| Developer: | Simon Fuller |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 18 |
| Num Episodes: | 319 |
| Network: | Fox |
| Last Aired: | present |
So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) is an American reality television dance competition show that currently 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 and Dick Clark 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 English former children's television personality and game show emcee Cat Deeley.
The show features a format where dancers trained in a variety of dance genres enter open auditions held in several major U.S. cities to showcase their talents and 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, until a winner is crowned as "America's favorite dancer".
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 41 countries to date. The sixteenth season premiered June 3, 2019.[1] On February 20, 2020, the show was renewed for a seventeenth season, that was set to air in the summer of 2020,[2] but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the season was indefinitely postponed on June 18, 2020,[3] and eventually premiered on May 18, 2022.[4] In December 2023, it was revealed that an eighteenth season would start filming in Atlanta from December 4, 2023, to January 29, 2024.[5] The eighteenth season would premiere on March 4, 2024.[6] [7] Lythgoe departed from the show in January 2024 following a sex abuse lawsuit from one of the show's judges Paula Abdul.[8] [9] Jojo Siwa would join the judging panel to replace Lythgoe.[10]
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. Although it is produced over months, the selection phase is highly edited and usually constitutes only the first 2 to 4 weeks of aired episodes with the competition episodes forming the remaining 7 to 9 weeks of the season.
The open auditions, the first stage in determining a season's finalists, take place in 2 to 6 major U.S. cities each season and are typically open to anyone aged 18 to 30 at the time of their audition, although season 13 focused on a younger class of competitors, ages 8 to 14. The cities where auditions are held change from season to season but some, such as Los Angeles and New York City, have featured in most seasons. During this stage, the 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.
The second stage of the selection process is referred to as "the callbacks" (this round was referenced as "Vegas Week" for much of the show's run, as it was held in Las Vegas, but has been called Academy Week since season 13, later called the Choreography Round in season 17). 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 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 the competition and 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 the final contestants are chosen. Most seasons have featured 20 "top" finalists for the competition portion of the show, but season 1 was represented by a Top 16, season 7 saw a Top 11, seasons 13 through 15 have featured a Top 10, and season 17 saw a Top 12.
Following the finalist selection process, the show transitions into its regular competition phase, which lasts for the rest of the season. The competition stage is typically divided into eight weeks, generally with two contestants eliminated per week. Dancers are paired up into male-female couples that will sometimes stay paired for much of the remaining competition if neither is eliminated (since season 7, competitors have also been occasionally paired with "All Stars", returning dancers from previous seasons who partner with the contestant dancers, but who are not themselves competing). These couples perform 1 or 2 duets per week in different styles which are typically, but not always, randomly selected. These duets, as with all non-solo performances at this stage in the competition, are choreographed by professional choreographers. Before 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 and personal histories of the dancers, as well as insights from the choreographer 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 an episode but are often supplemented by solos, group numbers, and occasionally guest dance or musical performances.
In season 1, each week of the competition featured a single episode, with dancers' eliminations pre-recorded the week they occurred and then broadcast at the beginning of the next week's episode. In seasons 2 to 8, the show's weekly format was split between two episodes, a performance episode, as described above, and a results show which revealed the outcome of the at-home-viewer voting following the performance show of the same week. More recent seasons have returned to a one-show-per-week format, but with each week's episode typically reflecting the results of voting for the previous week's performances, with these results revealed at the end of the following week's performances. Depending on the stage of the competition, each week may feature eliminations that are based entirely on an at-home viewer vote, or the vote may simply create a group of bottom dancers from which the show's judges will select the final eliminations. Voting has also varied by season (and often within seasons) regarding whether the voter selected individuals or couples. Following the announcement of their elimination, dancers are typically given a brief send-off via a video montage. Each competitive episode ends with a quick recap of the night's routines accompanied by voting prompts. Episodes typically last around two hours, commercials included. 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, and eliminations are determined exclusively by viewer votes. The total number of hours shown in a given week during the performance phase of the competition has varied from two to four hours.
The 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. Most seasons have featured a single winner, while seasons 9 and 10 featured both male and female winners. Following the closure of the season, the Top Ten dancers often go on tour for several months, performing hit routines from the season among other performances.
