So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)

So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.

The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions. The first season was hosted by current American news personality, Lauren Sánchez; since the second season it has been hosted by former British children's television personality and one-time game show emcee, Cat Deeley. The show features a tiered format wherein dancers from a variety of styles enter open auditions held in a number of major U.S. cities to showcase their unique style and talents and, if allowed to move forward, then are put through additional rounds of auditions to test their ability to adapt to different styles. At the end of this process, a small number of dancers are chosen as 'finalists' who move on to compete in the competition's main phase where they will perform solo, duet and group dance numbers in a variety of styles in competition for the votes of the broadcast viewing audience which, combined with the input of a panel of judges, determines which dancers will advance to the next stage from week to week. The number of finalists has varied as determined by a season's format, but has typically been 20 contestants.

The show features a broad variety of American and international dance styles, including Salsa, ballroom, Jive, swing, hip hop, breakdancing, krump contemporary, jazz, ballet, tap, and bollywood, with many sub-genres within these styles represented. Competitors attempt to master these styles, which are generally, but not always, assigned by a luck-of-the-draw system, in an attempt to survive successive weeks of elimination and win a cash prize (typically $100,000), the title of "America's Favorite Dancer" and often additional prizes. In its eight seasons, the winners have been Nick Lazzarini, Benjamin Schwimmer, Sabra Johnson, Joshua Allen, Jeanine Mason, Russell Ferguson, Lauren Froderman, and Melanie Moore. The show has won seven Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography and a total of nine Emmys altogether.

The program became the No. 1 rated show in summer 2006 for adults aged 18–49 during its second season but starting with season four the show has slowly declined in ratings, though as of season eight it still averages over 5 million viewers per episode. The show has been renewed for a ninth season.^[1] Spin-offs were announced starting in August 2006 and to date 20 localized adaptations of So You Think You Can Dance have been produced representing 21 different countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Lithuania, Malaysia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, The United Kingdom and The United States), and comprising 54 total seasons.

Show format

A typical season of So You Think You Can Dance is divided between a selection process, during which expert judges select competitors from a wide pool of applicant dancers, and a competition phase, during which these 'finalists' (more typically referred to as the 'Top 20') compete for votes from home viewers. Though it is produced over the course of months, the selection phase is highly edited and usually constitutes only the first 2–3 weeks of aired episodes, with the competition episodes forming the remaining 8–9 weeks of the season.

Selection of Finalists

The selection process can be further broken down into two distinct stages: the open auditions and 'Vegas Week'. The open auditions take place in 5–6 major U.S. cities per season – these cities change from season to season but some, such as Los Angeles and New York have featured in almost every season – and are typically open to anyone aged 18–30 at the time of their audition. During this stage, dancers perform a brief routine (typically but not exclusively a solo) before a panel of dance experts, usually headed by series creator and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. This panel will then make an on-the-spot decision as to whether the dancer demonstrated enough ability and performance value to proceed further. If the dancer exhibited extraordinary ability in their performance, judges will award a "ticket to Vegas", moving them instantly one step forward in the competition. Alternatively, if judges are on the fence about the dancer, he or she will usually instead be asked to wait until the end of that day's auditions to participate in a short test of their ability to pick up choreography before a final decision is made.

The second stage of the selection process – referred to as "the callbacks" or "Vegas Week", after (Las Vegas) in which it is held since season 2 – is a several-day-long process in which the remaining hopefuls are tested for overall well-rounded dance ability, stamina, and their ability to perform under pressure. The dancers are put through a battery of rounds which test their ability to pick up various dance styles (usually some of the more well-represented genres that will be found in the competition phase, such as hip-hop, jazz, ballroom and contemporary), as well as solo rounds where they perform in their own style and, since season 2, a group choreography round in which randomly-assigned groups must display their musicality and ability to communicate professionally by choreographing a performance to a randomly selected piece of music – typically the only time competitors will be asked to choreograph themselves, aside from solos. Vegas week is often portrayed as one of the most exhausting and stressful stages of the competition; dancers are given a limited amount of time to adapt to styles they are sometimes wholly unfamiliar with while being physically taxed by the rapid progression of rounds and a limited amount of sleep while each round often sees cuts in which a significant portion of the remaining dancers are eliminated from competition. At the end of this process, usually less than 40 competitors remain in a pool from which the final contestants will be chosen. Most seasons have featured 20 finalists for the competition portion of the show, but Season One had a Top 16 and Season Seven saw a Top 11.

