So, the 2008 Prime Time Emmy Awards are coming in September.
If you don’t know what the Emmy Awards are, it’s an annual awards show that “celebrates excellence in national prime time programming.” Quality television shows receive a nomination, that is voted on by the Academy. Kinda like the Oscars.
FYI: Canada’s similar broadcast is the Gemini Awards (for which yours truly was nominated for a 2007 Gemini award on the show Toronto Dances- frickin’ sweeeet!)
Anyway, did you know that Dancing With The Stars received 8 Emmy nominations? I think it’s pretty sweet the show received so many nominations, considering dance shows have only recently taken a mainstream interest on national television. Plus, it’s a reality show- so that tells us people are actually WATCHING!
Here’s my Emmy nomination formulae:
I think we need MORE dance shows on television.
Wait, let me rephrase that: I think we need more QUALITY dance shows on television. Sure, reality shows are fun, but wouldn’t it be great if producers started supporting non-reality shows? Here’s two ideas:
- What if I wrote a show where Cirque Du Soleil had an interactive, educational dance series for kids? The Cirque characters live in a colourful kindgom. They do a new dance step throughout the half hour program every week, and the kids viewing have to learn that step to free a new character from the evil AcroBAT every Saturday morning… like a monkey? Or a magical princess? Girls like princesses! 😉
- Or what about a sitcom where the main characters were untrained Broadway chorus dancers? The characters (who are French tourists) fake their way through a broadway audition- and they get hired! The choreographer loves their “energy” and is convinced he worked with them years ago in Europe. The wacky experiences they encounter sometimes lead them to getting a starring role, but because of some funny circumstance they end up back to chorus?
Those are just my crazy thoughts. But I’m sure if the producers of So You Think You Could Dance (which only received 3 Emmy Nominations for choreography), Project Runway and Dancing With The Stars teamed up with the writers of say, Grey’s Anatomy, 24, Mad Men and Boston Legal (gotta love Shatner)…
…We’d have one kick @ss dance based television show with substance.
Hmmm. Maybe writing an Emmy nod worthy tv show will be MY next project! Anyone have other ideas for a dance television show?
– Shawn B
PS: Don’t steal my ideas… or I’ll hurt you. 😉 No, seriously.
Shawn Byfield - Certified Public Speaker, Dance Coach & Choreographer 
ALL these ideas are great gang! They each hold some unique strengths, now you’ve got my brain going some more. Keep the ideas flowing…
– SB
Hi Shawn,
Both ideas sound great. Bravo ran a documentary called Ballet Girls about aspiring ballerinas competing for the role of Clara in The Nutcracker for the Royal Winnepeg Ballet production. They were also competing to get into the dance program. It was very interesting to watch these young girls be faced with tough decisions and just to see how hard they had to work to try to become professional ballerinas. It was also interesting to see all of the sacrifices they had to make. I really enjoyed watching it but I am not sure what their ratings were like.
The other sitcom idea sounds really funny as well. What’s great about the second idea is that it has not been done before. So many shows nowadays are just copying each other. Let me know if you will be auditioning for this one (he he). I think that you should try to push for both (if possible)and just see what happens.
Vanessa
Gosh, you know, there just aren’t enough TV shows based on BOOKS right now.
So why not kill 2 birds with one stone and just make my book, Break On Through, (http://www.amazon.ca/Break-Through-Jill-Murray/dp/0385664907/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216338466&sr=8-1) into a weekly, hour-long dramady about a young Parkdale b-girl trying to make street dance happen in the suburbs of Toronto?
Sorry to hijack your thread for a shameless plug, Shawn. I couldn’t resist…
…OK, not *that* sorry. 😉
If you want a more serious scenario, may suggest the following:
High School, new student arrives (coming from a foreign countty), at the regular Student dance night he teaches them a dance from her.his country
which everyone has to learn .everyone likes the dance and new student
is accepted
Well shawn I think the first idea is an awsome video game as well! If the kid had a dance pad, dance, dance revolution meets a story line! Now that would be amazing!
And the second idea has potential, but what about the characters been street dancers instead of french? And they are asked to sing and where suites and who know’s what else on a broadway show.
And here’s another cool idea, what about a football player, who secretly takes dance classes and stars in show’s a lives a bizzar double life of sports and dance.
I have way to much time my hands these days! lol, good luck with your idea’s!
xomyola