So You Think You Can Dance is an American 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.
The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, 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. These dancers move on to the competition's main phase, where they perform solo, duet, and group dance numbers in a variety of styles. 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. 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 ranging across a broad spectrum of classical, contemporary, ballroom, hip-hop, street, club, jazz, and musical theatre styles, amongst others, with many sub-genres within these categories 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 $250,000) and often other awards, as well as the title of "America's Favorite Dancer". In 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 it has slowly declined in ratings, although it still averages over 5 million viewers per episode, as of season eight's completion. The show has been renewed for a ninth season,[1] but will return to a one-show-per-week format. Spin-offs were announced starting in August 2006 and to date 23 localized adaptations of So You Think You Can Dance have been produced representing 24 different countries.
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.
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 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 almost every season. 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," moving them instantly one step forward in the competition. Alternatively, if judges are on the fence about the dancer, they 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.
The second stage of the selection process – referred to as "the callbacks" or "Vegas Week" (after the city of Las Vegas, where it has been 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 that test their ability to pick up various dance styles (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 they may be asked to perform further solos in styles of their choosing and, since season 2, participate in a group choreography round in which randomly-assigned groups 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. Vegas week is often 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 sleep. At the end of this process, usually less than 40 competitors remain the 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 and Season Seven saw a Top 11.
Following Vegas Week, the show transitions into its regular competition phase, which lasts 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 judges—into male-female couples that stay paired for much of the competition if neither is eliminated. These couples 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 of 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 eliminated that week, but these episodes generally also feature guest dance performances or guest musical acts, and sometimes video packets that provide insight on the dancers and their journey on the show. After short recaps of the previous night's performances, the bottom three couples (those that 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 man and woman (not necessarily from the same couple) leaves 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 form a new couple for the following week's performance show. On 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 - a results show is still shown the following night to reveal the results of the vote. Each season undergoes one final 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 most 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 feature a 'showcase' episode that 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 duets or 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. 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".
Nigel Lythgoe is co-creator of the
So You Think You Can Dance franchise, and has been executive producer and permanent member of the judge's panel of the U.S. and U.K. productions for their entire runs.
The judging panel has also varied considerably (in terms of both 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 6–9 members for Vegas Week and the finale. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is the only permanent judge on 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.
In January 2012, FOX announced that So You Think You Can Dance would return for its ninth season in a format similar to season one—a single two-hour episode per week, eliminating each week's results show. Nigel Lythgoe confirmed this development via Twitter.[2] In an interview shortly thereafter, Lythgoe hinted at a format where each week's episode is ended with the revelation of the bottom three couples (based on the votes from the previous week) but after all dancers had performed the new week's routines, given the judges an additional routine to take into account when deciding which dancers (of the bottom three couples) to save and which to send home for that week. This contrasts with the season 1 format where judges would nominate a bottom three couples and home viewers would vote out two dancers, the results being pre-tapped and shown at the beginning of the next week's episode. Lythgoe also hinted at which elements of the results show were likely to carry over into the new format, suggesting the group and guest dance routines would be shown priority over guest musical acts.[3]
| Season |
Dates |
Host |
Permanent
judges |
Separate results show? |
Number of finalists in first live show |
Number of contestants eliminated per week |
Number of contestants remaining in finale |
Number of winners |
All-Stars included in format? |
Point at which judge eliminations end |
| 1 |
Summer 2005
(July–October) |
Lauren Sánchez |
Nigel Lythgoe |
No |
16 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
No |
Top 8 |
| 2 |
Summer 2006
(May–August) |
Cat Deeley |
Yes |
20 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
No |
Top 10 |
| 3 |
Summer 2007
(May–August) |
Nigel Lythgoe
Mary Murphy |
Yes |
20 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
No |
Top 10 |
| 4 |
Summer 2008
(May–August) |
Yes |
20 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
No |
Top 10 |
| 5 |
Summer 2009
(May–August) |
Yes |
20 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
No |
Top 10 |
| 6 |
Fall 2009
(September–December) |
Nigel Lythgoe
Mary Murphy
Adam Shankman |
Yes |
20 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
No |
Top 10 |
| 7 |
Summer 2010
(May–August) |
Nigel Lythgoe
Adam Shankman
Mia Michaels |
Yes |
11 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
Yes |
Top 4 |
| 8 |
Summer 2011
(May–August) |
Nigel Lythgoe
Mary Murphy |
Yes |
20 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
Yes |
Top 6 |
| 9 |
Summer 2012
(May–September) |
No |
20 |
2 |
TBA |
2 |
Yes |
TBA |
Over the course of its eight 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, "street" styles (hip-hop and associated genres) 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.