Main Competition

Following Vegas Week, the show transitions into its regular competition phase which will last the rest of the season. The competition stage is divided into 8–9 weeks, with typically two shows per week (a "performance show" and a "results show"), with two contestants eliminated per week (or in the case of season 7, one contestant). Dancers are paired – in some seasons at random and in others by judge decisions – into male/female couples with whom they will stay paired for much of the competition, assuming neither is eliminated. These couples will then perform 1–2 duets during performance shows in randomly-selected styles. These duets, as with all non-solo performances at this stage in the competition, are choreographed by professional choreographers, who are often noteworthy names in their own genres or American dance culture at large. Prior to most duet performances, a video packet of clips of the couple preparing to perform the routine is shown; these packets are intended not only to demonstrate the couple's efforts to master the routine, but also to give glimpses of the personalities of the dancers as well as to allow the choreographer to give insight as to the thematic, narrative, and artistic intentions of the piece. Following each duet performance, the week's panel of judges (which varies both season to season and week to week and often features many of the same experts from the open auditions and Vegas Week as well as notable dance figures, regular series choreographers and even past contestants) gives critical feedback, often emphasizing the two key areas of technique and performance value. These duets and their accompanying video packets and critiques typically take up the majority of a competition show but may be supplemented by solos or group numbers during the later portion of the season. Each competition show ends with a quick recap of the night's routines accompanied by on-screen reminders of the telephone numbers by which at-home viewers can vote for the contestant(s) of their choosing and it is at this point that those lines open to receive votes. As of Season 8, voting can also be performed online. Performance shows typically last two hours, commercials included.

Results shows typically air on the night immediately following that of the performance show for that week and usually open with a group routine from the remaining contestants. The main purpose of this show is to determine which of the dancers are to be eliminated for that week, but these episodes generally also feature guest dance performances or guest musical acts and sometimes video packets which give further insight regarding the dancers and their journey on the show. After short recaps of the previous night's performance, the bottom three couples (those which garnered the fewest votes from viewers) are revealed. Each of these six dancers are then in danger of elimination and must perform a solo for the judges as their last effort to impress and keep themselves in the competition. The judges then retire briefly (typically during the night's headlining musical guest performance) to determine which guy and which girl (who are not necessarily from the same couple) will leave the competition. The eliminated dancers are then announced and given a brief send-off via a video montage. If the dancers who were eliminated were not from the same couple then the two remaining members will form a new couple for the following week's performance show. One two occasions, the judges, unwilling to send any of the bottom dancers home on the merits of their performances that week, have abstained from making an elimination and instead allowed all competitors to proceed to the next week, which would be followed by an elimination of the double the usual number of competitors. Results shows have varied in length from one to two hours, commercials included.

Around the time that the show enters its 'Top Ten' competitor phase, there are typically several format changes that take place. Couples are split up and new pairings are formed for each of the remaining weeks (though some couples may be paired up more than once). Additionally, voting is usually then cast for individual dancers rather than couples. Lastly, the judges often give up their power to save dancers at this point, and eliminations are determined exclusively by viewer votes, with judges serving in only an advisory capacity. Each season sees its last format shake up in its last week, which typically takes place when the show reaches a Top 4 (though season six saw a Top 6 finale and season seven a Top 3). In the final performance show, the remaining dancers typically each dance duets with all of their fellow finalists as well as perform solos and participate in group numbers. The following night's season finale episode is often the most elaborately produced show of a season and features the last performances of the competitors, encore performances of many of the season's most acclaimed routines, guest dancers (including returning past season competitors and cast-members from other international versions of the franchise), musical performances and multiple video packets chronicling the course of the season's events, all culminating in the announcement of the winner of the competition, as decided by the previous night's vote. Following the closure of the season, the Top Ten dancers often go on tour for several months, performing hit routines from the season amongst other performances.

