VietNamNet Bridge – The dance performed by singer Thu Minh and her partner Lacchezar, in the 7th night of Universal Steps on June 4, which got the highest mark from the jury (37), is suspected to have copied the idea from the dance by American dancer Yulia Zagoruychenko in 2006.

 
Some audiences said that Thu Minh’s costume is similar to that of Yulia Zagoruychenko in the “Birds” dance show: The World Super Stars Dance Festival 2006 in Japan, and the dance idea is also the same.

 

In a short video about the training of Universal Steps’ contestant before the 7th show on June 4, Thu Minh said that the idea for her dance was sourced from her and her partner’s visit to the Zoo, where they saw beautiful birds dancing.

 

Thu Minh also said that her partner showed her the video featuring Yulia Zagoruychenko’s dance in 2006 before training.

 

Quang Minh, General Director of Cat Tien Sa, the producer of Universal Steps, said that sharing ideas in dance sport is different from music and movie piracy because sports has its own rules and this case is not piracy.

 

“The Universal Steps and The World Super Stars Dance Festival have a similar format, so the similarity is acceptable. The jury gives marks based on the moves and the performance of dancers, not the ideas of dances. The idea only helps bring poetic flavor to the audiences,” he said.

 

He said he had not watched the video of Yulia Zagoruychenko yet so he did not know how they are similar. Regarding to the costume, Minh said that perhaps the Vietnamese designer copied Yulia’s costume and it is not the fault of Thu Minh.

 

According to dance sport expert, Yulia’s dance is the combination of moves from Paso Doble, Rumba and Samba, while Thu Minh’s dance mainly comprises of Sambo’s specific moves.

 

Two jury members, dance sport masters: Khanh Thi and Chi Anh still praised Thu Minh’s dance, and said dance sports is imported from the West so it is normal to copy some ideas from Western dancers.

 

They said there are no rules that ban dancers from copying dances. Chi Anh said in the world, young dancers often learn from dances performed by famous dancers.

 

According to him, learning dancing is actually copying dances. Thu Minh copied the good and so she would be praised. “I’ve never heard of idea piracy in dancing. I’ve not watched the video clip of the two foreign dancers but I guarantee that Thu Minh has her own attractive dances,” Chi Anh said.

 

The juryman suggested the audiences to watch DVDs of dancing competitions in Vietnam or dances on the Internet to see the similarity in ideas of Vietnamese and international dancers.

 

The 7th show of Universal Steps was for Samba challenge. Comedian Dai Nghia and his partner Valeriya Bozukova were the fifth couple to say goodbye to the reality show. With 35 points, he was kicked of the show because he received the least number of audience votes.

 

Actress Thanh Thuy, a favorite for winning the competition, fell to the bottom two, with only 34 points from judges.

 

Rocker Anh Khoa earned the same point with Thanh Thuy and he was saved from elimination again by audience votes.

 

Singer Thuy Tien and singer Nguyen Vu both got 35 points.

 

Universal Steps, the Vietnamese version of “Dancing with the Stars” broadcasts live on VTV3 every Sunday.

 

Contestants will have a week off to prepare for the 8th show in the southern city of Vung Tau on June 19.

 

Son Ha