Dance reality shows have raised the bar of competition by launching innovative concepts and acts to get competitive dancers who can pull it off on stage. Sangeeta Yadav speaks to experts about how shows are not just high on dance but also on relationships, emotions and entertainment
The small screen is brimming with some mind-blowing performances by super-talented dancers. As competition touches a higher notch every year with a fresh season or a new dance reality show, it is becoming difficult to hunt for the top 10 or 15 out of the lakhs of contestants.
Though dance reality shows are coming up with innovative concepts every year, the challenge lies in finding talented dancers who can command the stage. “Reality shows are getting tougher and to implement new concepts, you also need to have performers who are able to deliver well. The competition becomes harder as it goes into the elimination stage. The performers know what they have done in the past and how to better themselves and surprise everyone. There is a constant effort to uplift and innovate reality content which is manufactured for TV. What differentiates a reality show from another is innovation. For instance, recently we had contestants performing lavani dance on the ice floor and many such innovations,” lara Dutta, who recently made her TV debut as a judge of High Fever Dance Ka Naya Tevar, tells you.
Jay Bhanushali, host of Dance India Dance (DID) li’l Masters Season 4, says that as a host of the show, from its inception, the challenge was to bring something new every season.
“More than cracking jokes on judges, I like to crack jokes on contestants because our judges are already established and well-known but the contestants are new and the spotlight is on them. Reality shows are made for them and they are the focus. You have to create an identity for them so that people remember contestants not only by their performance but also by their background story and persona. Being a host of DID, The Voice India Kids and Super Dancers, I feel that we are doing the same kind of job but only the show is different. Though others might think that hosting a show for a longer time would bring them to saturation point, for me reality shows have much more capability for actors to perform and entertain people as a host. There are only two things that are working on TV — singing reality shows and dance reality shows. That is why I enjoy doing them the most,” Bhanushali tells you.
With every channel running its own reality show, makers are cashing in on the talent hunt reality shows as it is cheaper than a celebrity-based reality show. “For channels, it is easier to recover and garner high TRP. That is why dance reality shows work on every channel and will never go off the trend,” Bhanushali says.
Apart from being high on dance fever, reality shows are also thriving on relationship with the contestants, inspiring them through their struggle and victories. “Reality shows are high on relationship and emotional quotient as well. People like to know the common man’s journey to stardom. It evokes great curiosity among the audience and aspiring artistes about what it takes to reach the stage that opens multiple doors to success. Reality shows down the decade have been giving insights into their life. Despite how those relationships are stereo typically viewed, the actual change you see in the middle-class households is what matters. The audience knows what a made-up story is and what’s true and if emotions are real,” Dutta says.
looking at the rise in children-based reality shows, Dutta says that it is good to nurture talent of the child but they should not be exploited in order to get to the stage. “Today talent has to be inculcated in children and if they genuinely have the ability to perform well, they should be supported and encouraged but not exploited.
Kids are very hardworking and they are well looked after in the shows. But when you are working with them, you have to be careful of their emotion and know how you speak to them especially when they get the elimination. Children have a long way to go and should not feel that it is the end of their career,” Dutta says.