While the above describes the most likely format for a given season, there have been notable variations in how various seasons have been arranged. While most seasons have seen 20 top finalists, season 1, being slightly shorter in length than all following seasons, saw only a Top 16, and its final performance show had an improvisational segment that was never again seen on the show. Aired in the fall (as opposed to the summer as with all other seasons), Season Six saw some cuts to its average air time per episode and ended at a Top Six rather than a Top Four. Season Six was also the first to have a 'showcase' episode which transitions the show from its selection to competition phases; the showcase episode has become a staple of the series since and features all of the top finalists dancing in groups but exclusively in their own style and without risk of elimination. Season Seven is perhaps the most unique season to date in terms of format; this season, rather than featuring a Top 20 with two eliminations per week, had a Top 11 and sent home only one dancer per week, ending with a Top 3 finale. Season Seven also saw the introduction of 'All-Stars', former contestants who return in a non-competitive role to pair with new competitors for some of their routines. As a result of its altered format, Season Seven became the first season to feature male-male and female-female duets outside of a performance finale. Season Eight saw a return to the Top 20 format but also continued to use All-Stars past after the competition reached the Top Ten phase and was the first season to combine its Top 20 announcement episode with its showcase episode.

Judge's Panel

The judging panel has also seen its share of shake-ups, in terms of both size and composition, over the run of the series. Typically a season sees 2–3 permanent judges with an additional 1–2 guest judges for most episodes, with the panel ballooning up to 6–9 members for Vegas Week and for finale shows. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is the only judge to be a permanent member of the panel for all eight seasons. Other permanent judges have included ballroom specialist Mary Murphy, film director and choreographer Adam Shankman and contemporary choreographer Mia Michaels. Guest judge positions are typically filled by choreographers who work regularly on the show (though never on the same episode for which they judge) and by iconic names from the entertainment industry. Lastly there has been some variation in how long into a season the judges have retained their ability to make the ultimate decision on who is eliminated from week to week; typically this ability is lost around week 5 of the competitive phase of the show, but in seasons seven and eight, the format has seen the judges retain this ability until relatively late in the competition, at week seven. Some displeasure has been voiced from the fan base of the show concerning format changes in the most recent seasons, particularly with regard to season seven's Top 11 format, which prompted the producers to construct a Top 20 setup that also preserved the All-Star element for Season 8 in what Lythgoe described as an attempt to achieve "the best of both worlds". All judges who judged in the panel are choreographers.

Dance Styles

Over the course of its eight seasons, So You Think You Can Dance has featured dozens of distinct dance styles in it's choreographed routines. Most of these styles fall into four categories that are regularly showcased and can be found in almost every performance episode: western classical styles (contemporary and ballet), ballroom styles, "street" styles (hip-hop and associated genres) and Jazz and it's related styles. Various other forms of dance that do not especially fall into these broad categories are seen as well, but not as regularly. The following styles have all been seen in a choreographed duet or group routine:

Classical Styles

Contemporary dances in particular are one of the most common dances seen on the show, being seen in every performance episode of the series, and typically at least twice. Ballet routines occur much more rarely, at a rate of one or two per season since their introduction in the fourth season.

• Contemporary (all seasons)
• Ballet: Typically in the form of a 'Pas De Deux.' (introduced in Season 4)
• Lyrical (Only in Season 1 and 4 as couple routines)
• Modern: Never used even though it's a type of contemporary dance.

Street and Club Styles

The vast majority of routines in this category, which is also represented in every performance episode, are labelled simply "Hip-Hop," but a number of sub-genres and related styles have been recurrently featured.