A typical season of So You Think You Can Dance is presided over by a panel of 2 to 4 permanent judges, supplemented by occasional guest judges, with the panel sometimes ballooning up to twice or more its normal size for callback episodes or season finales. Executive producer and co-creator of the show Nigel Lythgoe was the only judge to have sat as a permanent member of the panel across all seasons except Season 17, although ballroom specialist Mary Murphy has also sat as a permanent member of the panel for the majority of seasons; Lythgoe was set to return as a judge on the show's upcoming eighteenth season, but left the show in January 2024. Other permanent judges have included film director and choreographer Adam Shankman, contemporary choreographer Mia Michaels, pop music and dance icon Paula Abdul, noted youth dancer Maddie Ziegler, actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens, music and dance artist Jason Derulo, choreographer and TV personality Laurieann Gibson, actress, dancer and singer JoJo Siwa, actor and singer Matthew Morrison and successful show alumni Stephen "tWitch" Boss and Dominic "D-Trix" Sandoval.
Many earlier seasons frequently featured guest judges in occasional episodes, although this practice has become increasingly rare. These guest judge positions have typically been filled by choreographers who regularly work on the show (who in rare cases may also be former contestants themselves) as well as 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, Misty Copeland, 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.
| 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 | Number 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) | No | No | 10 | 1 | 4 | 1 | Yes | Top 6 | Top 10 | ||
| 15 | Summer 2018 (June–September) | Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy Vanessa Hudgens Stephen "tWitch" Boss | No | No | 10 | 2 | 4 | 1 | Yes | Top 8 | Top 10 | |
| 16 | Summer 2019 (June–September) | Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy Laurieann Gibson Dominic "D-Trix" Sandoval | No | No | 10 | 2 | 4 | 1 | Yes | Top 8 | Top 10 | |
| 17 | Summer 2022 (May–August) | Stephen "tWitch" Boss JoJo Siwa Matthew Morrison Leah Remini | No | No | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Yes | Top 6 | Top 12 | |
| 18 | Spring 2024 (March–May) | Allison Holker JoJo Siwa Maksim Chmerkovskiy | No | No | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 | No | Top 3 | Top 10 |
Throughout its seventeen 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 as well as 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.
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 of dance, 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 | ! scope="column" style="background:#ccc;" | Styles |
|---|---|---|
| Western Classical styles | ||
| Contemporary, Lyrical, Modern, Ballet/Pas de Deux | ||
| Choreographers | ||
| Dee Caspary, Tessandra Chavez, Sean Cheesman, Thordal Christensen, Tyce Diorio, Joey Dowling, Talia Favia, Justin Giles, Mandy Moore, Mia Michaels, Lindsay Nelko, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson, Jaci Royal, Garry Stewart, Sonya Tayeh, Stacey Tookey, Travis Wall, Tovaris Wilson, Keith Young | ||
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 labeled under the umbrella term of hip-hop. An exception is the now frequently featured lyrical hip-hop, which is unique amongst all 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 routines that are labeled as krump, breakdancing, waacking, and stepping.
| Genre | ! scope="column" style="background:#ccc;" | 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, Krump, Stepping, Waacking, Vogue | ||
| Choreographers | ||
| Cicely Bradley, Luther Brown, Tessandra Chavez, Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, Dan Karaty, Marty Kudelka, Lil' C, Keone and Mari Madrid, Chuck Maldonado, Todd Sams, Christopher Scott, Dave Scott, Shane Sparks, Jamal Sims, Olisa Thompson, Dana Wilson, Pharside and Phoenix, Luam, Mark Kanemura | ||
Ballroom styles are also seen regularly in every performance episode. These routines may use the movement of traditional International Standard forms or lean toward American competitive styles. Other routines may use street or regional variants or may combine elements of different variations.
| Genre | ! scope="column" style="background:#ccc;" | Styles |
|---|---|---|
| Standard or 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 | ||
| Bolero, Cha-Cha-Cha, Jive, American Jive, Mambo, Paso Doble, Rumba, Salsa, Street Salsa, Samba, African Samba | ||
| Choreographers | ||
| Mark Ballas, Leonardo Barrionuevo, Sharna Burgess, Dmitry Chaplin, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Alex Da Silva, Sasha Farber, Anya Garnis, Jean-Marc Généreux, Jason Gilkison, Hunter Johnson, Jenna Johnson, Pasha Kovalev, Melanie LaPatin, Miriam Larici, Liz Lira, Michael Mead, Tony Meredith, Tomas Mielnicki, Ron Montez, France Mousseau, Mary Murphy, Jonathan Platero, Oksana Platero, Toni Redpath, Jonathan Roberts, Elena Samodanova, Fabian Sanchez, Edward Simon, Emma Slater, Heather Smith, J.T. Thomas, Louis Van Amstel, Gustavo Vargas, Glenn Weiss | ||
Jazz is featured in nearly all performance episodes. While these routines are typically labeled 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 | ! scope="column" style="background:#ccc;" | 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 | ||
| Chloe Arnold, Al Blackstone, Andy Blankenbuehler, Warren Carlyle, Sean Cheesman, Tyce Diorio, Joey Dowling, Brian Friedman, Laurie Ann Gibson, Savion Glover, Derick K. Grant, Mark Kanemura, Charles Klapow, Ray Leeper, Spencer Liff, Mandy Moore, Anthony Morigerato, Amanda Robson, Wade Robson, Sonya Tayeh, Travis Wall, Nick Young | ||
These dance styles are featured less frequently than their ballroom relatives but have been seen intermittently since the first season.
