One of the popular shows on television right now is “Dancing With The Stars,” on the ABC network. For those who have not seen it, the series scenario is matching a professional dancer with a celebrity. They then compete against each other as couples. The dancing couples each cater to a different demographic…some for the young, some for the old. Three judges critique their performances, and the other half of the scoring is based upon the amount of people in the viewing audience who call in to vote for their favorite couple. Each week a different dance is assigned and each couple is judged on their performance. For me, the real unusual star of the show is a rapper who goes by the name of “Master P.”

Why “Master P.” you may ask? Because he has told everyone that he is going to participate in the competition on his own terms. Dancing shoes? not for Master P.! He has stubbornly said to the judges that he only dances in his lucky basketball shoes. He says he is there to represent the “hood,” his hometown posse, who seem to support him loyally. Master P. is no twinkle toes on the dance floor…in fact, he comes across as a lumbering jack, practically with two left feet….still, he appeared to give it his all, under his own terms. Of course, this infuriates the judges and perhaps even some of the viewing audience. Yet, for the past three weeks Master P. has surprised many by not being eliminated from the competition. This past week one judge even said to Master P. that he thought he and the show should, “Part ways.” This made Master P. furious, but ironically when audience voting tabulations were made, Master P. was still in the game.

For me, if Master P. had no idea how to dance, or didn’t have the talent or finesse to tackle the moves, I would admire his gusto and bravery to attempt the moves. That changed this week when a scene on the show revealed that Master P. is a wizard on the basketball court. The segment showed that not only can Master P. shoot hoops half a court away, he can also do it with his back turned. The man is an extraordinary athlete…then how come that finesse and talent is not being transferred to the dance floor? It begins to appear that Master P. is choosing not to see the connection between basketball and dancing…how many times have we seen basketball players dance with the ball around the court? Still, he is able to receive more than enough audience votes to keep him fully in the competition. It appeared that one of the judges was willing to look over Master P.’s shortcomings, in believing that he may not have been that talented….but when he saw him come alive on the basketball court, his sympathy went out the window.

I believe Master P. is still in the competition because he has a loyal fan base, the ingredients of hidden potential, a competitor who is competing on his own terms, and a person who shows a different angle to the intricacies of ballroom dancing. Tell me, when was the last time you got to see a rapper ballroom dancing on national television? We can say what we want about Master P., but one things for sure, he’s got spunk! Some are loving every move…while others…. he is driving them crazy! As long as Master P. stays in the competition, the element of surprise will always be in play.

All the world’s a stage,
Jennifer Avalon

© 2006 Jennifer Avalon