So You Think You Can Dance Australia

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So You Think You Can Dance Australia

So You Think You Can Dance Australia logo
Genre Interactive reality game show
Created by Simon Fuller
Nigel Lythgoe
Presented by Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Judges Jason Coleman
Matt Lee
Bonnie Lythgoe
Country of origin Flag of Australia Australia
Production
Producer(s) FremantleMedia Australia
Broadcast
Original channel Network Ten
Picture format HDTV 1080i
Audio format Surround
Original airing 3 February 2008 - present
External links
Official website

So You Think You Can Dance Australia is the Australian version of the American reality dance-off series So You Think You Can Dance.[1] The show is hosted by Rogue Traders vocalist Natalie Bassingthwaighte, with Jason Coleman, Matt Lee and Bonnie Lythgoe acting as the judges. The series began airing on Sunday 3 February 2008 at 7.30pm and continued on Sundays and Mondays until the final on 27 April 2008.[2] Jack Chambers was the inaugural winner of So You Think You Can Dance Australia 2008.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Main article: So You Think You Can Dance Australia (season 1)

Auditions for the first season were held rrom October to November 2007 in Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. After being selected, through either an impressive initial audition or after a choreography workshop, the top 100 finalists spent a week in Sydney for more auditions, ultimately forming a group of 20. A 600 seat arena was constructed in Sydney for the finals.

Several finalists later performed during the 2007 Australian Idol grand final, as well as Ten's New Year's Eve broadcast.[3]

The song played after each female and male elimination differs each week.

[edit] Comparison with US version

  • In the US version, two main judges (Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy) and a guest judge appear each week on Performance and Results night. Australia has three main judges who usually appear in each episode, with the odd exception when a fourth judge (such as Mary Murphy from the American version) joined the panel for one week.
  • Each dance couple has to pick their genre from a bucket at a warehouse or backstage, instead of a hat on the stage.
  • Jason Coleman does all the talking when eliminating one contestant from both the bottom three males and females.

[edit] Finalists

From over 3000 contestants, 20 dancers (10 males and 10 females) were chosen to compete in the elimination series, which began on 17 February 2008.

[edit] Men

Finalist Age Home Town Dance Specialty Elimination date
Jack Chambers 19 Brisbane, QLD Broadway, Funk, Hip-Hop Winner
Rhys Bobridge 26 Melbourne, VIC Contemporary Jazz Runner-Up
Graeme Isaako 19 Sydney, NSW Jazz 14 April 2008
Henry Byalikov 22 Sydney, NSW Ballroom, Latin 7 April 2008
Anthony Ikin 26 Gold Coast, QLD Acrobatic, Contemporary Jazz 31 March 2008
Joel "JD" De Carteret 26 Melbourne, VIC Hip-Hop 17 March 2008
Sermsah Bin Saad 31 Port Hedland, WA Traditional Aboriginal, Contemporary 10 March 2008
Marko Panzic 23 Perth, WA Contemporary Jazz 3 March 2008
Hilton Denis 18 Sydney, NSW Contemporary / Hip-Hop hybrid 25 February 2008
Khaly Ngeth 19 Sydney, NSW Hip-Hop 18 February 2008

[edit] Women

Finalist Age Home Town Dance Specialty Elimination date
Kate Wormald 29 Sydney, NSW Jazz, Commercial, Ballet 3rd Place
Demi Sorono 28 Melbourne, VIC Street, Hip-Hop 4th Place
Vanessa Sew Hoy 22 Sydney, NSW Ballet, Contemporary Jazz 14 April 2008
Rhiannon Villareal 19 Sydney, NSW Jazz, Hip-Hop 7 April 2008
Jemma Armstrong 20 Perth, WA Latin 31 March 2008
Camilla Jakimowicz 25 Ipswich, QLD Jazz 17 March 2008
Laura Brougham 20 Adelaide, SA Jazz 10 March 2008
Stephanie Golman 18 Sydney, NSW Ballroom 3 March 2008
Kassandra "Kassy" Lee 21 Sydney, NSW Hip-Hop 25 February 2008
Courtney Walter 23 Melbourne, VIC Jazz, Commercial 18 February 2008

[edit] Episodes

No. Airdate Title Timeslot Ratings1
1 3 February 2008 Auditions - Part 1: Perth and Brisbane [4] 7:30pm - 9:00pm 1,829,000 (1st) [5]
2 4 February 2008 Auditions - Part 2: Melbourne and Adelaide [6] 7:30pm - 9:00pm 1,616,000 (1st) [5]
3 6 February 2008 Auditions - Part 3: Sydney [7] 7:30pm - 9:00pm 1,628,000 (1st) [5]
4 10 February 2008 Top 100 - Part 1 [8] 7:30pm - 9:00pm 1,600,000 (1st) [9]
5 11 February 2008 Top 100 - Part 2 [10] 7:30pm - 9:00pm 1,468,000 (1st) [9]
6 17 February 2008 Top 20: Performance [11] 7:30pm - 9:40pm 1,529,000 (2nd) [12]
7 18 February 2008 Top 20: Verdict [13] 7:30pm - 8:30pm 1,345,000 (7th) [12]
8 24 February 2008 Top 18: Performance 7:30pm - 9:30pm 1,508,000 (1st)
9 25 February 2008 Top 18: Verdict 7:30pm - 8:30pm 1,457,000 (5th)
10 2 March 2008 Top 16: Performance 7:30pm - 9:15pm 1,483,000 (1st)
11 3 March 2008 Top 16: Verdict 7:30pm - 8:30pm 1,395,000 (5th)
12 9 March 2008 Top 14: Performance 7:30pm - 9:00pm 1,483,000 (1st)
13 10 March 2008 Top 14: Verdict 7:30pm - 8:40pm 1,335,000 (7th)
14 16 March 2008 Top 12: Performance 7:30pm - 9:10pm 1,781,000 (1st)
15 17 March 2008 Top 12: Verdict 7:30pm - 8:40pm 1,364,000 (4th)
16 23 March 2008 "Your Top 10" Special 7:30pm - 9:00pm 988,000 (5th)
17 30 March 2008 Top 10: Performance 7:30pm - 9:00pm 1,234,000 (8th)
18 31 March 2008 Top 10: Verdict 7:30pm - 8:35pm 1,180,000 (8th)
19 6 April 2008 Top 8: Performance 7:30pm - 9:00pm
20 7 April 2008 Top 8: Verdict 7:30pm - 8:40pm
21 13 April 2008 Top 6: Performance 7:30pm - 9:00pm
22 14 April 2008 Top 6: Verdict 7:30pm - 8:40pm
23 20 April 2008 Top 4: Performance 7:30pm - 9:00pm
24 27 April 2008 Grand Finale 7:30pm - 9:30pm 1,870,000 (1st)
  • 1 Overall national viewers, numbers in brackets indicate nightly ratings position.

