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

So You Think You Can Dance
Created by	Simon Fuller Nigel Lythgoe
Developed by	Simon Fuller
Directed by	Matthew Diamond Nigel Lythgoe
Presented by	Lauren Sánchez (2005) Cat Deeley (2006–)
Judges	Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy (2007–09, 2011–14, 2017–) Adam Shankman (2009–10) Mia Michaels (2010) Paula Abdul (2015–16) Jason Derulo (2015–16) Maddie Ziegler (2016) Vanessa Hudgens (2017–)
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	14
No. of episodes	260
Production
Executive producer(s)	Barry Adelman Simon Fuller Nigel Lythgoe Allen Shapiro (2005–06)
Production company(s)	19 Entertainment Dick Clark Productions Conrad Sewell Productions
Release
Original network	Fox
Picture format	NTSC (480i) HDTV 720p
Original release	July 20, 2005 (2005-07-20) – present
External links
Website	www.fox.com/dance

So You Think You Can Dance is an American televised dance competition show that airs on Fox in the United States and is the flagship series of the international So You Think You Can Dance television franchise. It was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment, Dick Clark Productions, and Conrad Sewell Productions. The series premiered on July 20, 2005 with over ten million viewers and ended the summer season as the top-rated show on television. The first season was hosted by American news personality Lauren Sánchez. Since the second season, it has been hosted by former British children's television personality and game show emcee Cat Deeley. During its second season, the program remained the No. 1 rated summer show (adults aged 18–49), but it has declined in ratings since.

The show features a tiered format wherein dancers trained in a variety of dance genres enter open auditions held in a number of major U.S. cities to showcase their talents and may move forward through successive 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. These dancers move on to the competition's main phase, where they perform solo, duet, and group dance numbers on live television, attempting to master a diverse selection of dance styles, including classical, contemporary, ballroom, hip-hop, street, club, jazz, and musical theatre styles, among others. They compete for the votes of the broadcast viewing audience which, combined with the input of a panel of judges, determines which dancers advance to the next stage from week to week.

So You Think You Can Dance has won seven Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography and a total of nine Emmy Awards altogether. Licensed variations of the show, produced for broadcast markets in other nations, began airing in August 2005, and dozens of localized adaptations of the show have been produced since, airing in 37 countries to date. On January 30, 2017, Fox renewed the series for a fourteenth season, which premiered on June 12, 2017.^[1]

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 2–4 weeks of aired episodes, with the competition episodes forming the remaining 8–9 weeks of the season.

Open auditions

The open auditions, the first stage in determining a seasons finalists, take place in 5–6 major U.S. cities each season and are typically open to anyone aged 18–30 at the time of their audition. The cities where auditions are held change from season to season but some, such as Los Angeles and New York, have featured in most seasons. During this stage, dancers perform a brief routine (typically a solo, but duet and group routines are allowed as well) before a panel of dance experts, usually headed by series creator and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. This panel then decides on-the-spot whether the dancer demonstrated enough ability and performance value to proceed further. If the dancer exhibited exceptional ability in their performance, judges award "a ticket to Vegas" (or in more recent seasons "a ticket to the Academy"), moving them instantly one step forward in the competition. Alternatively, if judges are on the fence about the dancer, they may ask the contestant to wait until the end of that day's auditions to participate in a short test of their ability to pick up professional choreography.

Callbacks

The second stage of the selection process is referred to as "the callbacks" (the round has often been held in the city of Las Vegas and also been known as "Vegas Week" for much of the show's run, but has been called Academy Week since season 13). The callbacks consist of a several-day-long process in which the remaining hopefuls are tested for overall well-rounded dance ability, stamina, creativity and their ability to perform under pressure. The dancers are put through a battery of rounds that test their ability to pick up various dance styles; these are typically some of the more well-represented genres that are later prominent in the competition phase, such as hip-hop, jazz, ballroom, and contemporary. Additionally the dancers may be asked to perform further solos in styles of their choosing and participate in a group choreography round in which small teams of contestants must display their musicality and ability to communicate professionally by choreographing a performance to a randomly selected piece of music — this challenge is notable as being the only time competitors are asked to choreograph themselves, aside from solos. The Callbacks are often collectively portrayed as one of the most exhausting and stressful stages of the competition; each successive round sees cuts in which a significant portion of the remaining dancers are eliminated from competition and 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 rest. At the end of this process, usually less than 40 competitors remain in a pool that final contestants are chosen from. Most seasons have featured 20 top finalists for the competition portion of the show, but Season One was represented by a Top 16, Season Seven saw a Top 11, and Season Thirteen employed a Top 10.

