After five seasons, the summer sensation that is So You Think You Can Dance (Dance... Dance... Dance...) arrived on the fall schedule Wednesday night with host Cat Deeley promising the best season ever. It might have been more interesting if she said this season would probably rank about third or fourth on the all-time list.The one-hour audition show brought us to Los Angeles, where the contestants were subjected to the same rules fans already know: the best dancers would get a ticket to the next round in Las Vegas, the worst would go home, and the in-betweens would be asked to come back at the end of the day for a bit of group choreography as a last chance to see if they belong.Cole Clemens vowed to be unique and succeeded. He made little use of judge Nigel Lythgoe's standard line of Cue, music. Cole moved without music and did some kind of living art type of deal that ended with him blowing out an invisible candle in the palm of his hand. After working to contain their laughter,...

The So You Think You Can Dance auditions headed east from Los Angeles, but not too far, as they landed in Phoenix on the quest to find America's favorite dancer for the sixth time.Choreographer extraordinaire Mia Michaels joined regular judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy to critique the talent that the desert had to offer.The first pair, Biggie and Shortie, were sort of a modern day Laurel and Hardy that described themselves as two clowns who took 19 hours to make the 15-hour drive from Tulsa, Okla. The oddly matched pair, Brandon Shortie Smallwood and Demetrio Biggie Bargas, had the judges laughing from the get go, and Nigel admitted he didn't anybody who watched that and didn't enjoy it. Nigel said Brandon was the better technical dancer, but together they were a great act. Mary thanked them for their brief entertainment, and seemed to assume they wouldn't stick around, but Nigel and Mia teamed up to bring Biggie and Shortie back for the choreography, so they'd get ...

The So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 auditions headed east to Boston on Wednesday night, where Nigel Lythgoe and Co. hoped they'd find America's new favorite dancer.A plaid-pants-and-bow-tie-wearing goofball named Teddy Tedholm was prepared to give the judges a whimsical (he provided the air quotes) dance that he said accurately portrayed his personality. At least we thought he was a goofball. His style was sort of a miming meets contemporary that the judges actually seemed to enjoy. Nigel called it a great performances and said there was so many little musical games you were playing that he could have a real chance in this competition. Mary Murphy said she couldn't decide whether Teddy was crazy or brilliant, then decided he was crazy brilliant. Guest judge Tyce DiOrio called him fantastic, awesome, brilliant and Teddy was handed a ticket to Vegas.Jean Lloret, a street dancer who said he had no formal training but could do things a lot of people wish they could do -- yeah,...

After visiting the east and west, the So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 auditions headed south to Atlanta.Crump legend Lil C joined regular judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, and after some quick explanations of the rules, it was time to get started.Billy Bell practiced quite a bit, running down a list of the dance classes he takes the way Bubba listed types of shrimp preparations in Forrest Gump. Nigel said he had great legs and technique, but gave him some pointers. Nigel said he was a no for choreography, and Mary and Lil C agreed. A dejected Billy shook his head before Nigel said he was a yes for Vegas and handed him a ticket.Amber Jackson, 18, had graceful and precise body movement but Nigel criticized her for not looking at her audience (the judges) while she danced. He said she was a great dancer, but her performance was (expletive bleeped). Mary and Lil C agreed, with Lil C saying he hoped it was a wake-up call. They gave her a pass to choreography and Nigel ...

The So You Think You Can Dance auditions went deeper into the South on Wednesday night, heading to New Orleans for the first time in the show's six seasons.Head judge Nigel Lyhtgoe was absent from the auditions because he was back in the U.K. getting an honorary doctorate from the University of New Bedfordshire. (I thought it sounded fake when he missed a results show for that same trip last season, and my mind hasn't changed -- despite the fact that they showed a picture of him holding his degree standing next to a couple of old British guys).Guest judges Adam Shankman and Lil C joined Mary Murphy in The Big Easy.Shelby Skip Skipper came out with a mission: To put New Orleans Bounce Music on the map. A seemingly very tired Mary told Skip that she really liked it even though she'd never heard of New Orleans Bounce. Adam said he was a New Orleans Bounce expert, and Mary chimed in with, I heard you learned New Orleans Bounce last night! She proceeded to crack up while Lil C ...

