon after being known for playing decidedly non-Mormon-like characters.
I, like Sharon in comment 10, remember reading somewhere that Lacey either didn’t consider herself LDS or wasn’t active. I think it was on the SYTYCD website, but can’t find the comment now, even with the search feature. I also remember reading her myspace page and at least wondering, but mentally slapping myself for immediately doing the Mormon-dar thing and asking excitedly, “Is she Mormon? Is she Mormon? She is, isn’t she?”
is it just me or does lacey have a nose ring??? im morman and have done everything to find out if laceys mormon or not!
I think Lacey better start acting and dressing a little more modest if she wants to carry the same Mormon vote that I believe put Benji over the top. While he was in my opinion as good or better than Travis last year, it was the LDS community of avid voters that made the difference at the end of the day. She is an awesome dancer, but her hoochie mama persona may cost her.
She’s active:
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/people/070712dance.html
And I can appreciate that she can be Mormon and still express her sexuality. I’m confident that she knows where to draw the line…
So Lacey is LDS. Is Sabra? I know she learned to dance in Utah and I personally would pick her over Lacey.
when she said “shut the front door” i laughed my ass off for the next 15 minutes with my friend
made my day