Finalist selection and showcase episode

Following Vegas Week—-which has, through video vignettes, made many of the dancers increasingly familiar to the audience as it observes their attempts to cope with the challenges of the week-—the judge's panel selects their finalists from the remaining dancers, breaking the good or bad news to each dancer. Since Season six, the series has also featured a showcase episode that takes place immediately before the main competition. In this episode, dancers compete for the first time on the main SYTYCD stage in Los Angeles before a live audience, dancing duet or group routines, but only in their own styles. In seasons eight through ten, the finalist announcement episode and the dancer's showcase were combined into one episode, with groups of dancers taking to the stage for the first time immediately after they are revealed. In seasons six through nine, no dancers were in danger of elimination at this point and the first round of viewer voting and judge eliminations occurred the following week. In the slightly more compact format of the more recent seasons, the dancer showcase is often the first episode to be accompanied by viewer voting and a resulting elimination.

Finalist Stage

Following the finalist selection process, the show transitions into its regular competition phase, which lasts the rest of the season. The competition stage is typically divided into 8 weeks, generally with two contestants eliminated per week. Dancers are paired-up into male-female couples that will sometimes stay paired for half of the remaining competition if neither is eliminated. These couples perform 1–2 duets per week in randomly selected styles. These duets, as with all non-solo performances at this stage in the competition, are choreographed by professional choreographers. 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 gives critical feedback, often emphasizing the two key areas of technique and performance value. Duets and their accompanying video packets and critiques typically take up the majority of a competition show but may also be supplemented by solos or group numbers. Each competition show ends with a quick recap of the night's routines accompanied by voting prompts--traditionally by phone, but increasingly through online voting processes. Performance shows typically last around two hours, commercials included.

In seasons 2-8 the show's weekly format was split between two episodes, a performance episode, as described above, and a results show which reveals the outcome of the at-home-viewer voting. Results shows typically aired on the night immediately following that of the performance show of the same week and usually opened with a group routine from the remaining contestants. The main purpose of this show was to determine which of the dancers are eliminated that week, but these episodes generally also featured guest dance performances or guest musical acts, and sometimes further video packets that provide insight on the dancers and their journey on the show. More recent seasons have moved to a one-show-per-week format, combining elements that used to be found in both varieties of show. Regardless of how many shows air per week, a "bottom three" couples (those that garnered the fewest votes from viewers--in some seasons it is a bottom three of individual dancers rather than couples) are typically revealed weekly at this stage in the competition. Each of these dancers are then in danger of elimination and must perform a solo for the judges as their last effort to impress and stay in the competition. The judges then retire briefly (typically during the night's headlining musical guest performance) to determine which man and woman (which 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. On very rare occasions, the judges have been unwilling to send any of the bottom dancers home on the merits of their performances that week amd have abstained from making an elimination and instead allowed all competitors to proceed to the next week (often to be followed by a double elimination the following week). Since Season 7, dancers have also been routinely paired with "All Stars", returning dancers from previous seasons who partner with the contestant dancers, but are not themselves competing.

The total number of hours shown in a given week during the performance phase of the competition has varied from two to four hours. In season one there was no results show and the dancers' eliminations were pre-recorded the week they occurred and then broadcast at the beginning of the next week's episode. Seasons 9-14 have also utilized one show per week, but with votes from the previous week being revealed later in the show. Voting has varied by season (and often within seasons) with regard to whether the voter selected individuals or couples. There has also been variability in how long couples are kept together and how the at-home-viewer votes are balanced against judge decisions, though ultimately at some point in every season, the judges 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 undergoes one final format shake-up in its last week, which typically takes place when the show reaches a Top 4. In the final performance show, the remaining dancers typically each dance duets with all of their remaining 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. Some seasons have featured a singular winner, while others have allowed for a male and female winner. 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.