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.
Choreographers who have produced routines for the show in these genres include: Dee Caspary, Tessandra Chavez, Tyce Diorio, Joey Dowling, Justin Giles, Mia Michaels, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson, Garry Stewart, Sonya Tayeh, Stacey Tookey, Travis Wall, Tovaris Wilson, and Keith Young.
Hip-hop routines are also present in every performance episode. While these routines frequently feature elements from many different sub-genres 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.
The following choreographers have produced routines in these styles for the show: Cicely Bradley, 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, and Dana Wilson.
Ballroom styles are also seen regularly in every performance episode; these dances may be traditional European-derived styles or Latin styles or a mix of the two. A large pool of choreographers have contributed routines in these styles to the show, including: 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 and Glenn Weiss.
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.
The following choreographers have contributed routines within these genres to the show: Andy Blankenbuehler, Sean Cheesman, Tyce Diorio, Brian Friedman, Laurie Ann Gibson, Derick K. Grant, Charles Klapow, Ray Leeper, Spencer Liff, Mandy Moore, Amanda Robson, Wade Robson, and Sonya Tayeh.
| Genre |
Styles |
Variants/Sub-Styles/Alternative Labels |
Starting In |
| Jazz Styles |
Jazz |
Modern Jazz |
Season 1 |
| African Jazz |
|
Season 1 |
| Contemporary Jazz |
Modern jazz |
Season 1 |
| Jazz-Funk |
Funk |
Season 2 |
| Latin Jazz |
|
Season 3 |
| Lyrical Jazz |
|
Season 1 |
| Pop-Jazz |
Pop |
Season 1 |
| Broadway/Musical Theatre Styles |
Broadway |
|
Season 1 |
| Burlesque |
|
Season 8 |
| Can-Can |
|
Season 6 |
| Tap |
|
Season 6 |
These dance styles are featured less frequently than their ballroom relatives, but have been seen intermittently since the first season. The following choreographers have developed routines in one or more of these styles: Ronnie DeBenedetta, Carla Heiney, Brandi Jobais, Travis Payne, Doriana Sanchez, Benji Schwimmer, Kristen Sorci, Maria Torres, and Nick Williams.
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, usually choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan. Other choreographers who have produced routines in one or more of the below styles for the show include: Lilia Babenko, Leonardo Barrionuevo, Miriam Larici, Tiana Liufau and Youri Nelzine.