With the bar set impossibly high, according to host Cat Deeley, another round of hopefuls auditioned for the sixth season of So You Think You Can Dance on Tuesday night. This stop: Salt Lake City.Regular judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy were joined by choreographer extraordinaire, Mia Michaels.Bryan Boyer, a B Boy dancer with spray-painted red hair and a black streak through it, brought some high-energy moves, including a trademark flip on and over his head. Nigel said it was very strong and called Bryan one of the best hip-hop dancers the show has had. The others agreed and brought him back for choreography.Tristy Mirci -- who said she'd been in 25 car accidents in three years, though she'd never been the driver -- turned out to be a better car passenger than she was a dancer. Nigel assumed she'd never taken dance lessons, but she claimed she'd trained for three years. He said her teachers were taking her money under false pretenses. Tristy went home, and Cat pointed out that...

After touring the country and picking up talent from the north, south, east and west, the sixth season of So You Think You Can Dance finally settled in Las Vegas for the second round of the competition.A bunch of judges and choreographers were on hand as 152 hopefuls tried to prove themselves for a spot among the final 20 dancers. Mia Michaels, Debbie Allen, Tyce DiOrio, and Adam Shankman joined Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe for the big round.The first part of the process had each dancer take the stage alone in front of the judges.Nathan Trasoras, 18, was the first dancer we saw. The judges actually saw him last season, but he was too young for the competition, so Nigel gave him a ticket for this season.Contemporary dancer Ellenore Scott put on a memorable display that mixed technique with a bit of comedy and had the judges applauding.After the first 10 solos, the judges compared notes and sent two dancers home immediately.Allison Becker and Thomas Hamilton, whose stories of ...

The first three rounds of Las Vegas week on So You Think You Can Dance whittled the finalists down to 77, but that number would still have to be cut down to 20 on Wednesday night's episode.The first round was a tough jazz routine that split the husband and wife team of Karen and Matthew Hauer, with Karen moving on and Matthew going home. Later, audition round favorites Iveta Lukosiute and Willem de Vries were sent packing.Molly Gray -- whose family literally packed their bags, put them in a car and drove to California -- was told she was dancing like a little girl and had to start dancing like a woman. That's why we have 18-year-olds and not 16, Nigel said. Because I want women here. After walking off the stage, Molly realized she'd hurt her foot badly. She went to the hospital.Russell Ferguson, the first crumper to make it to Vegas in the show's six-year history, was also in the group. Nigel questioned Russell's lack of formal training, but told him he was doing so well ...

After weeks of auditions all over the country, 152 finalists made it to Las Vegas in hopes of claiming a spot in the Top 20 on the sixth season of So You Think You Can Dance. With just 38 left, Wednesday night's episode was all about naming the 10 guys and 10 girls who would continue on the journey toward being named America's favorite dancer.Host Cat Deeley first pulled Nathan Trasoras, the guy who was too young when he auditioned in Season 5 and was given a ticket to Vegas for Season 6 in advance. Mia Michaels told him that the show required maturity and called him a baby before telling him we would like to be part of your journey and told him he made it.A montage of Top 20 rejects followed before ballet dancer David Hovhannisyan was let loose.An extremely emotional and high-voiced Kathryn McCormick cried as she told the judges how much she'd opened herself up in Vegas and they mocked her crying before putting her through to the next Top 20.Contemporary dancer Channing Cooke ...

After the rigorous audition process and the grueling callbacks in Las Vegas, the Top 20 contestants have the opportunity to perform for America without fear of elimination. Each of the top dancers will showcase their personal dance style and skills. Written by Fox Publicity

The Top 20 take the dance floor. The dancers will be assigned partners, and now it's time to see which couples have the chemistry to light up the dance floor and impress the judges.

The results were in the judges' hands for one more week on So You Think You Can Dance on Tuesday night as the remaining 18 dancers vied to continue their quest for the title of America's favorite dancer. Regular judges Adam Shankman, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe took their seats, but Paula Abdul's empty chair remained so.Nigel then gave an update and let viewers know that Billy Bell, the Top 20 contestants who had to drop out of the competition due to an injury, could re-enter next season at the point at the contestants are narrowed down to the top 100. Brandon Dumlao, the fill-in who took Billy's spot but was booted from the competition in the first Top 20 episode, will also be allowed to enter next season.Each couple was asked about the best and worst things about their partners.Noelle and Russell: Noelle said the best thing about Russell was his voice, an the worst was that he is always wearing sunglasses. Russell liked that Noelle was really funny, but the worst was that she ...