Judges

The judging panel has also varied considerably in size and composition over the run of the series. Typically a season has 2–3 permanent judges with an additional 1–2 guest judges for most episodes, with the panel ballooning up to six to nine members for Vegas Week and the finale. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is the only permanent judge on the panel for all of the 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 choreographers will never develop routines for an episode on which they judge—who in rare cases may also be former contestants themselves, and by iconic names from the entertainment industry. Guest judges for the show have included: Debbie Allen, Christina Applegate, Robin Antin, Toni Basil, Cicely Bradley, Kristin Chenoweth, Alex Da Silva, Ellen DeGeneres, Tyce Diorio, Joey Dowling, Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo, Carmen Electra, Brian Friedman, Jean-Marc Généreux, Jason Gilkison, Neil Patrick Harris, Hi-Hat, Katie Holmes, Dan Karaty, Lady Gaga, Carly Rae Jepsen, Lil' C, Rob Marshall, Mandy Moore, Megan Mullally, Kenny Ortega, Toni Redpath, Debbie Reynolds, Wade Robson, Doriana Sanchez, Shane Sparks, Sonya Tayeh, Olisa Thompson, Stacey Tookey, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Travis Wall. In earlier seasons, the judges decided on eliminations until around week five of the competitive phase of the show, but in seasons seven through nine the judges decided the eliminations until week seven. Beginning with the twelfth season, Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo joined Lythgoe as permanent judges.^[2] For the thirteenth season, 13-year-old dancer Maddie Ziegler joined the panel as a fourth judge.^[3] Season Fourteen has seen the departure of Abdul, Derulo, and Ziegler from their season-long positions of the judges panel, but introduction of Vanessa Hudgens and the return of Mary Murphy to her seat.

Overview of format and presentation by season

Season	Dates	Host	Permanent judges	Separate results show?	Dancer showcase episode?†	Number of finalists in first live show	Number of contestants eliminated per week	Number of contestants remaining in finale	No. of winners	All-Stars included in format?	Point at which judge eliminations end	Voting for individual dancers starting with
1	Summer 2005 (July–October)	Lauren Sánchez	Nigel Lythgoe	No	No	16	2	4	1	No	Top 8	Top 8
2	Summer 2006 (May–August)	Cat Deeley		Yes	No	20	2	4	1	No	Top 10	Top 10
3	Summer 2007 (May–August)		Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy	Yes	No	20	2	4	1	No	Top 10	Top 10
4	Summer 2008 (May–August)			Yes	No	20	2	4	1	No	Top 10	Top 10
5	Summer 2009 (May–August)			Yes	No	20	2	4	1	No	Top 10	Top 10
6	Fall 2009 (September–December)		Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy Adam Shankman	Yes	Yes	20	2	6	1	No	Top 10	Top 10
7	Summer 2010 (May–August)		Nigel Lythgoe Adam Shankman Mia Michaels	Yes	Yes	11	1*	3	1	Yes	Top 4	Top 11
8	Summer 2011 (May–August)		Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy	Yes	Yes‡	20	2*	4	1	Yes	Top 6	Top 10
9	Summer 2012 (May–September)			No	Yes‡	20	2*	4	2	Yes	Top 6	Top 20
10	Summer 2013 (May–September)			No	Yes‡	20	2	4	2	Yes	Top 6	Top 20
11	Summer 2014 (May–September)			No	Yes	20	2	4	1	Yes	Top 10	Top 20
12	Summer 2015 (June–September)		Nigel Lythgoe Paula Abdul Jason Derulo	No	Yes	20	2⁂	4	1	Yes	Top 14	Top 20
13°	Summer 2016 (May–September)		Nigel Lythgoe Paula Abdul Jason Derulo Maddie Ziegler	No	Yes	10	1**	4	1	Yes	Top 8	Top 10
14	Summer 2017 (June–September)		Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy Vanessa Hudgens	No	TBA	10	1	TBA	1	Yes	TBA	Top 10

† From its inception in season 6 and through season 10, the dancer showcase episode represented a non-competitive round with no viewer voting or subsequent eliminations, followed the next week by the first competitive round. In season 11 it was the first episode of the season upon which viewers voted.

‡ For seasons 8-10, the dancer showcase episode was combined with the Top 20 reveal episode, with groups of the dancers performing immediately after being revealed as finalists.

* In both seasons 7 and 8, the judges decided not to eliminate any dancers on the occasion of one results show; in both cases this event was followed by the elimination of double the normal amount of contestants the following week. Similarly, for format reasons, season 9 featured two shows with double eliminations, with four dancers eliminated instead of two for each of these shows.

⁂ Unlike all previous seasons, season 12 featured the elimination of one "street" dancer and one "stage" dancer each week, as opposed to one female and one male contestant (as in all previous seasons which eliminated two dancers per week).

°Season 13 (during which the show was subtitled 'The Next Generation') featured competitors between the ages of 9 (or as young as 8 at time of application) and 14.

**In season 13, the judges held the audition rounds, but the all-stars, rather than the judges, made the eliminations during Academy week to choose the top 10. After this, in episodes 7 and 8, from the two contestants with the lowest viewer votes, the judges made the elimination. In episode 9, the two contestants with the lowest viewer votes were both eliminated, and in episodes 10 and 11, the contestant with the lowest viewer votes was eliminated.

