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Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Dance 100 boasts a great concept in truth but its execution is pretty flawed. This is a series that perfectly demonstrates the importance of camera work, which seems weird to mention that in the same vain as a reality show. When one like this comes along, centering specifically on dance routines, timing and keeping dancers in-sync, not doing said routines justice just feels like a complete missed opportunity.
Before we dive into that though, lets run down exactly what Netflix’s latest reality show is. The show itself brings together 8 choreographers who are tasked with choreographing increasingly complex routines for a group of dancers, up to 100 in total. These guys and gals are not just dancers though, they also serve as the judges and ultimately decide who goes through and who gets eliminated.
The choreographers are fighting to win $100k and at the end of the competition, one final choreographer will take home the cash and boast the prize of being the next superstar choreographer. So how does it all work?
Well, the first episode begins with simple routines put into place by 8 different choreographers, showing off the style and flair each bring to the table, which includes a brief background and small snippets of any dress rehearsal woes.
At the end of each round, the dancers decide who stays and who goes by rallying behind who they believe is the best dancer on the night. The catch though is that they can stand behind whoever they want, it doesn’t have to be their own choreographer.
The problem with this method, not to mention the fact that these guys are judging their own comrades, is that it opens the competition up for fixing and eliminating anyone who has a differing opinion from the group. We actually see a few dancers fall out with their choreographers in the episodes over all sorts of things. Personality clashes, having to dance “too hard” or even just general grievances to the style of routine or props being used.
Inevitably, the mob mentality comes into play and some choreographers are actually shunned and left out to dry, even when their performances are quite good.
I know it’s all part of the game but this is the sort of show crying out for an expert choreography team to really judge the competitors and routines away from the “Dance 100” who hold the keys to who wins or loses. They also serve as the judges too, overlooking each dance and throwing out platitudes like “you’re a beast, we need more of you” which doesn’t really do much. The critical comments work better though, with some decent feedback like “you should open up the stage and move around more” or “the lines between dancers were a bit messy” are valuable, because you certainly won’t get to see that from the performances for yourself.
Some of this is remedied by the different gimmicks the show throws out, including themed dances and a challenging “narrative dance” late on, which are actually lovely inclusions.
I mentioned before about the cameras and once you spot this, it’s hard to ignore. During routines, the camera relentlessly zooms in, sweeps across the stage, quick cuts sporadically between different dancers and even pipes in crowd reactions, including applause and shocked gasps across the 3-4 minute routines. Maybe it’s just the geek in me but it would have been nice to actually see the whole routine with a static camera or two to really marvel at the dance routines in their glory.
The early episodes just about get away with the cameras moving about given the scarce number of dancers, but once you start to fill up the stage, with dancers running about, using stairwells, props and a litany of different, complicated moves, you inevitably miss parts of the performance. Even worse, it also papers over any potential defects in the dancing to see where some choreographers could have done better.
This may be an unpopular opinion but I’d almost go so far as to say this show needs a split screen approach, showing a front-view at all times and then a separate angle to do the zooms, showing above and focusing on specific moves.
In terms of the competition format and the general idea though, Dance 100 definitely has its heart in the right place and it’s easy to root for a lot of the choreographers to do well. Personal favourites from this reviewer include Keenan and Celine, who have some pretty solid routines. Your favorites will inevitably differ to mine though!
If you’re the sort who loves your reality TV and can’t get enough of America’s Got Talent or X-Factor, Dance 100 has you covered. It’s certainly far from perfect and as mentioned above, the inability to properly see the whole routine is a bit disappointing. Still, if you’re looking for something to chuck on this weekend that you can just switch off to, you may just take to Dance 100.
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Verdict - 6.5/10
6.5/10
The show has potential, but they need a judging panel asap. The feedback has left me not even liking some of the dancers, very biased. They need to give them all the same song to choreograph, the same prop etc. and definitely better camerawork. And plus not all choreographers are great dancers themselves or insert themselves in their dance. I was confused with the dance battle, are the judging their dancing or choreographing? Pffff
The show has potential, but they need a judging panel asap. The feedback has left me not even liking some of the dancers, very biased. They need to give them all the same song to choreograph, the same prop etc. and definitely better camerawork.
Some quick thoughts:
I agree- we need better camerawork, which for both dance and fight choreo typically means a full, usually static, shot.
As judges, it’s fine that the dancers have a vote, but as with all shows of this type, it still ends up being a popularity contest choosing favorites vs how they’re tackling the challenges given.
It’s about choreography with challenges, but why aren’t there higher level choreographers judging or giving feedback?
Something like the decades challenge was using dances beyond the decade specified and sometimes I thought that some choreography was trying to fit generic moves to the count of the music instead of moves that best capture the feeling of the music.
I got tired of all the running- dancers running from position to position and the camera running from section to section, reaction to reaction…
Lisa D you read my mind!!
