Up until now, the story of the Prancing Elites has been all about breaking through barriers. But Season 2 of their Oxygen reality show finds them grappling with a new challenge: What comes after the breakthrough?
Last week's Season 2 premiere of "The Prancing Elites Project" suggested that rather than being just a rehash of a familiar premise, the show will follow its cast into new territory, literally and emotionally. In a group phone interview afterward, the quintet -- Adrian Clemons, Kareem Davis, Jerel Maddox, Timothy Smith and team leader Kentrell Collins - affirmed that things are different, and that the change is both exciting and unsettling. (Note: The show airs at 7 p.m. Central time on Tuesdays, with the second episode of the season to be broadcast on Jan. 26. For full information, including outtakes and past episodes, visit www.oxygen.com.)
"I'm excited about it because last season, the main thing that we really focused on was the team, and what we were going through as a team, facing adversity and discrimination and all those things," said Maddox. "Because we have an hour now, we now have the opportunity to explore individual aspirations and family things and all that. I'm excited about it, because people will now actually get a chance to see what I like to do outside Prancing Elites."
"Last season the world was introduced to the Prancing Elites dance team," agreed Collins. "This season, the world will be introduced to each individual on the Prancing Elites dance team."
Last year, Oxygen gave the world a half-hour series about a troupe of gay black men practicing a conspicuously female form of dance in the Deep South. Yet the show ended up relying much less on a sense of transgressive novelty than might have been expected. The group went through its share of personal and professional struggles - with the revelation that Davis was HIV-positive emerging as the biggest - but every battle ended on an uplifting note. Producers made more of the troupe's disparate personalities and often goofy interplay than of the shock value they were capable of generating.
The show was a hit, and for Season 2 Oxygen expanded it to an hour-long format. In the first hour, they dropped a lot of hints that rather than just showing more of the same, they'll be delving deeper into members' relationships outside the group: Significant others, community activities, leadership roles in other troupes, family relationships.
Clemons, for example, was shown mentoring a troupe of younger women. In a touching moment, he used his own experience fighting for acceptance to reach them with a message about body image and self-worth. That facet of his life was very new to the show, but he said it wasn't a new thing. "That is something I had been working on for about three years now," he said. "It is something I felt like I can be useful for ... I just felt like some kids are not fortunate enough to pay for dance lessons or join dance teams."
Given the inherently exhibitionistic nature of the Elites' dancing, you might think this new openness would come naturally. It often doesn't. Standing in relatively open territory, rather than in front of a wall, the Elites have to ask themselves which way they want to go, and how far.
"I feel like when we started Season 2, compared to Season 1, we were more seasoned when it comes to things we should or should not do on camera," said Collins. "We felt more comfortable this season compared to last season."
But that has its limits, he added.
"We're still a bit private, because we're still trying to get used to opening up our whole lives," Collins said. "That's still a little fresh and new to me. As far as my relationships, it's shown but it's not in depth. I'm still trying to get used to that ... It's still kind of a struggle for me. That's why I'm kind of like real reserved when it comes to certain things, family and relationships."
"The difference between this season and last, there definitely has been a lot of growth within the team," said Maddox. "And also, I feel like society has grown a little more lenient when it comes to us performing. They're not so vocal about expressing how much they hate what we do, and all these things. Each person individually has grown too."
"I'm still kind of new to opening up, to be honest," said Davis. Last time around, teammates could tell he was tormented by something long before he revealed his illness; this time, he's bracing to have more of his relationship with his partner shown. "I'm not private with my feelings, I'm private with my personal business," he said. "I just kind of keep my business and my personal life separate."
It's hinted that for Smith - who is by far the most feminine member of the team, so much so that teammates refer to as "her" and "she" - will be shown working toward a new understanding of her gender identity. "Everything is really kind of new," Smith said.
One thing they have going for them, members agreed, is that they're encouraged by the overall response to the show.
"We get a lot more positive feedback than we get negative," said Smith. "I don't get too many negative comments. I get a few. It's not like I thought it would be."
"Worldwide, I don't even catch any of the negativity because the positive response is outweighing any of the negativity," said Maddox. "So the only thing that I honestly see is positive feedback."
"The difference in Mobile ... the world, they're more liberal when it comes to acceptance," said Collins. "Mobile, they're still stuck in that same Bible-thumping state of mind. I don't know how to explain it. We're just behind in a lot of stuff. They're more close-minded in Mobile compared to the world."
"I think the reception is great," said Maddox. "I think the reception is different going into this season than it was last season. More and more people now from Mobile are watching and understanding, so it's a little different in Mobile now. Just a little different, not too much."