Dance styles and choreographers

Over the course of its eleven seasons, So You Think You Can Dance has featured dozens of distinct dance styles in its choreographed routines. Most of these styles fall into four categories that are regularly showcased and can be found in almost every performance episode: western contemporary/classical styles, ballroom styles, hip-hop/street styles, and Jazz and its 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; styles featured only in auditions or solos are not listed.

Classical styles

Routines from the classically derived style of contemporary dance are the most common dances seen on the show, being seen in every performance episode of the series (and typically at least twice per episode). While contemporary, lyrical, and modern dance are typically considered three separate (if overlapping) styles, the practice on So You Think You Can Dance has been to refer to all routines in this area as "contemporary", except in the first season where the label "lyrical" was used for the same purpose. Ballet routines occur much more rarely, at a rate of one or two per season since their introduction in the fourth season.

Genre	Styles
Western Classical styles
	Contemporary, Lyrical, Modern, Ballet/Pas de Deux
Choreographers
Dee Caspary, Tessandra Chavez, Tyce Diorio, Joey Dowling, Justin Giles, Mandy Moore, Mia Michaels, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson, Garry Stewart, Sonya Tayeh, Stacey Tookey, Travis Wall, Tovaris Wilson, Keith Young, Lindsay Nelko

Street and club styles

Hip-hop routines are also present in every performance episode. While these routines frequently feature elements from many different subgenres of hip-hop (locking and popping, for example) and various "street" styles (such as breaking), they are typically all labelled under the umbrella term of hip-hop. An exception is the now frequently featured lyrical hip-hop, which 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 and the term itself to judge Adam Shankman. These two broad categories are occasionally supplemented by krump routines, which have been featured a few times a season since their introduction in season 2. Additionally the styles of breakdancing (in the sense of a full breaking routine as opposed to a hip-hop routine with a few breaking tricks), waacking, and stepping have all been featured in exactly one routine. In Season 12, there are more street style dances because of the season's new format where there are 10 street dancers which do only street styles.

Genre	Styles
Street and Contemporary Club Styles
	Hip-hop (umbrella term for all Popping, Locking, and New Style/Commercial Hip-Hop styles), Lyrical Hip-hop, Breaking/B-boying, Krump, Stepping, Waacking
Choreographers
Cicely Bradley, Luther Brown, Tessandra Chavez, Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, Dan Karaty, Marty Kudelka, Lil' C, Chuck Maldonado, Todd Sams, Christopher Scott, Dave Scott, Shane Sparks, Jamal Sims, Olisa Thompson, Dana Wilson, Pharside and Phoenix, Luam.

Ballroom styles

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

Genre	Styles
Standard/Smooth Ballroom styles
	Foxtrot, Tango, Argentine Tango, Quickstep, Waltz (including Smooth Waltz, Slow Waltz, American Slow Waltz, and Viennese Waltz variants)
Latin/Rhythm Ballroom styles
	Cha-Cha-Cha, Jive, American Jive, Mambo, Paso Doble, Rumba, Salsa, Street Salsa, Samba, African Samba
Choreographers
Leonardo Barrionuevo, Dmitry Chaplin, Alex Da Silva, Anya Garnis, Jean-Marc Généreux, Jason Gilkison, Hunter Johnson, Pasha Kovalev, Melanie LaPatin, Miriam Larici, Liz Lira, Michael Mead, Tony Meredith, Tomas Mielnicki, Ron Montez, France Mousseau, Mary Murphy, Toni Redpath, Jonathan Roberts, Fabian Sanchez, Edward Simon, Heather Smith, J.T. Thomas, Louis Van Amstel, Gustavo Vargas, Glenn Weiss

Jazz, Broadway, and musical theater styles

Jazz is featured in nearly all performance episodes. While these routines are typically labelled simply "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. Descended from Jazz but treated as a separate genre on SYTYCD, "Broadway" is analogous to the label "Musical Theater" outside the U.S.

Genre	Styles
Jazz Styles
	Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Modern Jazz, Lyrical Jazz, African Jazz, Jazz-Funk, Latin Jazz, Pop-Jazz/Pop
Broadway/Musical Theatre Styles
	Broadway, Burlesque, Can-Can, Tap
Choreographers
Andy Blankenbuehler, Sean Cheesman, Tyce Diorio, Brian Friedman, Laurie Ann Gibson, Derick K. Grant, Charles Klapow, Ray Leeper, Spencer Liff, Mandy Moore Anthony Morigerato, Amanda Robson, Wade Robson, Sonya Tayeh, Savion Glover

American social styles

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

Genre	Styles
American Social / Traditional Club Styles
	Charleston, Country-Western Two-Step, Disco, Go-Go, Hustle, Lindy Hop, Rock n' Roll, Swing, West Coast Swing
Choreographers
Ronnie DeBenedetta, Carla Heiney, Brandi Tobais, Travis Payne, Doriana Sanchez, Benji Schwimmer, Kristen Sorci, Maria Torres, Nick Williams

Regional/traditional styles

In addition to the broad categories above, many more styles that are less common in the U.S. 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.

