So You Think You Can Dance


So You Think You Can Dance is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by Idols producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has broadcast sixteen seasons since. Adaptations of the show began airing in other countries in late 2005 and to date 30 localized adaptations have been produced, representing 41 different countries and comprising more than ninety individual seasons.

Format

Although each varies in the particulars of its format and presentation, all shows in the So You Think You Can Dance franchise share a premise of placing dancers-—who come from a wide variety of dance backgrounds and are often amateur or semi-professional in experience—-in a competition which requires them to adapt to multiple styles of dance. As the competition progresses, a combination of judge decisions and at-home-viewer votes determine which dancers will advance in the competition from week to week, until ultimately one dancer is voted champion of that particular season and receives a prize package that may consist of money, work or training opportunities, additional material prizes, and typically the title of the respective country's "Favorite Dancer".
A show in the franchise is typically composed of three phases of competition: initial open auditions, callbacks/finalist selection, and finals/live performance shows. A given series or season may air only one show per week or two, but rarely more. The initial open auditions are typically held at various locations throughout the relevant country and are open to dancers of varied backgrounds and experience levels, though generally there is an age cap. Although usually unseen in the final aired edit of the show, some productions may also hold producer auditions, in which the initial talent pool is screened, before the televised auditions. The open auditions are overseen by a panel of judges, typically experts in dance or the entertainment field, who will select a portion of auditioning dancers to advance in the competition. The following stage, sometimes called the "callbacks", "boot camp", or "academy" will further reduce this remaining pool of dancers down to the season's "finalists", usually by putting the dancers through a series of short dance workshops and routines while the judges evaluate their capabilities, adaptability, and over-all potential for the competition. The callback phase ends when the judge's panel selects a number of season finalists.
Collectively the auditions and callbacks, being edited down considerably, represent only a minority of episodes and are televised during the first few weeks of a season. Following these episodes are the finals, in which the remaining contestants are matched into couples and are assigned new dance styles—-typically, but not always, assigned by a luck-of-the-draw system—each week. These episodes combine stage performances, short "behind-the-scenes" video packets of the dancers working with their choreographers and each other to master the routines, and judge evaluations of the performances to form the bulk of their run-time, occasionally supplemented by guest performances. These episodes are also the point at which at-home-viewers begin their involvement in the show: their votes will decide which dancers remain in the competition as eliminations reduce the number of contestants weekly until a finale episode in which the winner is revealed. While most of the above are elements shared by all shows in the franchise, entries vary considerably in the details: the number of finalists, the number of shows per week, the manner in which judge decisions are weighted against home-viewer votes, the styles of dance assigned, presentation style, production values, and even the number of winners are all examples of elements of the format that have fluctuated throughout the run of the franchise.

Dance styles

The following is a non-exhaustive list of dance styles which have been featured on shows within the So You Think You Can Dance franchise, with notes on nomenclature between versions. Only styles featured in choreographed duet or group routines during the competition phase of the show are listed here; styles featured only in solos or auditions are not listed.
GenreStyles
Western Classical StylesContemporary, Lyrical, Modern, Ballet/Pas de Deux
Street and Contemporary Club StylesHip-Hop, Lyrical Hip-Hop, Animation Breaking/B-boying, Contemporary Hip-Hop, Dubstep, Electric Boogaloo, Krump, House, Locking, Popping, Stepping, Voguing, Waacking
Classical/Standard/Smooth Ballroom StylesFoxtrot/Slowfox, Tango, Argentine Tango, Quickstep, Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Slow Waltz, English Waltz
Latin/Rhythm Ballroom StylesCha-Cha/Cha-Cha-Cha, Jive, American Jive, Lambada, Mambo, Pasodoble, Rumba, African Rumba, Cuban Rumba, Salsa, Street Salsa, Samba, African Samba
Jazz StylesJazz, Contemporary Jazz, Modern Jazz, Lyrical Jazz, Afro-/African Jazz, Commercial, Jazz-Funk, Latin Jazz, Pop/Pop-Jazz, Afro-Pop, Street Jazz
Broadway/Musical Theatre StylesBroadway, Burlesque, Can-Can, Tap Dancing
American Social / Traditional Club StylesBoogaloo, Charleston, Disco, New Disco, Go-Go, Hustle, Lindy Hop, Rock n' Roll, Swing, West Coast Swing
Regional/Traditional StylesBollywood, Dancehall, African, Afro-Cuban, Bellydance, Cabera, Capoeira, Kalinka, Maculelê, Malevos, Sevillanas, Tahitian, Tropak
Eastern Classical StylesMalaysian Classical/Contemporary, Chinese Classical/Contemporary, Indian Classical/Contemporary

