Simpatico key to staying alive

A few weeks ago, it was suggested in this Show Tracker column that “So You Think You Can Dance” is a gay-friendly show, at least for the Fox network. A comment on Queerty (www.queerty.com), a gay media blog that linked to the piece, disagreed with this statement, saying, “Until there’s a same-sex couple dancing on this show, it’s just another straight show.”

True or not, Wednesday’s episode demonstrated how difficult it can be for the (opposite-sex) couples to generate real chemistry. As demonstrated on “Dancing With the Stars,” the couples that most seem to enjoy each other’s company, who respond to each other’s work habits, had a gigantic advantage -- it makes for better dancing and is generally more entertaining.

For dancers who were relative strangers to each other a few weeks ago on “So You Think You Can Dance” to get together on the floor with a new routine, to make the dance and the rapport look easy, seems to be no easy feat.

Whatever “it” is, in terms of the partner relationship, it’s hard to define. Sometimes the dancers try to convince the audience a little too hard that they’re hot property. Last week, for instance, Lacey Schwimmer and Kameron Bink seemed to paw at each other, maybe genuinely, maybe not, but it seemed a little early in the show to encourage “are they or aren’t they?” rumors.

Other partners, such as Hok Konishi and Jaimie Goodwin, are excellent dancers but just don’t seem like either one is getting very much from the other. Jessi Peralta and Pasha Kovalev seem to be a hot couple in the making, with their believable flirty yet sexy jazz dance from Wednesday night. Maybe the couple that most exemplifies the ideal relationship on the show is Sabra Johnson and Dominic Sandoval: There doesn’t seem to be any indication that the two would even have any basis for a romantic relationship, but together on the dance floor they just scream cuteness, sassiness and enthusiasm. They seem to be having fun out there with each other. Sort of like Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough on “Dancing With the Stars” -- and we all know where that got them. (They won.)

Gay or straight, it’s difficult to pretend to get along great with someone you might not even like -- maybe it’s luck or pheromones or just the ideal of two easygoing people being paired -- but the partners who can generate the most heat, even if it’s only on the dance floor, will stay the longest.

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