so you think you can dance: the oriental fantasy

So I heard from a bunch of people telling me about Thursday's night edition of So You Think You Can Dance, featuring an opening group number to Janet Jackson's "So Much Betta," choreographed by Wade Robson. It has some big problems. Take a look here.

It's kind of appalling. I actually think the choreography is pretty damn good, even with the martial arts-inspired flourishes. But the costumes... what the hell is going on here? We're talking geisha girls and rice-paddy hat dudes. Whose bizarre Orientastic fantasy is this?

I'm told that the entire episode had a "multicultural" theme to it -- the all-girl group dance was Bollywood-inspired, and the all-guy routine was a traditional African dance, down to the traditional cultural costumes. But this... there's nothing "traditional" about this weird-ass spectacle. Who thought this was a good idea? (Thanks, David.)