So You Think You Can Spank

If you do not watch the entire video above, a dance sequence from the June 24th US Season 5 episode of So You Think You Can Dance, watch the six seconds between 00:1:04 - 00:1:10. Make sure you have your volume on. Note the girls squealing and screaming like it's 1964 and they're in the audience the night Ed Sullivan presented The Beatles. But what are they screaming for? That's right - a young man, dancing the part of an older man, about to smack a scantily clad young woman's ass.

The dance, choreographed by the terrifying but extremely talented Mia Michaels and performed by dancers Randi and Evan, doesn't just feature six seconds of round female backside. The entire piece is in honor of it. Its movement, its watchability, its place at the center of this dance's universe. The sequence is flirty and sexy and surprising, well-received by judges and audience alike.

The screams of the audience falter just a little at the movement of Evan's hand, but pick right back up again. I gasped when I saw it; I don't blame the audience, seeing it in person, for losing their breath for half a second. The program is family-oriented. I know people who watch this show with small children. The point being, viewers may have been a bit surprised that a little bit of spanking showed up in the middle of their dance show, but it was met with cheers.

Now, the smack wasn't a true smack. It landed softly, part of the dance. My excitement isn't so much over the physical event than it is the presence of the idea. I've seen spanking show up recently in the television shows Weeds and Californication, both on Showtime. Neither show is family fare, that's for certain, and neither presentation was a positive representation of this thing we do. This dance is the first time I've seen presented even a hint of the idea of spanking being a sexy and playful and acceptable adult past-time. Maybe I'm reading too much into a single raised hand, but I can't help but see this as a positive step towards broadening the minds of the general populace.

On the results show the following night, each dancing couple (partnered as contestants on the program, not partners as dancers or otherwise in real life) was introduced and given feedback on their performance and the voting results as to whether they would remain on the series. Even before Randi and Evan's names were announced, the audience once again cheered wildly for them, moreso than for any other couple. Neither is the best dancer on the show, but the ass-centric dance with the spanking tease was the clear winner this week, hands raised.