Franchise index

Franchise that is in production
Franchise that has ended
Country/regionTitleLanguageHostNetworkFirst air dateSeasons
So You Think You Can Dance - Yalla Nerkos!ArabicRita HayekMTV
Annahar
Fox Movies ME
2014-09-28 28-09-20141
ArmeniaParir te Karogh EsArmenianGrikor AghakhanyanShant TV2011
AustraliaSo You Think You Can Dance AustraliaEnglishNatalie Bassingthwaighte
Carrie Bickmore
Network Ten2008-02-08 08-02-2008
2014-02-09 09-02-2014
Belgium
Luxembourg
Netherlands
So You Think You Can DanceDutch
English
EliZe
An Lemmens & Dennis Weening
RTL5
VTM
2008-09-08 08-09-2008
01-09-2009
Belgium
Luxembourg
Netherlands
'Dutch
English
Lieke van Lexmond & Dennis Weening RTL52013-04-13 13-04-2013
CanadaSo You Think You Can Dance CanadaEnglishLeah MillerCTV2008-09-11 11-09-2008
ChinaSo You Think You Can Dance: Wǔ Lín Zhēngbà
So You Think You Can Dance: Zhōngguó Hǎo Wǔdǎo
ChineseCheng Lei
Hua Shao
Dragon TV
Zhejiang STV
2013-02-16 16-02-2013
DenmarkKan Du Danse?DanishThomas Mygind & Anne Katrine SkoleTV32006-07-20 20-07-2006
FinlandDance SuomiFinnishCaro Axel SmithNelonen2010-08-29 29-08-2010
FranceYou Can DanceFrenchBenjamin CastaldiNT12012-02-16 16-02-20121
GermanyYou Can DanceGermanAnna MaierSat.120101
GeorgiaShen Shegidzelia CekvaGeorgianImedi TV 2016
Greece
Cyprus
So You Think You Can DanceGreekVicky Kaya
Doukissa Nomikou
Mega Channel
ANT1
2007-02-01 01-02-2007
2017 2017
IndiaSo You Think You Can DanceHindiRithvik Dhanjani & Mouni Roy&TV2016-04-24 24-04-20161
IsraelNolad LirkodHebrewZvika HadarChannel 22005-12-02 02-12-2005
KazakhstanBïle, Qazaqstan!Kazakh
Russian
Aisulu Azimbayeva & Aset ArystanbekovKhabar2016-09-24 24-09-2016
LithuaniaTu gali šoktiLithuanianMindaugas MeškauskasTV32010-04-11 11-04-2010
MalaysiaSo You Think You Can DanceEnglish
Malaysian
Juliana Ibrahim
Jehan Miski
Aishah Sinclair
8TV2007-04-05 05-04-2007
New ZealandSo You Think You Can DanceEnglishShane CorteseTV320061
NorwayDansefeberNorwegianKjetil Tefke & Henriette LienTVNorge2006
Poland'PolishKinga Rusin
Patricia Kazadi
TVN2007-09-1010-09-2007
PortugalAchas que Sabes Dançar?PortugueseJoão Manzarra
Diana Chaves
SIC2010-05-30 30-05-2010

Scandinavia
So You Think You Can Dance ScandinaviaSwedish
Norwegian
Danish
Kicki Berg
Henriette Lien
Vicki Jo
Kanal 5
TVNorge
Kanal 5
2008-02-28 28-02-2008
13-03-2008
13-03-2008
1
South AfricaSo You Think You Can DanceEnglishSade GilibertiSABC 12007-02-07 07-02-2007
Tunisia So You Think You Can DanceDarijaWalid Al SalamiEl Hiwar El Tounsi2019-01-31 31-01-20191
TurkeyDans Eder misin?
Dans Eder misin? Yaz Ateşi
Huysuz'la Dans Eder misin?
TurkishGüzide Duran
Seyfi Dursunoğlu
KanalD
FOX
aTV
ShowTV
2007
UkraineTancyuyut Vsi!Ukrainian
Russian
Lilia Rebryk & Dmytro TankovichSTB2008-09-12 12-09-2008
United KingdomSo You Think You Can DanceEnglishCat DeeleyBBC One2010-01-02 02-01-2010
United StatesSo You Think You Can DanceEnglishLauren Sánchez
Cat Deeley
Fox2005-07-20 20-07-2005
VietnamThử thách cùng bước nhảy: So You Think You Can DanceVietnameseHuỳnh Trấn Thành
Chí Thiện & Chibi Hoàng Yến
HTV72012-09-15 15-09-2012



International competition

In March 2014, CCTV broadcast a promotional episode in which notable 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 has yet to see a release or announcement in the U.S.. The episode featured head-to-head competition between "all-stars" in the form of solos and duets and was judged by an international panel.

The Next Generation

In 2013, the producers of the Dutch version of So You Think You Can Dance announced a spin-off series, titled , featuring dancers younger than those typically featured on the traditional entries in the franchise. The spin off lasted only one season. In 2016, producers adapted a similar format for of the American series, with competitors between the ages of 8 and 13.

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