| Genre | ! scope="column" style="background:#ccc;" | 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 | ||
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 | ! scope="column" style="background:#ccc;" | Styles |
|---|---|---|
| Regional/Traditional Styles | ||
| Bollywood, African, Capoeira, Flamenco, Irish, Kalinka, Malevos, Tahitian, Tropak | ||
| Choreographers | ||
| Lilia Babenko, Leonardo Barrionuevo, Nakul Dev Mahajan, Miriam Larici, Tiana Liufau, Youri Nelzine. | ||
See main article: List of So You Think You Can Dance 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 (Breakdance) | |||
| 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 (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) | |||
| 14 | Lex Ishimoto (Contemporary Hip-Hop) | Koine Iwasaki (Contemporary) | Taylor Sieve (Contemporary) | Kiki Nyemchek (Latin Ballroom) | |||
| 15 | Hannahlei Cabanilla (Contemporary) | Jensen Arnold (Latin ballroom) | Genessy Castillo (Contemporary) | Slavik Pustovoytov (Hip Hop/Animation) | |||
| 16 | Bailey Muñoz (Breaking) | Mariah Russell (Contemporary) | Gino Cosculluela (Contemporary) | Sophie Pittman (Contemporary) | |||
| 17 | Alexis Warr (Latin Ballroom) | Keaton Kermode (Contemporary) | |||||
| 18 | Anthony Curley (Contemporary) | Dakayla Wilson (Jazz) | Madison Rouge Alvarado (Jazz Funk) | ||||
On September 2, 2009, as a 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.
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 the summer of 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 of 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.[11]
In April 2014, Lythgoe appealed to fans on Twitter 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.[12] The show was renewed for a twelfth season, but ratings continued to decline, with an average of around 3.5 million viewers per show. FOX renewed the show for a thirteenth season but with a drastically reworked 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".[13]
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | First aired | Last aired | TV season | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Viewers (in millions) | Date | Viewers (in millions) | |||
| 1[14] | Wednesday 8:00 pm | July 20, 2005 | 10.30 | October 5, 2005 | 8.20 | 2005 |
| 2[15] | Wednesday 8:00 pm Thursday 9:00 pm | May 25, 2006 | 10.70 | August 16, 2006 | 10.70 | 2006 |
| 3[16] | May 24, 2007 | 9.50 | August 16, 2007 | 9.60 | 2007 | |
| 4[17] | May 22, 2008 | 6.70 | August 7, 2008 | 9.70 | 2008 | |
| 5[18] | May 21, 2009 | 8.80 | August 6, 2009 | 9.60 | 2009 | |
| 6[19] | Tuesday 8:00 pm Wednesday 8:00 pm | September 9, 2009 | 6.60 | December 16, 2009 | 7.10 | 2009-10 |
| 7[20] | Wednesday 8:00 pm Thursday 9:00 pm | May 27, 2010 | 8.20 | August 12, 2010 | 6.70 | 2010 |
| 8[21] | Wednesday 8:00 pm Thursday 8:00 pm | May 26, 2011 | 9.50 | August 11, 2011 | 6.10 | 2011 |
| 9 | Wednesday 8:00 pm | May 24, 2012 | 6.26[22] | September 18, 2012 | 4.71[23] | 2012 |
| 10 | Tuesday 8:00 pm | May 14, 2013 | 5.12[24] | September 10, 2013 | 4.37[25] | 2013 |
| 11 | Wednesday 8:00 pm | May 28, 2014 | 5.33[26] | September 3, 2014 | 4.12[27] | 2014 |
| 12 | Monday 8:00 pm | June 1, 2015 | 4.03[28] | September 14, 2015 | 2.44[29] | 2015 |
| 13 | May 30, 2016 | 3.75[30] | September 12, 2016 | 2.27[31] | 2016 | |
| 14 | June 12, 2017 | 3.56[32] | September 25, 2017 | 1.91[33] | ||
| 15 | June 6, 2018 | 3.25[34] | September 10, 2018 | 2.60[35] | 2018 | |
| 16 | Monday 9:00 pm | June 3, 2019 | 2.70[36] | September 16, 2019 | 1.93[37] | 2019 |
| 17 | Wednesday 9:00 pm | May 18, 2022 | 2.07[38] | August 10, 2022 | 1.46[39] | 2022 |
| 18 | Monday 9:00 pm | March 4, 2024 | 1.04[40] | May 20, 2024 | 0.80[41] | 2024 |
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 broadcasts 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."[42] Several 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, Live to Dance, and World of 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 to launch The Dizzyfeet Foundation, intending to provide scholarships and training to young dancers of limited means.[43] 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, now held annually on the last Saturday of July, to promote fitness through movement.[44] This national dance day has been celebrated annually by the show since.[45]
