By Nestor Torre
Inquirer
Last updated 03:24am (Mla time) 07/09/2006
Published on page A2-2 of the July 9, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

NOW THAT ABS-CBN HAS launched its own celebrity dance tilt, "U Can Dance’’ on Sunday, we can compare it to ABC-5’s long-running "Shall We Dance?’’

Right off the bat, we can see that the Channel 2 show is virtually more dynamic, has a more youthful look, and relaxes the traditional ballroom dancing regimen with some hip-hop and other contemporary touches.

On the other hand, the Channel 5 program features bigger celebrities, hews to a higher dance standard, and is generally more impressive in its results.

On point of hosting, "Shall We Dance’s’’ Lucy Torres-Gomez may not be a great dancer, but she comes across better than "U Can Dance’s’’ Iya Villaniya. As for the two shows’ male hosts, both Dominic Ochoa and Derek Ramsey are less than dynamic.

Focusing on the shows’ two sets of judges, "Shall We Dance’s’’ jurors generally come across as more authoritative than their counterparts on "U Can Dance.’’

All told, therefore, "Shall We Dance’’ is presently more viewable than Channel 2’s new dance program. For "U Can Dance’’ to catch up and win its own terpsichorean brownie points, it should aim for a higher and more rigorous standard in terms of contestants’ performances and jurors’ decisions, and better hosting.

On the other hand, "Shall We Dance’’ should by no means rest on its laurels, and needs to work hard to enliven its proceedings, which can look stodgy at times.

Even its jurors’ decisions occasionally come off as whimsical or "friend-friendly.’’

And some mediocre performances have gotten high marks, making viewers wonder what astronomical grade they would give to truly superlative dance routines.

Finally, we should appreciatively point that the current revival of dance programs on local TV deserves encouragement, because dancing is a major talent of Filipinos.

At the moment, both homegrown dance programs on the tube are celebrity-oriented. That’s fine for now, but we hope that, in time, other dance tilts will be launched that will discover new talents in the field of terpsichore.

As the US show "Dance Fever’’ proves, non-stars can be even more exciting dancers than celebrities, so they should be given a chance to strut their stuff on TV.

And, as dance shows become more popular again on TV, greater effort should be expended in finding and developing program hosts who are really terrific dancers, like Dayanara Torres was when she hosted a dance program on ABS-CBN.

Perhaps Regine Tolentino or Edna Ledesma can be given shows of their own? Or Fil-Am dancers who’ve done well in competitions on US television can be flown in to do the hosting honors.