Why don't they use traditional ballroom dance music in DWTS?

Question

I took a few lessons for almost one year and I've never heard of those stupid music played during our practice and at our mini-shows.

Answer 1

In short: Because the show isn't about "traditional" ballroom dancing.

The long answer: TV is all about ratings. To be perfectly honest, traditional ballroom is to American Television what Futbol is. BORING. ABC is trying to keep their viewers and expand the ratings of the show and so they use music that people are *familiar with* even if the arrangements suck and you want to say WTF when you see a Paso choreographed to OBVIOUSLY non-Paso music. It's painful to watch and listen to. Almost as painful as watching Billy Ray Cyrus (attempt to) dance.

On the flip side of things, studios are NOTORIOUS for playing some of the worst music, too. Some of the strict tempo stuff is downright horrible.

So the long and short of it is you can't please everyone. And if DWTS gets people into ballroom, then no one should complain about that. Even if the music is suck-worthy.

Answer 2

I agree with Snowflake. Although I am not a Ballroom instructor, I think they are trying to play the "entertainment" card on this one. Their goal is to keep it on the air, so they pull contestants from all areas of stardom (athletics, music, olympics, actors, etc.) and all ages. The bigger their viewing base is, the better ratings the show will get.

If they stayed with only traditional ballroom music and strict ballroom rules they may loose some of their viewers. So they relax in those areas and allow a wide range of music to be used, leaving the viewer to anticipate "What song will they use?" and " I never thought they could dance ballroom to THAT music!" This makes ballroom feel more attainable perhaps to the masses.

Same with the costuming and hair, the more visually exciting the "look" of the couple is...the more people will tune in. (like "I can't wait to see which girl will wear a wig or hairpiece next time")

I my opinion, the judges do an excellent job of continuing to steer the couples to strive for correct ballroom technique, and to stay within the boundaries and rules of each dance style. When the contestants stray from these rules the judges definitely let them know!

They are trying to balance the discipline of ballroom with the draw of entertainment.....and make money off the show!

Answer 3

I was also wondering why they do that. Isn't it easier and more fun to dance to music that actually fits the style and is correct tempo? I guess the producers of the show have decided it is more entertaining that way. Same goes for hairstyles - none of the ladies are wearing proper ballroom hairstyles. Really, the whole thing is a lot more about enternatining the crowd than about ballroom dancing.

Answer 4

You have to feel sorry for the pro's, who have to choreograph for paso to music that's distinctly wrong, but if you've never had one too many and done something similar at a club, you've missed something.
It seems to me they'd do better to skip paso altogether. They could recognize that this version of the show is for US consumption and use American-style ballroom in their rules, which are not well-publicized. But their pro's are largely international dancers, so they'd have to make other adjustments, as well.