Before the end of 2005, the year that the series first premiered, its format had already been licensed for the first of several foreign adaptations. To date, the resulting So You Think You Can Dance franchise has produced 28 shows representing 39 countries and comprising more than 90 individual seasons. These adaptations have aired in Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iraq, India, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palestinian Territories, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
As of 2017, nine former SYTYCD contestants have been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography. Five were 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. Hokuto Konishi, Ryan “Ryanimay” Conferido, and Dominic “D-Trix” Sandoval were nominated in 2016 as part of the B-boy troupe Quest Crew for their work on America's Best Dance Crew. Dmitry Chaplin in 2009 and Travis Wall in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 were nominated for their work on SYTYCD itself. The only former contestants to have won the Choreography Emmy are Konishi, Conferido, and Sandoval in 2016 and Wall in 2015 and 2017.[46]
| Emmy Awards and nominations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Category | Recipient(s)/ Choreographer(s) | Style | Music |
| 2007 | Outstanding Choreography | Wade Robson | Pop-Jazz | "Ramalama (Bang Bang)"—Róisín Murphy | |
| Mia Michaels | Contemporary | "Calling You"—Celine Dion | |||
| 2008 | Outstanding Choreography | Wade Robson | Jazz | Hummingbird and Flower/"The Chairman's Waltz" from Memoirs of a Geisha | |
| Mandy Moore | Jazz | Table/"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"—Eurythmics | |||
| Shane Sparks | Hip-hop | Transformers/"Fuego"—Pitbull | |||
| Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic) | |||||
| 2009 | Outstanding Choreography | Tyce Diorio | Contemporary | Adam and Eve/"Silence" from Unfaithful | |
| Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo | Hip-hop | "Bleeding Love"—Leona Lewis | |||
| Mia Michaels | Contemporary | "Mercy"—Duffy | |||
| Dmitry Chaplin | Argentine tango | "A Los Amigos" from Forever Tango | |||
| Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic) | |||||
| Outstanding Costumes For A Variety/Music Program Or A Special | Soyon An | ||||
| 2010 | Outstanding Choreography | Mia Michaels | Contemporary | "Koop Island Blues"—Koop feat Ane Brun | |
| Contemporary | Addiction/"Gravity"—Sara Bareilles | ||||
| Contemporary | "One" from A Chorus Line | ||||
| Stacey Tookey | Contemporary | Fear/"Two Steps Away"—Patti LaBelle | |||
| Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic) | |||||
| Outstanding Costumes For A Variety/Music Program Or A Special | Soyon An Graine O'Sullivan | ||||
| 2011 | 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 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| Mandy Moore | Pop-Jazz | "Oh Yeah"—Yello | |||
| Jazz | "Boogie Shoes"—KC & the Sunshine Band | ||||
| Contemporary | "I Surrender"—Celine Dion | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| Travis Wall | Contemporary | "Collide" (Acoustic Version)—Howie Day | |||
| Contemporary | "How It Ends"—DeVotchKa | ||||
| Contemporary | "Fix You"—Coldplay | ||||
| Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program | Cat Deeley | ||||
| Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Series | Robert Barnhart Pete Radice Patrick Boozer Matt Firestone | ||||
| Outstanding Reality-Competition Program | Producers | ||||
| 2012 | Outstanding Choreography | Stacey Tookey | Contemporary | "In This Shirt"—The Irrepressibles | |
| Contemporary | "Turning Tables"—Adele | ||||
| Contemporary | "Heart Asks Pleasure First"—Ahn Trio | ||||
| Christopher Scott | Hip-hop | "Misty Blue"—Dorothy Moore | |||