• Hip-Hop: Typical titled simply hip-hop despite a wide variety of styles but also including routines labelled as being in the developing style "Lyrical Hip-Hop" starting in season four. Lyrical Hip-Hop is unique amongst all the styles on SYTYCD in that it is the only one that is held to have become a known distinct style at least in-part as a result of the show; the style is widely attributed to regular show choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo.
• Breaking/B-boying
• Krump (introduced in Season 2)
• Locking
• Popping
• Stepping (introduced in Season 7)
• Whacking (introduced in Season 8)

Classical Ballroom Styles

Ballroom styles are also seen regularly in every performance episode, though these dances may be traditional European-derived styles or Latin styles or a mix of the two.

• Waltz: Typically labelled just "Waltz" in early seasons, later performances in this style have usually since been designated as either 'Viennese Waltz' or 'Smooth Waltz' with one routine being (unofficially) described by judge Nigel Lythgoe as an "American Smooth Waltz."
• Tango: Typically titled either a 'Tango' or an "Argentine Tango"
• Foxtrot
• Quickstep

Latin Ballroom Styles

• Cha-Cha
• Jive: Including "American Jive" variations.
• Mambo
• Paso Doble
• Rumba: Sometimes further specified as a Cuban or African Rumba
• Salsa: Typically just salsa, but also including one routine designated as a "Street Salsa."
• Samba

Jazz

Jazz is featured in nearly, but not all, performance episodes. While these routines are typically just titled "Jazz," the genre is notable as being one of the most fusional featured on the show and various style combinations and sub-categories have been referenced (sometimes officially in the routine labels, sometimes simply by choreographers and judges). These fusional styles include African Jazz (Introduced in Season 1 as solos, and was first used in Season 5 as partner and group routines), Latin Jazz (only used in Season 3), Lyrical Jazz (Used in Season 1), Pop-Jazz (introduced in Season 2) , Modern Jazz (introduced in Season 3), and Jazz-Funk.

Broadway/Musical Theatre styles

Seen more rarely than the related jazz dances, this family of styles is still fairly common, with the most common variety, Broadway, being featured in roughly one out of every 1–3 weeks, depending on the season.

• Broadway (debuted in Season 1 and was used in all seasons)
• Tap Dancing
• Musical Theater: Sometimes alternatively called "Theater" or "Theatrical"
• Can-Can (used in Season 6)

American Social styles

These dance styles are featured less frequently than their ballroom relatives, but have been seen intermittently since the first season.

• Disco: Sometimes unofficially referred to by judges as having three different types, including "70's Disco," "80's Disco" and "New Disco." (all seasons)
• Pop: Used in Seasons 1 and 2, after the 2nd season, it was never used again. Pop is club dance with pop music based on a music video.
• Hustle (also used as ballroom dance, used in Seasons 2 and 3)
• West Coast Swing (used in Seasons 2-4 and dance by Benji Schwimmer)
• Lindy Hop (used in Seasons 2, 3, and 6)
• Charleston: (unknown seasons it was used, possibly Season 7, it was also a ballroom dance)
• Boogaloo: Sometimes called an "Electric Boogaloo" or "Electric Boogie."
• Rock n' Roll (used in Season 1 and 3)

Regional/Traditional styles

In addition to the broad categories above, many more "exotic" styles, less common in the US are sometimes featured. Most of these are seen only once, but the Bollywood style has been featured several times per season since the fourth season.

• Bollywood (Introduced in Season 4)
• Trepak (Introduced in Season 4)
• Kalinka (used in Season 5)
• African (used in Season 5)
• Tahitian (Introduced in Season 7)
• Malevos (Introduced in Season 7)
• Sevillanas (was never used yet)
• Capoiera: This style has never been featured on its own but has been incorporated as a part of routines based on other South American styles

Seasons

Finalists

^1 These dancers never appeared in the bottom group during their seasons. In addition, Moore is the first female winner from the US show to win without appearing in the bottom group.