Genre	Styles
Regional/Traditional Styles
	Bollywood, African, Capoeira, Kalinka, Malevos, Tahitian, Tropak
Choreographers
Lilia Babenko, Leonardo Barrionuevo, Nakul Dev Mahajan, Miriam Larici, Tiana Liufau, Youri Nelzine.

Seasons

Grand Finalists

Season	Winner	Runner-up	Third place	Fourth place	Fifth place	Sixth place
1	Nick Lazzarini (Contemporary Jazz)	Melody Lacayanga (Contemporary)	Jamile McGee (Popping)	Ashlé Dawson (Jazz)
2	Benji Schwimmer (Swing/Latin)	Travis Wall (Contemporary)	Donyelle Jones (Jazz/Hip-Hop)	Heidi Groskreutz (Ballroom)
3	Sabra Johnson (Contemporary)	Danny Tidwell (Contemporary)	Neil Haskell (Contemporary)	Lacey Schwimmer (Swing/Latin)
4	Joshua Allen (Hip-Hop)	Stephen "Twitch" Boss (Hip-Hop)	Katee Shean (Contemporary)	Courtney Galiano (Contemporary)
5	Jeanine Mason (Contemporary)	Brandon Bryant (Contemporary)	Evan Kasprzak (Broadway)	Kayla Radomski (Contemporary)
6	Russell Ferguson (Krump)	Jakob Karr (Contemporary)	Kathryn McCormick (Contemporary)	Ellenore Scott (Jazz)	Ashleigh Di Lello (Ballroom)	Ryan Di Lello (Ballroom)
7	Lauren Froderman (Contemporary)	Kent Boyd (Contemporary Jazz)	Robert Roldan (Contemporary Jazz)
8	Melanie Moore (Contemporary)	Sasha Mallory (African Jazz)	Marko Germar (Contemporary Jazz)	Tadd Gadduang (B-boying)
	Female winner	Male winner	Female runner-up	Male runner-up
9	Eliana Girard (Ballet)	Chehon Wespi-Tschopp (Ballet)	Tiffany Maher (Jazz)	Cyrus "Glitch" Spencer (Popping/Animation)
10	Amy Yakima (Jazz)	Du-Shaunt "Fik-Shun" Stegall (Hip-Hop)	Jasmine Harper (Contemporary)	Aaron Turner (Tap)
	Winner	Runner-up	Third place	Fourth place
11	Ricky Ubeda (Contemporary)	Valerie Rockey (Tap)	Jessica Richens (Jazz)	Zack Everhart, Jr. (Tap)
12	Gaby Diaz (Tap)	Jaja Vaňková (Animation/Krump)	Virgil Gadson (Hip-Hop)	Hailee Payne (Jazz)
13	Leon "Kida" Burns (Hip Hop)	J.T. Church (Jazz)	Tate McRae (Contemporary/Ballet)	Emma Hellenkamp (Tap)

Season 1

Season 2

The second season 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. There were several changes to the show's format in the second season. This season was the first to feature two episodes per week, splitting the bulk of the performances and the voting results segments between two nights. New styles of dance were also introduced, and the winning prize was increased from US$100,000 to $250,000 and also included a new car and a one-year contract to perform in a Céline Dion show then performing Las Vegas. The season was also the first followed by a live tour for the top ten dancers.

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 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 prize for the winner remained at $250,000 cash. On the performance finale show (August 16, 2007), Sabra Johnson was named "America's Favorite Dancer," while Danny Tidwell (brother of season 2 runner-up Travis Wall) was 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.^[4] 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 and the title of "America's Favorite Dancer" and additionally included an offer for a role in the dance film Step Up 3D. In the finale, viewers voted Joshua Allen as the overall winner, while Katee Shean was voted the top female dancer and was given a previously unannounced award of $50,000.^[5]

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, the sixth season of Dance, premiered on Wednesday, September 9, 2009.^[6] Auditions were held in Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City.^[7] Adam Shankman joined as the permanent judge for the first time this season. The winner was Russell Ferguson and the runner-up was Jakob Karr.

Season 7

Auditions began in Miami, Florida, on January 18, 2010, continuing through New York, Dallas, Nashville, and Chicago, ending in Los Angeles on March 26. The season premiered on May 27, 2010. This season introduced significant format changes to the show, with a Top 11 dancers instead of the traditional Top 20 and "All-Stars", contestants from previous seasons who returned to partner with the Top 11 for a portion of their routines. Lauren Froderman won this season with Kent Boyd as runner-up.

