So You Think You Can Dance

"So You Think You Can Dance" is one of the hottest reality shows on American television today. It is on the Fox network, but it is also broadcasts in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, and Australia. It features dance contestants vying for a chance to win a new car, cash ($100,000) and contract with a Las Vegas show.

It began airing on July 20, 2005 and was immediately an overnight success. Now in its third season, it was ranked #1 for the summer of 2006 and there are planned spin-offs for New Zealand, Turkey, Israel, Malaysia, and Norway. Of course, the fact that it was a huge hit is hardly a surprise. After all, it was developed by the masterminds of "American Idol", Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe. Lythgoe appears as the head judge along with permanent judge Mary Murphy. Mary has choreographed dance routines for such stars as Julia Roberts, Donnie Wahlberg, Dennis Quaid, and Mary Steenburgen. The third judge rotates between guest judges (all either professional dancers or choreographers) such as Dan Karaty ,Nu Stylz (Olisa Thompson & Cicely Bradley), Mia Michaels, Jean Mark Genereux, Brian Friedman, Doriana Sanchez, Shane Sparks, and Ron Montez. Cat Deeley, an English beauty who is a former model, disc jockey, and television personality, has hosted the show for the last two seasons. The first season was hosted by Lauren Sanchez, a media personality.

One of most exciting parts of the show is that you get to see formally trained dancers compete alongside truly talented street dancers with little or no formal training. The contestants audition, just like on "American Idol", and those who are deemed good enough this year get a plane ticket to Las Vegas. There the contestants are whittled down to the final 20 (ten girls and ten guys). At that point, contestants will be divided up into partners, which remain the same for the first five weeks unless one is eliminated. The couples must dance different dance styles to both focus on their strengths and expose their weaknesses. The viewing audience gets to vote for their favorite couples for the first five weeks. After that, viewers vote for their favorite individual dancers. Each week, one girl and one guy is eliminated until the final four are left.

Who were the finalist and winners of each season? Here is a recap of the first two seasons of "So You Think You Can Dance".

Season One

The final four were Ashle Dawson, Jamile McGee, Melody Lacayanga, and Nick Lazzarini. Ashle and Jamile were eliminated in the semi-finals, leaving best friends Melody and Nick in the finals. Nick Lazzarini was declared the winner. He lives in Los Angeles and continues to dance professionally with Melody.

Season Two

The final four were Donyelle Jones, Travis Wall, and cousins Heidi Groskreutz and Benji Schwimmer. Heidi and Donyelle were eliminated in the semi-finals, leaving an all male finale between Travis and Benji. Benji, whose father Buddy is the "King of Swing," was eventually named the winner. He and Heidi danced together on Fox's New Years Eve show and released an instructional dance video. He is also set to appear in a made-for-TV movie titled "For the Love of Dance."

The third season just started, but already promises great dancing talent, including the sister of one of last year's top ten guys, Stanislav Savich.

Additional SYTUCD Resources

Latest Recaps for So You Think You Can Dance

SYTYCD: And the Winner is Sabra!
Posted: 16 Aug 2007
Well, Cat promised us tonight would not contain padding, but I knew differently.  It was a two-hour finale that could have easily been wrapped up in 30 minutes.  But anyhow, we got to see all top 20 dancers again.  And they said they brought back the judges from the season, but I didn’t see Debbie [...]

SYTYCD: The First Part of the Finale
Posted: 16 Aug 2007
After Nigel said, the competition was very tough this year and Mary called him an English Muffin (that was hilarious!), we saw everyone dance with everyone else.  I was waiting for Lacey to dance with one of the cameramen or something. But seriously, we saw all four contestants dance together, including dances that featured the two [...]

SYTYCD: Danny, Neil, Sabra, and Lacey are in the Finals!
Posted: 14 Aug 2007
After what appeared to be a Thriller wannabe opening dance routine by the top six, we spent a lot of time just waiting to hear who the finalist were.  Honestly, this could have easily been a 30-minute show, but for some reason, the producers subjected us to an hour. We found out that Cedric would be [...]

SYTYCD: Who Will Be the Final Four?
Posted: 9 Aug 2007
Tonight, we saw each couple perform two dances and each dancer do a solo.  The guest judge was the magnificent Debbie Allen.  The show was only an hour, so it moved at a breathtaking speed. First up were Pasha and Lacey who chose hip hop and smooth waltz.  For the hip hop routine, Lacey was playing [...]