[edit] Ratings

The 3 February 2008 premiere of So You Think You Can Dance Australia attracted a peak audience of 2.15 million viewers. The show was the night’s top-rating program, averaging 1.83 million viewers over its timeslot.[14] The following two audition episodes also put up respectable figures, peaking at 2.04 million and 1.94 million viewers respectively. The Sunday night Top 100 show averaged 1.6 million viewers to become the most watched program of the night.[15][16]

Since debuting, the weekly performance show had averaged around 1.5 million viewers since its debut. The series one finale averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.2 million viewers nationwide. Over 50% of Ten's key 18-49 age demographic had tuned into the show.[17]

[edit] Controversy

Jason Coleman has been questioned over his position as judge on the show, with members of the dance community accusing him of being under qualified, and using incorrect jargon on the show, calling a pivot a promenade. Eliminated contestant Marko Panzic also accused Coleman of playing favorites.[18] Critics also cite a possible conflict of interest due to Coleman's external business relationship with choreographer Kelly Aykers. Coleman has responded to these criticisms, saying: "Mate, this is just nit-picking. With this show a pivot is the same thing as a promenade. In my world it's called a promenade, in the ballroom dancing world it's called a pivot. I'm aware of the differences but I don't have time in my minute-and-a-half speech to explain that." In response to the Aykers issue, he said: "Kelly Aykers has delivered three great routines. I would never put myself in a position where I would compliment a person's work because they are my friend. If the work deserves a compliment it will receive it, if it does not, it will not."[19]

The show has also received criticism from the Australian dance community and mainstream media over the representation of the art of dance on the show. In one example, commentator Valerie Lawson observes that "So You Think You Can Dance Australia goes further. Its very success ... is compromising dance as a performance art. The audience is led to believe that the most obvious effort, the most athletic of tricks, and the most vulgar of moves, represent dance at its best. As hips swivel, the studio audience cheers. When a guy lifts a girl with as much finesse as a forklift truck the audience roars its approval."[20]

On two occasions the show has accidentally broadcast profanities during the PG-rated live show. On the first occasion, Ten issued an apology for a "indistinct and muffled" profanity uttered during the first elimination show, and promised that "efforts [have been] redoubled to prevent such an incident happening again."[21] Nonetheless, when Sermsah Bin Saad was making his speech after being eliminated, he accidentally swore on national television, saying, "You guys are so fucking awesome!". At that time, Sermsah didn't realize that it was on live and apologised after finding out his mistake. In this case the profane word was censored during broadcast.[22]

[edit] References

  1. ^ So You Think You Can Dance Australia Official Website on Ten - So You Think You Can Dance
  2. ^ About the TV Show - So You Think You Can Dance Australia - So You Think You Can Dance
  3. ^ Australian Idol Final - So You Think You Can Dance
  4. ^ Episode One - So You Think You Can Dance Australia - So You Think You Can Dance
  5. ^ a b c Knox, David (2008-02-04). Ratings: Week 6. tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  6. ^ Episode Two - So You Think You Can Dance Australia - So You Think You Can Dance
  7. ^ Episode Three - So You Think You Can Dance Australia - So You Think You Can Dance
  8. ^ http://ten.com.au/dance/869.htm
  9. ^ a b Knox, David (2008-02-11). Ratings: Week 7. tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  10. ^ Top 100 Part Two - So You Think You Can Dance Australia - So You Think You Can Dance
  11. ^ Final 20 Performances Recap - So You Think You Can Dance Australia - So You Think You Can Dance
  12. ^ a b Knox, David (2008-02-18). Ratings: Week 8. tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
  13. ^ Top 20 Verdict - So You Think You Can Dance Australia Official Website - So You Think You Can Dance
  14. ^ Dance Up A Ratings Storm
  15. ^ TEN - Dance Tops The Night
  16. ^ TEN - Dance rocks the block
  17. ^ Dance TEN, Ratings 1.8m
  18. ^ TV judge Jason Coleman rocks dancers
  19. ^ Dance judge branded 'amateur'
  20. ^ Valerie Lawson - Australia, you can't dance like that" Review
  21. ^ Cursing catches Ten on the hop
  22. ^ On a high, dancer drops the F word

[edit] External links