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. This season 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 can cast votes online, in addition to calling in, with a limit of 50 votes per viewer. On August 11, 2011, Melanie Moore won season 8, and Sasha Mallory was named the runner-up. Together they received 79% of the 11.5 million votes.

Season 9

The ninth season premiered on May 24, 2012. Fox discontinued the results show.^[8] The two winners selected on September 18, 2012 were Eliana Girard and Chehon Wespi-Tschopp.

Season 10

Season 10 premiered on May 14, 2013, in its new Tuesdays at 8 p.m. time slot.^[9] The two-part premiere concluded on May 15, 2013 at 9 p.m., after the finale of American Idol season 12.^[10] On September 10, 2013, Amy Yakima and Du-Shaunt 'Fik-Shun' Stegall were named the season 10 winners, becoming the first contestants to take the top two positions who had been a couple at the beginning of the live show competition. No music artists or special dance performers appeared on this season except for All-Stars who were former contestants.

Season 11

The eleventh season premiered on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. The season finale aired on Wednesday, September 3, 2014. Contemporary dancer Ricky Ubeda was the winner of the season with Tap dancer Valerie Rockey finishing as the runner-up.^[11]

Season 12

The twelfth season of the show divided contestants into two equally sized teams, one representing "stage" dancers and the other "street" styles, with one contestant eliminated from each team weekly until the finale.^[12] Auditions began on January 24, 2015 and took place in five major American cities.^[13] Season 12 premiered on Monday, June 1. Tap dancer Gaby Diaz was the winner of the season with Animation dancer Jaja Vankova finishing as the runner-up.

Season 13

The thirteenth season of the series premiered on May 30, 2016, titled So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. The season features young dancers between the ages of 8 and 13 (at their date of application). After auditions, during Dance Academy episodes, 10 All-Stars eliminated competitors until each selected one contestant to mentor and partner with in performances during the live episodes.^[14] One or more finalists were eliminated each week beginning July 18, 2016.^[15] 13-year-old dancer Maddie Ziegler observed the Academy episodes and joined the judging panel for the live shows (also observing and commenting on rehearsals), together with continuing judges Abdul, Derulo and Lythgoe, the three of whom conducted the auditions.^[3][16] Leon "Kida" Burns won the top prize of $250,000. J. T. Church was the runner-up.^[17]

Season 14

On January 30, 2017, Fox renewed the series for a fourteenth season, which returned to its former contestant age range of 18-30 but keeps the All-Star partnerships. The season premiered on June 12, 2017.^[18]

Special shows

On September 2, 2009, as prelude to season 6, 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.

In March 2014, Chinese television station CCTV broadcast a promotional episode in which notable all-star dancers from the U.S. and Chinese versions of So You Think You Can Dance competed directly against one-another as teams. Titled Zhōngměi Wǔ Lín Guànjūn Duìkàngsài - Super Dancer Born Tonight, the show was shot in Las Vegas but never aired on U.S. television.

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 following few years, 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 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. After season 7, Mia Michaels was replaced on the judge's panel by returning personality Mary Murphy. The change appeared to have little effect on the ratings, and the show continued to average just over five million viewers per episode in 2011's season 8. Season 9 saw a slight uptick in ratings early on, with each of the season's first five episodes garnering between six and seven million viewers, but the rise was short-lived and the show's ratings hit a new low of 4.16 million viewers on August 29, 2012. Season 10 maintained similar numbers, averaging about 4 million viewers per episode in 2013, with a 4.3 million viewership for the last episode of the season, an all-time series low for a finale.^[19]

In April 2014, Nigel Lythgoe appealed on Twitter to fans to share information about the show ahead of the 11th season's May premiere in an attempt to augment the show's ratings for the upcoming season and bolster its chances of renewal thereafter.^[19][20] The show was renewed for a 12th season, but ratings continued to decline, with an average of around 3.5 million viewers per show. FOX renewed the show for a 13th season, but with a drastically re-worked format focused on child dancers. Ratings declined further for the new version, with only five episodes breaking the 3 million viewer mark; the finale saw a series low viewership of just 2.27 million viewers.