^2 Season six's finale had six dancers. Ballroom dancer Ashleigh Di Lello, who had also never appeared in the bottom group, placed fifth, and ballroom dancer Ryan Di Lello placed sixth.
^3 Season seven's finale only had three dancers. Contemporary dancer AdéChiké Torbert was eliminated the week before the finale and placed fourth.

Season 1

Season 2

The series premiered on May 12, 2006. The top 20 finalists were revealed on June 8, and the winner, Benjamin Schwimmer, was named "America's Favorite Dancer" on August 16, 2006 after 16 million votes were collected for the season finale. Travis Wall was the first runner-up, and Donyelle Jones was named second runner-up.

Schwimmer almost did not make the show's top 20—he was officially first runner-up dancer in case any of the male dancers ran into unforeseen difficulties prior to the start of filming. As it happened, for the second year in a row, Hokuto Konishi was unable to get his visa cleared to work in the US in time for the first taping, and he was cut. Schwimmer came in and proceeded to routinely wow the judges and the audience on the way to victory.

There were several changes to the show's format in the second season. New styles of dance were introduced, and the prize for the second season was increased from US$100,000 to also include a new car and a one-year contract to perform in Céline Dion's show in Las Vegas.

Not making the top 20 in Season 2 was Glee star Heather Morris. Lythgoe told Morris that she had failed to make the top 20 by a vote of 3–2. Not discouraged, Morris moved to Los Angeles, where she got a job touring with Beyoncé as a backup dancer and eventually landed a small part on Glee as cheerleader Brittany S. Pierce. Morris has been elevated to a series regular in the second season.

Season 3

Open auditions for Season 3 began early October 2006, held in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Like the previous season, those that made the cuts moved on to Las Vegas. The taped auditions premiered on the Fox Network on May 24, 2007, and the subsequent shows were taped and broadcast live for a 12-week season. Cat Deeley returned as host, and Nigel Lythgoe returned as permanent judge. Joining Lythgoe permanently at the judging table was Mary Murphy; her promotion was reported by TV Guide on March 8, 2007. The previous season's winner Benjamin Schwimmer's little sister, Lacey Schwimmer auditioned for this season and made the Top 20. She was the only contestant in the finals to have never been in the Bottom 3 couples or Bottom 4. She placed fourth in the finale and later joined the seventh season of Dancing With the Stars. The prize for the winner was increased to $250,000 cash. On the performance finale show (August 16, 2007), it was announced that the series had been picked up for a fourth season. Sabra Johnson was named "America's Favorite Dancer," while Danny Tidwell was named runner-up.

Season 4

Auditions for Season 4 began in Texas on January 17 and took place in six locations through March 2008. The show kicked off its two-hour season premiere on May 22, 2008.^[2] Cat Deeley returned as host and Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy as permanent judges. This season saw the introduction of new dance styles, including Bollywood, and new choreographers, including hip-hop duo Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo. The prize for the winner was again $250,000 cash, the title of "America's Favorite Dancer" and an offer for a role in Step Up 3D. In the finale, viewers voted Joshua Allen as the overall winner, while Katee Shean was given a surprise award of $50,000 for being the top female dancer.^[3]

Season 5

Auditions for Season 5 kicked off in New York City on November 13, 2008 and continued on to Miami, Los Angeles, Denver, Memphis, and Seattle. The premiere aired on May 21, 2009. Louis van Amstel joined the show's cast of choreographers and Shane Sparks returned to choreograph while on break from America's Best Dance Crew. The prize for the winner was once again $250,000 cash, the chance to be on the November 2009 issue cover of Dance Spirit Magazine, and the title of "America's Favorite Dancer." On August 6, 2009 (the finale), Jeanine Mason was given the title.

Season 6

After a low-rated special episode of Dance featuring Lythgoe presenting his and viewer's favorite dance routines from seasons 1–5 which aired Wednesday, September 2, 2009 8–8:58 pm ET/PT, the sixth season of Dance, premiered on Wednesday, September 9, 2009.^[4] Auditions were held in Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City.^[5] Adam Shankman joined as the permanent judge for the first time this season. The winner was Russell Ferguson.