The Top 16 dancers on So You Think You Can Dance were set to show America what they could do -- and for the first time in Season 6 the decision would fall to the viewers as to who should stay and who should go.Host Cat Deeley introduced the regular panel of judges, including Adam Shankman, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe, who proceeded to endlessly plug a Dizzy Feet Foundation performance that will happen at the Kodak Theater on Nov. 29. It will include the finalists from Season 5, some pros from Dancing with the Stars, crews from America's Best Dance Crew and stars of the Step Up movies. Mary will also be performing with SYTYCD alum and DWTS pro Dmitry Chaplin. Each dancer on Tuesday would get to tell America something the audience should know about them.Karen and Kevin: Karen revealed that she and her husband, with whom she auditioned, got a divorce shortly after the audition. She said they'd been having problems and had grown apart before deciding to split. Kevin said ...

The results was in the voters' hands for the first time on Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance as the top 16 competitors would find out which two of them would see their journeys end Wednesday night.Nigel said it was probably for the best that the vote was left to America, because it might save the judges from having to make a couple of particular cuts. He wouldn't name names, but he was suggesting that the audience likely saved someone who might not deserve it.To the results: The first three couples to the stage included Ryan and Ellenore, who were ripped apart by Nigel, in particular, for a shaky hip hop routine. They landed in the bottom three. Adam said he wasn't surprised, but said he was excited to see their solos.Channing and Victor were up next. They turned in a quality contemporary routine, but Nigel was underwhelmed because they were both dancing in their specialty. Kathryn and Legacy's Broadway routine was missing a bit of chemistry, according to Mary Murphy, but Legacy ...

The Top 14 dancers were ready to shake their groove things on for America's vote Tuesday night on So You Think You Can Dance. After a still-lengthy introduction -- but one free of the jarring tapping as the dancers were introduced -- host Cat Deeley welcomed the three regular judges: Adam Shankman, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe.Each of the dancers would share their stories of how they got into dance, and that would likely include some embarrassing childhood videos and photos. In the interest of fairness, Cat said, we got a glimpse of a 9-year-old Nigel, a high-school-aged Mary and a very young Adam flexing his tiny muscles.Ashleigh and Jakob: Ashleigh said she had a lot of energy as a child and used dancing as an outlet. Jakob said he got a little chunky in his awkward years and decided to take a dance class. They couple got a hip-hop routine from Tabitha and Napoleon, which told the story of a guy who cheated on his girl. Nigel loved the routine and said Jakob was challenged each ...

The Top 14 would become the dancing dozen by the end of Wednesday night's results episode. Judge Nigel Lythgoe said Tuesday night's performances signaled a wake-up call for some of the dancers who stepped up their game.The opening routine was choreographed by Wade Robson and Amanda Rodriguez and earned rave reviews from Adam Shankman.To the results: The first two couples hit center stage. First, Ashleigh and Jakob found out they were safe for another week. Next, Karen and Kevin -- the couple the judges unanimously said were in trouble this week -- were told they were in the bottom three. Adam said he wasn't surprised, but called Karen and Kevin two of the most poised and elegant dancers on the show and said they had to slaughter in their solos.Ellenore and Ryan earned high praise from the judges on Tuesday, with Adam saying they helped kick start the competition. They were safe.Noelle and Russell made the most of their second chance at the foxtrot of the season, at least in the judges' eyes...

12 remain. Each couple will be performing two dances. Starting next week the couples and dances will be picked at random.We start by hearing what each person will miss most about their performance partner.Ellenore says she'll miss Ryan's perfectionism and he'll miss her energetic, quirky personality. They'll be performing the Lindy hop choreographed by Carla Heiney. It has a lot of cartwheels, swingouts and lifts.Adam calls it a fantastic start to the show. He says Ellenore gets better and better every week. Mary says it's a stunning routine and is glad the dance is included this season. Nigel says I thought it was terrible...that we haven't had the Lindy hop on this season. He says it was terrific to watch.Next up, Kathryn and Legacy. He says she's helped him with his body and stretching and she'll miss the presence he brings to every routine. Their first dance is a jazz piece by Sonya Tayeh. She says it's based on a man who can't contain himself whenever he sees his lady. It...