In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that "in general", Dance "is more popular in cities, though it hits peak popularity in Utah".^[21]

Influence and international franchise

Dance competition had been a part of American television for decades before the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance, but usually in the form of all-around talent searches, (such as Star Search, Soul Train, or Showtime at the Apollo). However, a season-long American Idol-like talent-search show with a sole focus on dance had never been broadcast on American network television. Producers and judges associated with the show have stated on numerous occasions, both within the context of the show and in interviews, that the series was meant to rejuvenate the visibility and appreciation of dance as an art form in the U.S. and to give exposure to struggling dancers. Series judge Mary Murphy says, for example, "Of course you hope you can make a living at it, because you don't want to give up on something that you do, but the honest truth is most dancers have to carry one or two jobs and dance as much as they can on the side -- it's a very lucky dancer who gets a full scholarship."^[22] A number of dance-themed competition shows have been produced for American television since the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance, including America's Best Dance Crew, Superstars of Dance, and Live to Dance.

In 2009, Lythgoe came together with fellow SYTYCD judge Adam Shankman as well as Katie Holmes, Carrie Ann Inaba, and others in the dance entertainment industry, in an effort to launch The Dizzyfeet Foundation, with the aim of providing scholarships and training to young dancers of limited means.^[23] The foundation has been referenced sporadically on the show since. In 2010, Lythgoe, with the assistance of other SYTYCD personalities and long-time healthy lifestyles proponent Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, was successful in getting another of his dance-oriented concepts realized—an official National Dance Day, held now annually on the last Saturday of July, to promote fitness through movement.^[24] This national dance day has been celebrated annually by the show since.^[25]

Before the end of 2005, the year the series first premiered, its format had already been licensed for the first of a number foreign adaptations. To date, the resulting So You Think You Can Dance franchise has produced 26 shows representing 37 different countries and comprising more than 80 individual seasons. These adaptations have aired in Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq, India, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palestinian Territories, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