| Hip-hop/Contemporary | "Velocity"—Nathan Lanier | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program | Cat Deeley | ||||
| Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series | Robert Barnhart Matt Firestone Pete Radice Patrick Boozer | ||||
| Outstanding Reality-Competition Program | Producers | ||||
| 2013 | Outstanding Choreography | Sonya Tayeh | Contemporary | "Possibly Maybe"—Björk | |
| Contemporary | "Turning Page"—Sleeping At Last | ||||
| Jazz | "Sail"—Awolnation | ||||
| Mandy Moore | Contemporary | "The Power of Love"—Celine Dion | |||
| Contemporary | "Wild Horses"—Charlotte Martin | ||||
| Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo | Jazz/Hip-hop | "The Circle of Life/Nants Ingonyama (District 78 Remix) from The Lion King"—Ella Fitzgerald | |||
| Jazz[47] | "The Lovecats"—The Cure | ||||
| Jazz | "The Beautiful People (Marilyn Manson song) | The Beautiful People (District 78 remix)"—Marilyn Manson | |||
| Travis Wall | Contemporary | "Where the Light Gets In"—Sennen | |||
| Contemporary | "Without You"—Harry Nilsson | ||||
| Contemporary | "Unchained Melody"—The Righteous Brothers | ||||
| Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program | Cat Deeley | ||||
| Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series | Robert Barnhart Matt Firestone Pete Radice Patrick Boozer | ||||
| Outstanding Reality-Competition Program | Producers | ||||
| 2014 | 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) | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program | Cat Deeley | ||||
| Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic) | |||||
| Outstanding Reality-Competition Program | Producers | ||||
| 2015 | Outstanding Choreography | Travis Wall | Contemporary | "Wave"—Beck | |
| Contemporary | "When I Go"—Over the Rhine | ||||
| Contemporary | "Wind Beneath My Wings"—RyanDan | ||||
| Sonya Tayeh | Contemporary | ||||
| Contemporary | "So Broken (Live)"—Björk | ||||
| Contemporary | "Europe, After The Rain" —Max Richter | ||||
| Spencer Liff | Broadway | "Hernando's Hideaway"—Ella Fitzgerald | |||
| Broadway | "I've Got the World on a String"—Frank Sinatra | ||||
| Broadway | "Maybe This Time"—Liza Minnelli | ||||
| Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program | Cat Deeley | ||||
| Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series | Robert Barnhart, Matt Firestone, Patrick Boozer, Pete Radice | ||||
| Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series Or Special | Sallie Nicole, Sean Smith, Dean Banowetz, Ralph Abalos, Shawn Finch, Melissa Jaqua | ||||
| Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special | Heather Cummings, Marie DelPrete, Amy Harmon, Tyson Fountaine, Adam Christopher | ||||
| Outstanding Reality Competition Program | Producers | ||||
| 2016 | Outstanding Choreography | Travis Wall | Contemporary | "Beautiful Friends"—Helen Money | |
| Contemporary | "November"—Max Richter | ||||
| Contemporary | "Gimme All Your Love"—Alabama Shakes | ||||
| Anthony Morigerato | Tap | "Dibidy Dop (Swing Mix)"—Club des Belugas feat. Brenda Boykin | |||
| Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series | Robert Barnhart, Matt Firestone, Patrick Boozer, Pete Radice | ||||
| 2017 | Outstanding Choreography | Travis Wall | Contemporary | "The Mirror"—Alexandre Desplat | |
| Contemporary | "Send in the Clowns"—Sarah Vaughan and the Count Basie Orchestra | ||||
| Contemporary | "She Used to be Mine"—Sara Bareilles | ||||
| Mandy Moore | Contemporary | "Unsteady (Erich Lee Gravity Remix)"—X Ambassadors | |||
| Contemporary | "This is Not the End"—Clare Maguire | ||||
| Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series | Robert Barnhart, Matt Firestone, Patrick Boozer, Pete Radice | ||||
| Year | Result | Category | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Choice TV: Breakout Show | ||
| Choice Summer Series | |||
| 2007 | Choice Summer TV Show | ||
| 2008 | Choice Summer TV Show | ||
| Choice TV: Reality Dance | |||
| 2010 | Choice Personality: Cat Deeley | ||
| Choice Summer TV Show | |||
| 2018 | Choice Summer TV Show |
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