Anyway...a couple of weeks ago, Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd were crowned as our Season 22 Champions!
I didn't know who Nyle was before he was revealed as a Dancing With the Stars contestant (in fact, this was the first season in several years that I wasn't familiar with any of the finalists before the cast was announced) but he seemed like a good fit for the show. The fact that he was deaf seemed a bit of an odd quality for a contestant on a dance show, but I had faith that the producers knew what they were doing (I mean, a lot of the time I don't, but for the most part I trust them when it comes to casting under-age contestants and those with disabilities). I also was excited that his partner was Peta, since she has done a great job working with all different types of contestants.
I initially predicted Nyle and Peta to be one of the last few couples standing but not as the winners, which is what happened with other "inspirational" contestants in the recent past. However, after their Week 1 performance I had them as a lock for the Final 2. Nyle already had the charisma, story, and chemistry with his partner a winner needed, and once he proved the dance ability factor was there too I knew there was no way the public wouldn't get them to the end.
Nyle was pretty consistent throughout the season, delivering some nice performances pretty much every week. However, I sort of think he was a bit too consistent, since he didn't seem to improve much after the first week like others did. The level of his performances was pretty high from the get-go so it's not like he was terrible at the end or anything, but I never saw much improvement in certain areas and I'm baffled as to why Peta never fixed them. I know he had some disadvantages being deaf and all, but issues like his frame didn't have anything to do with whether or not he could hear. I still think he deserved to make the finals based on the quality of his dances (even if I think he was overscored quite a bit this season) but I can't say I was totally supporting him for the win when he'd plateaued while others improved throughout the season.
There was also the whole "sympathy vote" controversy that comes up every time we have a contestant with some sort of disability. I'm guessing if Nyle was dancing at the level we saw and could hear he would not have won. The dance skills he did have along with his likeability and "eye candy" appeal probably would have taken him decently far into the competition, but I think it's pretty clear Nyle's story was a big factor in why so many people voted for him. However, the majority of his voters didn't seem to be voting for him because they felt sorry for him. His story wasn't portrayed as sad and depressing, but unusual and inspiring. Nyle was actually born deaf, so the "loss" factor isn't there like with Noah Galloway, Amy Purdy who both became disabled later in life. I got the sense most of Nyle's supporters were voting for him because they were amazed by his ability to dance so well despite not being able to hear the music. So I'm going to call it the "inspiration vote" because his journey seemed to evoke more feelings of amazement in the audience than pity.
I think it was great to see Nyle on DWTS because his participation was one of the things that has brought the Deaf community to the forefront in the media lately. I also thought it was nice for Peta to win before taking a break/leaving the show to have her baby later this year (yes I'm pretty sure that rumor is true). To be honest, there was going to be backlash no matter which of the finalists won, but I think Nyle and Peta's victory resulted in significantly less compared to what it probably would have been like had Paige or Ginger won. So I guess as I've seen others say, this wasn't the ending I wanted but it's one I suppose I can get behind. Anyway, here is my favorite dance from Nyle and Peta.
Just so everyone knows: I'm trying to post a decent amount of content here but I'm now balancing this blog between work and my new position on Pure TV Network this summer. I'm mostly writing for their America's Got Talent site but once we get into the thick of the So You Think You Can Dance season I'll be over on that blog sometimes as well. With that said, I'll still be writing here but posts may be a bit more space dout during the hiatus. See you in the comments and on my next post!
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