So You Think You Can Dance was an Australian version of the American reality dance competition So You Think You Can Dance.So You Think You Can Dance Australia Official Website on Ten – So You Think You Can Dance The show was hosted by Carrie Bickmore, with judges Paula Abdul, Shannon Holtzapffel, Jason Gilkison and Aaron Cash.
The first season began airing on Sunday, 3 February 2008 at 7.30 pm and continued on Sundays and Mondays until the final on 27 April 2008.About the TV Show – So You Think You Can Dance Jr. – So You Think You Can Dance The program's second season began airing on Sunday, 1 February 2009 and continued on Sundays and Mondays until the final on 26 April 2009. The third season began on 31 January 2010 and continued on Wednesdays and Thursdays until 21 April 2010. The show was previously hosted by former The X Factor judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte, with Jason Coleman, Matt Lee and Bonnie Lythgoe acting as the judges.
Through telephone and SMS text voting, viewers have chosen nineteen-year-old Broadway dancer Jack Chambers, eighteen-year-old Ballet dancer Talia Fowler and eighteen-year-old Contemporary dancer Robbie Kmetoni as Australia's Favourite Dancer. The eligible age-range for contestants is currently 18–35 years old.
In July 2010 it was announced Network Ten had cancelled So You Think You Can Dance Australia in favour of a new musical/dancing format for 2011. However, Network Ten said it was in continuing discussions with production company FremantleMedia Australia regarding the format's future.Channel Ten axe So You Think You Can Dance, Retrieved 13 July 2010. In 2011, rumors began to appear in the Australian media industry press that the series would be returned to broadcast, likely on original home network Ten. The show returned with a fourth series broadcast on Network Ten starting on 9 February 2014.
Show format
A typical season of So You Think You Can Dance is divided between a selection process, during which expert judges select contestants from a wide pool of applicant dancers, and a competition phase, during which these "contestants" (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.
Open auditions The open auditions, the first stage in determining a season's contestants, take place in 5 to 8 major Australian cities each season and are typically open to anyone aged 18 to 35 at the time of their audition. The cities where auditions are held change from season to season but some, such as Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, have featured in most seasons. During this stage, the contestants 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 Australian dance choreographer Jason Coleman. This panel then decides on the spot whether the dancer demonstrated enough ability and performance value to proceed further. If the contestant exhibited exceptional ability in their performance, judges award "a ticket to Sydney" (or in future seasons "a ticket to the Academy"), moving them instantly one step forward in the competition. Alternatively, if judges are on the fence about the contestant, 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 use professional choreography.
Callbacks The second stage of the selection process is referred to as "the callbacks" (this round was referenced as "Sydney Week" for much of the show's run, as it was held in Sydney, but was called "Choreography Round" from future season. 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 contestants are put through a battery of rounds that test their ability to use 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 contestants 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 contestants 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 contestants 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 contestants remain in a pool the top contestants are chosen. The first four seasons have featured 20 "top" contestants for the competition portion of the show, but season 5 would have featured a Top 10.
Contestant stage Following the contestant 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. Contestants are paired up into female-male couples that will sometimes stay paired for much of the remaining competition if neither is eliminated (would have in season 5, contestants have also been occasionally paired with "All Stars", returning contestants from previous seasons who pair up with the contestants, 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 packets 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 contestants, 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.
Series overview
Overview of format and presentation by season Season Dates Host Permanent judges Separate results show? Contestant showcase episode? Number of contestants 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 contestants starting with1 2008 (February 2008-April 2008) Natalie Bassingthwaighte Jason Coleman, Bonnie Lythgoe, Matt Lee Yes No 20 2 4 1 N/A Top 10 Top 102 2009 (February–April) Yes No 20 2 4 1 N/A Top 10 Top 103 2010 (January–April) Yes Yes 20 2 4 1 N/A Top 10 Top 104 2014 (February–April) Carrie Bickmore Paula AbdulShannon HoltzapffelJason GilkisonAaron Cash No Yes 20 2 4 1 N/A Top 10 Top 10
Dance styles and choreographers Throughout its four 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.
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 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 Styles Western Classical styles Contemporary, Lyrical, Modern, Ballet/Pas de Deux Choreographers Steven Agisilaou, Kelly Aykers, Josival Bispo, Rafael Bonacela, Sarah Boulter, Channing Cooke, Amè Delves, Debbie Ellis, Ame Delves, Jacqui Howard, Anthony Ikin, Dana Jolly, Chris Ladera, Debbie Ellis Linnert, Ludwig, Paul Malek, Sher Manu, Larrissa McGowan, Project Moda (Shannon Holtzapffel and Simon Lind), Penelope Mullen, Marko Panzic, Shaun Parker, Christopher Scott, Juliette "Jet" Verne, Travis Wall, Steven Watson, Natalie Weir, Paul White, Jason Winters, Brendan Yeates
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 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 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 Rosa Agius, Jason Bird, Vince Calingasan, Tiana Canterbury, Katie Cesaro, Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, Alvin Decastro, Parris Goebel, Phillip Haddad, Tiana Joubert, Etienne Khoo, Matt Lee, Project Moda (Shannon Holtzapffel and Simon Lind), Kat Molnar, Manuela Oliveira, Nacho Pop, Jesse Rasmussen, Fabio Robles, Travers Ross, Andrew Sears, Christopher Scott, Garry Stewart, Yannus Sufandi, Supple, Juliette "Jet" Verne, Jason Winters
Ballroom styles 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.