Emmy Awards and nominations
Year	Result	Category	Recipient(s)/ Choreographer(s)	Style	Music
2007	Won[a]	Outstanding Choreography	Wade Robson	Pop-Jazz	"Ramalama (Bang Bang)"—Róisín Murphy
			Mia Michaels	Contemporary	"Calling You"—Celine Dion
2008	Won	Outstanding Choreography	Wade Robson	Jazz	Hummingbird and Flower/"The Chairman's Waltz" from Memoirs of a Geisha
	Nominated		Mandy Moore	Jazz	Table/"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"—Eurythmics
	Nominated		Shane Sparks	Hip-hop	Transformers/"Fuego"—Pitbull
	Nominated	Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
2009	Won	Outstanding Choreography	Tyce Diorio	Contemporary	Adam and Eve/"Silence" from Unfaithful
	Nominated		Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo	Hip-hop	"Bleeding Love"—Leona Lewis
	Nominated		Mia Michaels	Contemporary	"Mercy"—Duffy
	Nominated		Dmitry Chaplin	Argentine tango	"A Los Amigos" from Forever Tango
	Nominated	Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
	Won	Outstanding Costumes For A Variety/Music Program Or A Special	Soyon An
2010	Won	Outstanding Choreography	Mia Michaels	Contemporary	"Koop Island Blues"—Koop feat Ane Brun
				Contemporary	Addiction/"Gravity"—Sara Bareilles
				Contemporary	"One" from A Chorus Line
	Nominated		Stacey Tookey	Contemporary	Fear/"Two Steps Away"—Patti LaBelle
	Nominated	Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
	Won	Outstanding Costumes For A Variety/Music Program Or A Special	Soyon An Graine O'Sullivan
2011	Won	Outstanding Choreography	Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo	Hip-Hop	"Scars"—Basement Jaxx ft. Kelis, Meleka, and Chipmunk
				Lyrical Hip-Hop	"Fallin'"—Alicia Keys
				Hip-Hop	"Outta Your Mind" (District 78 Mix)—Lil Jon and LMFAO
	Won		Mia Michaels	Contemporary	Alice in Mia-Land/"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"—Sting
				Contemporary	"When We Dance"—Sting
				Contemporary	"This Bitter Earth/On the Nature of Twilight"—Max Richter and Dinah Washington
	Nominated		Mandy Moore	Pop-Jazz	"Oh Yeah"—Yello
				Jazz	"Boogie Shoes"—KC & the Sunshine Band
				Contemporary	"I Surrender"—Celine Dion
	Nominated		Stacey Tookey	Contemporary	"Mad World" (Alternate Version)—Michael Andrews ft. Gary Jules
				Contemporary	"Sundrenched World" (Live Session)—Joshua Radin
				Contemporary	"Heaven is a Place on Earth"—Katie Thompson
	Nominated		Travis Wall	Contemporary	"Collide" (Acoustic Version)—Howie Day
				Contemporary	"How It Ends"—DeVotchKa
				Contemporary	"Fix You"—Coldplay
	Nominated	Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program	Cat Deeley
	Won	Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Series	Robert Barnhart Pete Radice Patrick Boozer Matt Firestone
	Nominated	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Producers
2012	Nominated	Outstanding Choreography	Stacey Tookey	Contemporary	"In This Shirt"—The Irrepressibles
				Contemporary	"Turning Tables"—Adele
				Contemporary	"Heart Asks Pleasure First"—Ahn Trio
	Nominated		Christopher Scott	Hip-hop	"Misty Blue"—Dorothy Moore
				Hip-hop/Contemporary	"Velocity"—Nathan Lanier
	Nominated		Spencer Liff	Broadway	"Whatever Lola Wants"—Ella Fitzgerald
				Broadway	"Please Mr. Jailer"—Rachel Sweet
				Broadway	"(Where Do I Begin) Love Story (Away Team Remix)"—Shirley Bassey
	Nominated	Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program	Cat Deeley
	Won	Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series	Robert Barnhart Matt Firestone Pete Radice Patrick Boozer
	Nominated	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Producers
2013	Nominated	Outstanding Choreography	Sonya Tayeh	Contemporary	"Possibly Maybe"—Björk
				Contemporary	"Turning Page"—Sleeping At Last
				Jazz	"Sail"—Awolnation
	Nominated		Mandy Moore	Contemporary	"The Power of Love"—Celine Dion
				Contemporary	"Wild Horses"—Charlotte Martin
	Nominated		Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo	Jazz/Hip-hop	"The Circle of Life/Nants Ingonyama (District 78 Remix) from The Lion King"—Ella Fitzgerald
				Jazz[26]	"The Lovecats"—The Cure
				Jazz	The Beautiful People (District 78 remix)"—Marilyn Manson
	Nominated		Travis Wall	Contemporary	"Where the Light Gets In"—Sennen
				Contemporary	"Without You"—Harry Nilsson
				Contemporary	"Unchained Melody"—The Righteous Brothers
	Nominated	Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program	Cat Deeley
	Nominated	Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series	Robert Barnhart Matt Firestone Pete Radice Patrick Boozer
	Nominated	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Producers
2014	Nominated	Outstanding Choreography	Christopher Scott	Hip-hop	"Trigger (Original Mix)"—Kezwik ft. Mel Presson
				Jazz	"Sand"—Nathan Lanier ft. Karen Whipple
				Contemporary	"The Gravel Road" from The Village (Score from the Motion Picture)
	Nominated		Mandy Moore	Contemporary	"I Can't Make You Love Me"—Mark Masri
				Jazz	"Feeling Good"—Jennifer Hudson
				Contemporary	"Edge of Glory (Live from a Very Gaga Thanksgiving)"—Lady Gaga
	Won		Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo	Hip-hop	"Gold Rush"—Clinton Sparks ft. 2 Chainz, Macklemore, & D.A.
				Hip-Hop	"Run the World (Girls) (Nappytabs Remix)"—Beyoncé
				Hip-Hop	"Puttin' On the Ritz"—Herb Alpert ft. Lani Hall
	Nominated		Travis Wall	Contemporary	"Hangin' By a Thread"—Jann Arden
				Contemporary	"Medicine"—Daughter
				Contemporary	"Wicked Game (Live at Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland 2011)"—James Vincent McMorrow
	Nominated	Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program	Cat Deeley
	Nominated	Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
	Nominated	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Producers
Six former contestants have been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography. Five have been nominated for their work on Dancing with the Stars: Chelsie Hightower in 2010, Travis Wall and Nick Lazzarini in 2012 (with Teddy Forance), Alison Holker in 2013 (with Derek Hough), and Witney Carson in 2015. Two have been nominated for their work on So You Think You Can Dance: Dmitry Chaplin in 2009 and Travis Wall in 2011, 2013, and 2014, before winning in 2015.[27] ^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

Year	Result	Category
2006	Won	Choice TV: Breakout Show
		Choice Summer Series
2007	Nominated	Choice Summer TV Show
2008	Nominated	Choice Summer TV Show
		Choice TV: Reality Dance
2010	Nominated	Choice Personality: Cat Deeley
		Choice Summer TV Show

See also

• So You Think You Can Dance franchise index and overview
• List of So You Think You Can Dance Finalists
• Dance on television

Similar shows:

• The Ultimate Dance Battle
• Live to Dance/Got to Dance
• America's Best Dance Crew
• Superstars of Dance
• Dance India Dance
• Se Ela Dança, Eu Danço

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: So You Think You Can Dance (United States)

• Official website
• So You Think You Can Dance episode list at TVGuide.com
• So You Think You Can Dance on IMDb
• So You Think You Can Dance at TV.com