So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series)

Did You Know?

• In March 2014, Chinese television station CCTV broadcast a promotional episode in which all-star dancers from the U.S. and Chinese versions competed as teams; it was shot in Las Vegas but never aired on U.S. television.
• Nine former SYTYCD contestants have been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography as of 2017.

Show format

A typical season of So You Think You Can Dance is split into a selection process and a competition phase. During the selection phase, expert judges choose contestants from a large pool of applicants; this phase is highly edited and usually occupies the first 2 to 4 weeks of aired episodes. The competition phase, in which the selected contestants (often called the Top 20) compete for home viewer votes, makes up the remaining 7 to 9 weeks. Open auditions are held in 2 to 6 major U.S. cities each season and are generally open to dancers aged 18 to 30, though season 13 featured contestants aged 8 to 13. At auditions, contestants perform a brief routine before a panel of dance experts, usually headed by Nigel Lythgoe. The panel decides on the spot whether the dancer may proceed. Exceptional performers receive a ticket to Vegas (or the Academy), while borderline contestants may be asked to wait for a short choreography test.

Dance styles and choreographers

Over its eighteen seasons, So You Think You Can Dance has featured dozens of dance styles in its choreographed routines. Most fall into four categories seen in nearly every performance episode: western contemporary/classical, ballroom, hip-hop/street, and jazz with related styles. Contemporary routines are the most common, appearing in every performance episode (typically at least twice). Although contemporary, lyrical, and modern dance are distinct styles, the show labels all such routines as contemporary, except in season 1 when lyrical was used. Ballet routines have appeared one or two times per season since season 4. Hip-hop routines also appear in every performance episode and often incorporate subgenres like locking, popping, and breaking, all labeled under hip-hop. Lyrical hip-hop, a style partly popularized by the show through choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, is a notable exception. Other street styles occasionally featured include krump, breakdancing, waacking, and stepping. Ballroom routines are regular and may draw from International Standard forms, American competitive styles, or street and regional variants.

Ratings

So You Think You Can Dance premiered with over 10 million viewers in 2005 and was the number 1 summer show for its first season. After NBC's America's Got Talent debuted in summer 2006, it took the top summer spot and widened its lead. In summer 2009, SYTYCD premiered with a 3.4 rating in its target demographic but fell to number 4 after America's Got Talent began. Viewership averaged about 8 million that summer, then declined when Fox moved the show to fall 2009, hitting a series low of 4.6 million for a special episode on September 2, 2009. The show returned to summer 2010, but ratings continued to slide, with 5.6 million viewers on July 15, 2010. Season 7 averaged just over 5 million viewers. Season 8 averaged over 5 million. Season 9 saw a brief rise to 6–7 million for its first five episodes, then fell to a new low of 4.16 million on August 29, 2012. Season 10 averaged about 4 million viewers, with the finale drawing 4.3 million, an all-time series low for a finale.

Influence and international franchise

Before So You Think You Can Dance, American network television had not broadcast a season-long talent-search show focused solely on dance. Producers and judges have stated that the series aimed to rejuvenate the visibility and appreciation of dance as an art form in the U.S. and to give exposure to struggling dancers. Several dance-themed competition shows followed its premiere, including America's Best Dance Crew, Superstars of Dance, Live to Dance, and World of Dance. In 2009, Nigel Lythgoe, Adam Shankman, Katie Holmes, Carrie Ann Inaba, and others launched the Dizzyfeet Foundation to provide scholarships and training to young dancers of limited means. In 2010, Lythgoe helped establish National Dance Day, held annually on the last Saturday of July to promote fitness through movement; the show has celebrated it annually. The format was licensed for foreign adaptations before the end of 2005. The So You Think You Can Dance franchise now includes 28 shows representing 39 countries and more than 90 individual seasons, with adaptations in countries including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.