The NY Times has a very interesting article on Danny Tidwell and the show. It's definately very pro Tidwell and pretty down on the show, which is interesting to read after the comments posted here...
I do think it is a shame that Tidwell is reduced to this... arrogant or not, he is a very talented dancer and the choice to leave the support and structure of a company setting probably was not a good decision for someone who is still just 22. It didn't have to be ABT, but I'm sure he would not have had trouble getting a contract somewhere that made him happy, and that would have helped him really focus on his dancing, establish a resume, get health insurance and also - and what might be an important thing down the line - qualify for a pension. (I think it can often just take 5 - 7 years in a company to get some pension - and if you join at 17 or 18, that still leaves you plenty of time afterwords for other things). But those are things that a young dancer isn't going to really think about.
The article reveals that his guardian is the mother of the 2nd season runner up, which makes one wonder if might have been getting some external advice that was not so wise.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/arts/ ... 1tidw.html