Callback scene for ‘Think You Can Dance’ something to see

You don't necessarily associate words such as "compassion" and "encouragement" with the aggressively in-your-face title "So You Think You Can Dance."

(Rumored rejected names: "You Call That Dancing?" "Hey You Kids, Get Off My Stage" and "&@#$ You!")

But the mood at the Planet Hollywood Resort was anything but cutthroat Aug. 8, the first of five grueling days that made up this year's Vegas callbacks (airing at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Oct. 14 and 21, KVVU-TV, Channel 5).

Several of the dancers were greeted with shouts of support when they hit the stage. Many were met with hugs and high-fives when they left it. And a select few saw their competitors explode out of their seats in excitement.

It was an extraordinary scene considering that the better each contestant did, the tougher it was for each of them to advance. But it also helped casual observers know when they'd seen something special.

My biggest problem with "Dance" is that I have no idea what I'm watching.

I've heard enough singing over the years to tell when someone just ate it on "American Idol," but I haven't seen enough dancing to know whether I was witnessing someone revolutionizing the art form or copying the African Anteater Ritual from "Can't Buy Me Love."

Honestly, pretty much the only way I can tell a tango from a two-step is the music. And sometimes not even then.

So while I appreciated most everything during the better part of the day I spent in the hotel's Theatre for the Performing Arts, I was only really impressed by the true jaw-droppers.

The street dancers defying gravity and bending the laws of physics at will as they risked serious spinal injuries.

The sinewy guy wearing only what appeared to be boxer briefs, performing to a Kevin Spacey monologue from "American Beauty," who elicited gasps when his entire body slapped the floor at once.

The dude dressed like a day laborer who looked for all the world like he would soon be spinning on his head, but instead turned in a graceful, moving something-or-other -- told you I know nothing about dance -- to a cover of the Verve Pipe's "The Freshmen."

And 18-year-old Teddy Tedholm, whose combination of dance, mime and clowning to Jason Mraz's "If It Kills Me" was something I'd pay to see again.

Then there was the young blonde who had such a perfect blend of charisma, grace and beauty that I wanted to build a show around her for the Strip.

Then she didn't even survive the first round of cuts, which goes a long way toward explaining why I don't build shows for the Strip.

The fact that all this was going on just down the hall from where they teach Stripper 101 only made it seem more remarkable. Not to mention surreal.

But you don't really watch the Vegas round so much as you become immersed in it. Nearly every available space in the theater was being used for something dance related.

Contestants spun and stretched in the corners. Host Cat Deeley, who's beyond adorable in person, interviewed dancers toward the back. Rejected contestants reflected on what went wrong for cameras in the lobby.

Backpacks littered another part of the lobby like it was part of a hostel catering to the fittest, most attractive youths ever. I even stumbled into a guy who was pirouetting in the men's room.

"There's so much energy just around here, and that's what these dancers need," said "Dance" judge Mary Murphy, who talks so fast, I sprained three fingers transcribing this quote. "You get here, and even if you're dead exhausted, all of a sudden, you get your second and your third wind, too."

If "Dance" co-creator, executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe has his way, fans will be able to experience the show year-round on the Strip.

"I would love to do 'Idol' and 'Dance' together" in one spinoff show, he said. "We put them together on an 'Idol Gives Back,' and we had a fantastic effect. We are in discussions, and we have been for a while now, to be honest with you."

If it ever does come to pass -- and it seems like such an obvious cash cow, I can't believe it wasn't here two years ago -- I hope the show re-creates the callback experience, from the lobby to the restrooms.

It's truly something to behold.

But, then, who am I to be giving advice? I'd probably still try to hire the blonde.

Christopher Lawrence's Life on the Couch column appears on Sundays. E-mail him at clawrence@reviewjournal.com.