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My fellow b5media blogger, Gray at Fame or Famine asks that question in his post today. He has a couple of rumors to report about possible DWTS season 7 stars, but more interestingly, he asks a thought provoking question.
In the past several seasons of Dancing With the Stars, we’ve seen Marie Osmond faint, live on camera. We’ve had several of the stars lose a parent during the season and last season Christián de la Fuente injured his arm badly enough that he required surgery after the season ended.
We also have seen amputee Heather Mills dance & do stunts and we’ve watched profoundly deaf star Marlee Matlin dance without the ability to hear the music. And I applaud them all.
And I have to admit to secretly rooting for the ASIID dance crew on America’s Best Dance Crew because, not only were they amazing dancers, but one of the members of the crew is profoundly deaf.
But as Gray asks, if the casting folks for the dance shows are now searching for more injured or disabled dancers to add to the cast, has it become more about the drama than the dancing? Personally, I like to see people triumph over adversity. It’s inspiring and I think it’s good for people to see that just because someone is “differently-abled” it doesn’t mean that they are not capable of great accomplishments.
But to seek them out on purpose, to add the drama to a season’s cast….I’m not so sure that’s the right thing to do either. It comes dangerously close to exploitation.
And what about the dance itself? I hope that viewers won’t tune in to watch the shows mostly because of the drama. I would hope that they would watch because they enjoy the dance. But then, if they watch for the drama and while there, learn to love the dance, perhaps that’s a great means to an end as well.
What are your thoughts on this? Leave a comment and let’s discuss.