Season 7

Auditions began in Miami, Florida, on January 18, 2010, then continued in The Bronx, Dallas, Nashville, and Chicago, ending in Los Angeles on March 26. The season premiered on May 27, 2010. This season was quite different as Top 10 dancers were to be chosen, however 11 dancers were chosen instead of the traditional Top 20 with a new All Star format where previous contestants were brought back and paired up with the top 11. Lauren Froderman won this season with Kent Boyd coming second.

Season 8

Auditions started October 13, 2010 in Oakland, California and continued through November 15 in Brooklyn, New York. The premiere aired on May 26, 2011.

The series began a new version of the "All-Star" format in which the All Stars didn't come in until the top 10. The show returned to a top 20 with couples. This season also marks the first time that the public will be able to cast their votes online, in addition to calling in, with a limit of 50 votes per viewer. On August 11, 2011, it was announced that Melanie Moore was the winner of season 8 and Sasha Mallory the runner-up. Together they received 79% of the 11.5 million votes.

Season 9

On October 6, 2011, Fox announced that it had renewed So You Think You Can Dance for a ninth season, which will premiere in Summer 2012.^[6]

Special show

On September 2, 2009, a special show aired, featuring judge picks for the top 15 routines from the first five seasons. At the end of the show, show creator and judge Nigel Lythgoe presented his favorite performance, a contemporary piece choreographed by Tyce Diorio and performed by Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi. The show was extremely low rated and remains the worst performing episode in SYTYCD history with just 4.6 million viewers.

Ratings

So You Think You Can Dance premiered with over 10 million viewers in 2005. For Season 1, it was the No. 1 summer show on television. However, when NBC's America's Got Talent premiered in the summer of 2006, it took the title of "#1 summer show" and, over the past few years, has broadened its lead. In summer 2009, SYTYCD premiered strong with a 3.4 rating in its target demographic, although with the start of America's Got Talent roughly a month later in the same timeslot, Dance fell to No. 4 on the ratings board. It continued to lose viewers throughout the summer of 2009 and ended up with an average of approximately 8 million viewers. Fox then moved SYTYCD to its fall 2009 schedule where its ratings continued to decline; hitting an all time series low of 4.6 million viewers for a "special" episode hosted by Nigel Lythgoe on September 2, 2009. The move to the fall was short-lived. After dropping to an average of 6 million viewers, Fox moved SYTYCD back to the summer in 2010. With Mia Michaels replacing Mary Murphy and former contestants termed as "all stars" being used as partners, the ratings for Dance have continued to slide to all-time series lows; dropping to just 5.6 million viewers on July 15, 2010. For Season 7, So You Think You Can Dance averaged just over 5 million viewers. This represented the worst performance of its seven seasons while similar shows such as Big Brother, Wipeout and America's Got Talent saw their numbers increase significantly during the summer of 2010. Soon after the season 7 finale, it was announced that Mia Michaels would be replaced by Mary Murphy on the Judges panel. The change had no effect on the ratings and the numbers for Season 8 have continued to decline; averaging just over five million viewers again in 2011.

Awards

Emmy Awards

• Former contestant Chelsie Hightower was also nominated for Outstanding Choreography for the 2010 Emmys for a routine from Dancing with the Stars.
• ^a : Wade Robson and Mia Michaels were joint-winners along with Rob Marshall and John Deluca from Tony Bennett: An American Classic.

Teen Choice Awards

See also

• Dancing with the Stars
• Live to Dance
• Soul Train
• American Bandstand
• America's Best Dance Crew
• Dance Fever
• List of So You Think You Can Dance Finalists

References

External links

• Official website
• So You Think You Can Dance at the Internet Movie Database
• So You Think You Can Dance at TV.com
• So You Think You Can Dance episode list at TVGuide.com