The Exponent - Purdue's Student Newspaper

I do thoroughly enjoy watching the celebrities attempt to master dances like the Viennese Waltz and the Paso Doble. Some of the competitors disappoint me, while others amaze me. For example, I would’ve picked Hollywood socialite Kim Kardashian as a far better dancer than 300-pound NFL defensive lineman Warren Sapp. But Miss Kardashian demonstrated this truth: Just because your momma gave it to you doesn’t mean you know how to shake it. And Warren Sapp: Wow, that guy was surprisingly graceful for someone who made his living pounding quarterbacks into the ground. Who knew?

Perhaps more awe-inspiring to me are the professionals. How do they move like that? So fast, yet so precise; so smooth, yet with such distinct character. And I know they’re professionals, but their ability to choreograph, teach and perform in so many styles is simply mind-boggling.

Although I’ll probably continue to watch future installments of “DWTS,” I must say, I really think it’s time to do away with fan voting. Or, at least, modify it for the finals.

Of the nine seasons of “DWTS,” easily five of them have been marred by fans voting for purposes of pure popularity or underdog status as opposed to the performances given by the celebrities. Many of the best celebrity competitors don’t even make it to the finals as a result.

It was painful watching Jerry Springer during season three. He was horrible. In fact, he was so bad he began encouraging the viewers not to vote for him. Still, he remained at least three weeks too long, while much better dancers Willa Ford and Vivica Fox were eliminated. Two seasons later Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan was canceled as Marie Osmond and Jane Seymour remained. In my estimation, only three seasons ended without significant fan voting controversy.

This season was no different. The field had several quality dancers, but the cream of the crop was clearly songstress Mya and entertainer Donny Osmond. I think Mya was the better dancer, but I’m not bothered Osmond won. I was a little miffed Kelly Osbourne made it as far as she did. There is no question she improved tremendously, but her initial dances were so poor she probably didn’t deserve that chance – certainly not over others in the field.

So the question is, what are the criteria used to choose a winner? Should the winner be the best dancer or should the winner be the individual who improved the most over the course of the season?

Apparently the answer is neither.

Although I’m not a professional dance critic, I think less than half of the seasons have had the best dancers as their winners. Similarly, I’d venture to say the individual that improved the most during the course of the season has gotten close, but has never won.

What seems to win the show is either having a large fan base, like NFL running back Emmitt Smith, or engendering a sense of being the underdog, like gymnast Shawn Johnson; neither of whom should’ve won in their respective seasons.

The reason this bothers me is probably due to my personality. According to my Myers-Briggs personality assessment, I’m a Thinker, not a Feeler. So even though I really wanted Joey Lawrence to win season three (mostly because I loved watching his gorgeous partner Edyta Sliwinska), I knew he didn’t deserve to win more than the other contestants, so I didn’t vote for him.

Many of my fellow “DWTS” viewers don’t share my personality type, unfortunately. As a result, pathetic dancers like Master P stick around too long, and the best dancers, like Stacy Keibler, Mario Lopez and Gilles Marini don’t win.

What ever happened to keeping it real?

Darryl A. Boyd is a graduate student in the College of Science and may be reached at opinions@purdueexponent.org.