So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series) season 6

Studio Shows

Due to conflicts with the World Series, the show could not schedule separate results shows for the first two weeks. No public voting was held; instead, the judges selected four contestants to perform solos and eliminated two. The standard format of a performance show followed by a results show resumed in week three. The elimination song for women during the montage was "Never Say Never" by The Fray, and for men was "Where It Ends" by 16 Frames.

In the Top 20, Noelle Marsh did not perform due to injury and later became Ferguson's partner. Ariana DeBose and Brandon Dumlao were eliminated. In the Top 18, Bianca Revels and Phillip Atmore were eliminated. In the Top 8, Ashleigh Di Lello dislocated her shoulder during Bollywood rehearsal and was barred from performing; she did not dance a solo, and Ferguson performed with choreographers' assistant Alysha Shroff, but voting for Di Lello remained open.

The Top 16 group dance was "Warrior, Pt. 2" by Lloyd Banks (hip-hop, choreographer Dave Scott). Guest dancers included Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performing "Episodes" by Ulysses Dove. In the Top 14, the group dance was "Aha!" by Imogen Heap (contemporary jazz, choreographer Wade Robson, co-conceived with Amanda Robson). Musical guest Orianthi performed "According to You".

Guest dancers Nakul Dev Mahajan and NDM Bollywood Dance Productions performed "Desi Girl" from Dostana. Eliminated contestants included Pauline Mata, Peter Sabasino, Channing Cooke, and Kevin Hunte.

Promotion

Because auditions for season six took place while season five aired, increased promotion was possible. Cat Deeley's voice-over at the end of season five audition episodes directed viewers to the official website for audition information. A video segment showed Ryan Kasprzak, brother of top 20 contestant Evan Kasprzak, auditioning for season six in Los Angeles and reaching the Las Vegas round; Nigel Lythgoe mentioned him in the season five finale. Kasprzak was later eliminated after the ballroom round of Vegas week.

Foreign broadcast

Unlike previous seasons, much of season six was not simulcast on Canadian network CTV due to fall schedule conflicts; CTV's sister network 'A' aired the series until the end of November, with CTV resuming for Top 10 week on December 1. Norwegian channel TVNorge aired the show in performance and results shows.

In South Africa, the season was set to premiere in February. AXN Asia aired the season after season four ended in January 2010. Australia aired the season on Network Ten, premiering on January 15, 2011, on the new channel Eleven.

Special performance episode

On October 26, 2009, Fox aired a special episode introducing the Top 20 contestants dancing in their own styles. Contemporary dancer Billy Bell appeared in the special before withdrawing due to illness. This season was the first where the finale occurred at the Top 6 stage rather than the usual Top 4, likely because producers and the network did not wish to air through the week of Christmas.