| Season |
Winner |
Runner-up |
3rd Place |
4th Place |
5th Place |
6th Place |
| 1 |
Nick Lazzarini
(Contemporary Jazz) |
Melody Lacayanga
(Contemporary) |
Jamile McGee
(Popping) |
Ashlé Dawson
(Jazz) |
|
|
| 2 |
Benji Schwimmer1
(Swing/Latin) |
Travis Wall
(Contemporary) |
Donyelle Jones1
(Jazz/Hip-Hop) |
Heidi Groskreutz
(Ballroom) |
|
|
| 3 |
Sabra Johnson
(Contemporary) |
Danny Tidwell
(Ballet) |
Neil Haskell
(Contemporary) |
Lacey Schwimmer1
(Swing/Latin) |
|
|
| 4 |
Joshua Allen1
(Hip-Hop) |
Stephen "Twitch" Boss
(Hip Hop) |
Katee Shean1
(Contemporary) |
Courtney Galiano
(Contemporary) |
|
|
| 5 |
Jeanine Mason
(Contemporary) |
Brandon Bryant
(Contemporary) |
Evan Kasperzak1
(Broadway) |
Kayla Radomski
(Contemporary) |
|
|
| 62 |
Russell Ferguson
(Krump) |
Jakob Karr1
(Contemporary) |
Kathryn McCormick
(Contemporary) |
Ellenore Scott
(Jazz) |
Ashleigh Di Lello
(Ballroom) |
Ryan Di Lello
(Ballroom) |
| 73 |
Lauren Froderman1
(Contemporary) |
Kent Boyd
(Contemporary Jazz) |
Robert Roldan
(Contemporary Jazz) |
|
|
|
| 8 |
Melanie Moore1
(Contemporary) |
Sasha Mallory
(Contemporary) |
Marko Germar1
(Contemporary Jazz) |
Tadd Gadduang
(B-boying) |
|
|
^1 These dancers never appeared in the bottom six or bottom four dancers at any point.
^2 Season six's finale featured six grand finalists.
^3 Season seven's finale featured three grand finalists.
^4 Season nine will feature 2 winners: a male and a female.
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 $250,000 and also include a new car and a one-year contract to perform in Céline Dion's show in Las Vegas. The season was also the first followed by a live tour for the top ten dancers.
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.
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, 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.[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.
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.
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.
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 can cast 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.
On October 6, 2011, Fox announced that it had renewed So You Think You Can Dance for a ninth season, which premieres on May 24, 2012. As of January 2012, Producer Nigel Lythgoe announced that the result shows have been cut by Fox.[8] On May 18th, 2012, Nigel Lythgoe announced that 2 winners will be crowned: a male and a female. [9]
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.
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 returning personality Mary Murphy on the judge's panel. 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.
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." [10] A number of dance-themed 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, 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.[11] 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.[12] Both the first and second such national dance days have been celebrated by the show.[13]
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 23 shows representing 24 different countries and comprising over 60 individual seasons. These adaptations have aired in Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Israel, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, with a Vietnamese version also currently entering production for its first season.
| Year |
Result |
Category |
| 2006 |
Won |
Choice TV: Breakout Show |
| 2006 |
Won |
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 |
Similar shows:
- ^ 'So You Think You Can Dance' renewed, but who are the judges?
- ^ So You Think You Can Dance Results Show Canceled
- ^ Interview With Nigel Lythgoe regarding So You Think You Can Dance
- ^ "FOX Announces Summer Schedule, 'SYTYCD' to Premiere in May". http://www.buddytv.com/articles/so-you-think-you-can-dance/fox-announces-summer-schedule-16636.aspx. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
- ^ FOX.com – Show 426a results
- ^ Matt Mitovich (July 28, 2009). "Fox Moves Up Two Fall Premieres; Plus a Glee Video Preview". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/FallTV-Fox-changes-1008485.aspx. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
- ^ "Auditions: Get a 2nd Chance as Dance Doubles Down with Summer & Fall Shows! Details Here.". FOX.com. May 20, 2009. http://fox.com/blogs/dance/2009/05/20/sytycd-auditions/. Retrieved June 4, 2009.
- ^ Lythgoe: Fox axes 'So You Think You Can Dance' results show
- ^ http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/1180852--nigel-lythgoe-so-you-think-you-can-dance-will-crown-two-winners
- ^ L.A. Music Examiner - Catching Up With Mary Murphy at the So You Think You Can Dance L.A. Auditions
- ^ Stewart, Andrew (July 2, 2009). "Holmes, Lythgoe team for Dizzy Feet". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118005636.html?categoryid=1237&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ Norton Introduces Resolution to Launch Annual National Dance Day. July 13, 2010. Accessed 2010-07-30
- ^ Second Annual National Dance Day Announcement
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