Exactly, I dislike that the choreographers dancers vote.. and when they vote for a different choreographer, that then makes things awkward as those dancers still have to continue working with that same choreographer they voted againts. This will lead to unfair votes, as some dancers will not vote for another as they dont want to upset their own choreographer.. and it also will lead to an uncomfortable week of choreo with their chereographer after they vote for someone else.
Its just completely senseless!
I’d also love to see more of the actual weeks choreo training, as this is infact a show about the choreographers! I would love to see the process of how they come up with the routines, how the process looks from beginning a routine to the struggles, the little perfections being made.. to the styling, and then into the stage design and concepts and even to how the choreographers narrate the camera angles.
As this is all the responsibilities of the choreographer, we should get to see alot more of these processess.
But also yes, what Lisa said about using the same props so we can properly judge how each group used it.. and perhaps even the same style music so we can see their own personal takes on it.
The dancers are all amazing! And the choreographers are aswell!
The show just sadly let them down with poor formatting.
As a dancer I saw a lot of familiar faces at Dancer 100, so I have to disagree in terms of “having an expert choreography team”, because most of them (if not all of them) did choreographs for shows or competitions in their lives, had danced with many choreographers, so they know how to judge – they have the experience. There are not three or four people that vote as in a competition jury (not just three or four opinions) – there are 100 professional Dancers from all over the world. So therefore judgement should actually be seen as more accurate.
Also it is actually very important in the evaluation, that dancers are able to switch groups and have a different opinion about their choreographer in the competition, because it also the process of making the choreography that matters. If the choreographer can’t really embrace the strength of the group or a single dancer, then the output will be according to it. And as a dancer you can feel if something CLEARLY could have been better.
I totally agree about the camera movements. I actually also thought about a split screen or at least available versions of the dance shows, where you could see just the whole stage.
The point with the music that is given to the dancers… I’m not sure if I like it or not. On the one hand it ist about choreographing as a job, so later they going to get music, that they have to do a choreography to, wether they like it or not. On the other hand, I am curious what sauce each of the dancers would ad to their choreo, if they where to choose their own music.
(I’m not from the US / UK etc. so I hope everything is fine with the language xD)
I agree- I love dance shows but for some reason the goosebumps I normally get are not there and I feel like it’s because of the poor camera work. =\
If your gonna choose the music in a “random” fashion rather than letting the choreographers choose their music, then let them pull song choices out of a hat. Doing it this way could easily be rigged and it seemed as though the show “favorites” always got the best songs, while others had to choreograph to trash music. Being someone who grew up in the 80’s, I thought Max’s song from the 80’s was trash. There are hundreds of songs that would have better fit that era.
I’m on episode 4. I really do not like the dancers as judges. Some of the dancers were beyond rude and did not give constructive feedback on how to improve the work. Also, I hated that they had no choice in the music, I’m sorry but if you’re given a boring piece of music to choreograph while the others got hot dance music how is that fair. They need real judges.
I’ve only watched two episodes and I am… disappointed. The choreographers and dancers are talented and have a lot to show but the show has let them down because of its format. It can take some guidance from the other awesome reality competition shows like Blown Away, Glow Up, and Next In Fashion. This show needs better structure.
The presenter Ally Love is great but she needs to be backed up with a show judge or two and then guest judges for each episode. The show could be enhanced by informative comments from judges about technicality, musicality, difficulty, space use, transitions…
I’d like to see the choreographers assigned specific moves to incorporate each episode – it would make it interesting to see how the same moves are used by each choreographer.
The music they are given is… for the most part less foot tapping and more same-same. Themes of music for each episode would go down well and challenge their styles, taking them out of comfort zones and limiting repetition. I can only hope the music in the next episode improves – but I fear that it will not.
If they must use props, they should all be given the same prop to incorporate so that the audience can appreciate the choreographer’s creativity but measuring them against each other.
And I definitely do not like that the choreographer’s own dance team votes. The dancers should be voting for the best routine and moves of the night, but instead it comes across as not supporting their choreographer. It doesn’t feel nice – and dance and the energy and creativity should be nice.
Judging should be done by judges, not dancers.
I’m quite interested in timelines too. How long do they get to choreograph a routine and how long do they spend with the dancers (a week?).
The idea of this show is good – the show format needs work.
Agree 100%. Almost all dance/talent shows focus too much on audience reaction and close ups to the point you miss key elements. What’s the point of this ?
This is my gut reaction also..having just started. We need to see the whole routine.
honestly they should have chosen their own music too
its absurb some get dull music compared to others
Camera moves too much
I agree completely. Every performance has missed parts and doesn’t give that goosebump feel when you see great choreography. The camera moves around so much as if it’s dancing on its own, completely destroying the effect the dance is supposed to have.