The top 12 perform a trippy hip hop routine by Tabitha and Napoleon to What's a Girl Gotta Do? by Basement Jaxx to open the show.Cat tells us three couples are safe and three will be in danger and the judges will decide which guy and which girl will be cut.Nigel wishes us all a Happy Thanksgiving, even though Brits don't do turkey day. Then he tells us from now on America takes over deciding who stays and who goes.Mary raves about the group they've had this season.Adam thinks new couples means the dancers have to create chemistry where none was. The choreographers will also be affected, but on the plus side the top 10 know they get to go on tour. He encourages brio and confidence.Cat welcomes out the first two couples: Karen and Victor and Ashleigh and Jakob.Cat announces the first couple in danger is Karen and Victor. Ashleigh and Jakob are in the top 10.Mary says they saw Karen and Jakob's tough night coming, but they've been growing. She tells Karen they think she's exquisite. ...

We're down to the Top 10 on the sixth season of So You Think You Can Dance and for the first time, the decision on who stays and who goes will rest solely with the voters.The judges were happy about being off the hook in making the final elimination decisions for the rest of the season. Every dancer would perform a solo in addition to being matched with new partners. In a shorter than usual episode, we got straight to the dancing.Noelle and Ryan: Noelle and Ryan kicked off the night with what Cat Deeley called a not safe for work hip hop routine by Tabitha and Napoleon. Nigel apologized to Noelle for saying she wasn't sexy last week. He said she certainly was sexy this week. He told Ryan that his performance was a little bit too strong in that he didn't seem to be feeling the music. Mary praised the new couple for displaying great chemistry. She said Noelle seemed like a different dancer. She said Ryan had it all going on. Adam told Noelle she was smokin'. He said it was a ...

Host Cat Deeley preemptively made the viewers feel guilty about who was going home Wednesday night on So You Think You Can Dance. At the start of the show, she reminded us that for the first time all season, the decision was solely in the hands of the voters.With that, the Top 10 kicked off the night with a gritty, back-alley-style routine to Billy Joel's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me, choreographed by Tyce DiOrio.Head judge Nigel Lythgoe said that the pressure was off for the judges, but they would still be sad to see two dancers go. Mary Murphy agreed and said she was curious to see what America thought.To the results: Cat brought out the top five girls to go over the results. She first told Ellenore, who received rave reviews from the judges on Tuesday, that she was safe for at least another week. Mollee was the next to get the news that she, too, was safe.Noelle earned praise from the judges on Tuesday, but she was in the bottom two girls and would perform a solo later -- although...

The field is thinning on So You Think You Can Dance, and it was down to the Top 8 on Tuesday night as they vied to stay in the competition another week.Host Cat Deeley introduced your top eight dancers, but there was one missing. Cat asked Ashleigh to come out and explain why she was missing from the intro. She said she dislocated her shoulder during rehearsal, and she insisted she was OK to perform, but the doctors wouldn't clear her. Her phone number would be available for fans to vote for her anyway.The dancing pairs were shuffled up again, and we were off to the races...Kathryn and Ryan: Kathryn said she wanted to love every second of the short time left of the season. Ryan said it would be special to make it to the finale because he might get to dance with his wife, Ashleigh. They landed a Doriana Sanchez disco routine that she called a disco love story. They performed to a Samantha Ronson remix of Donna Summer's Last Dance. Adam said Ryan proved that real men can wear ...

The night opened with a high-energy contemporary routine choreographed by Sonya Tayeh that only featured seven dancers, meaning Ashleigh was out for the second consecutive night. The mystery remained as to whether Ashleigh would move on despite being unable to perform on Tuesday because of a dislocated shoulder.After a quick little feature to remind us that Samantha Ronson remixed some of Tuesday night's songs (and the opening number on Wednesday), it was time to get to the results.To the results: Russell, who received high marks from the judges for his hip hop and Bollywood routines on Tuesday, was up first. Russell was safely into next week's finale.Legacy contributed to what Nigel called a dangerous (in a good way) contemporary routine, but left the judges a bit disappointed with a hip hop routine. He'd never been in danger before, but found himself in the bottom two this week.That left Jakob and Ryan to wait and find out which of them was safe and which was in the bottom two. ...

The epic background music. The close-ups on the contestants' faces. The dramatically backlit Cat Deeley , speaking slower and more intently than ever before. It could all mean just one thing: The finals of the sixth season of So You Think You Can Dance have arrived, and the final six dancers will be competing one last time to see who takes home the $250,000 grand prize and be named America's favorite dancer.Kathryn and Ryan: With just one hour, Cat got right to the action and introduced Kathryn and a shirtless Ryan, who performed a Jake Gilkison samba. The performance had a tribal feel to it and ended with a big finish as Ryan tossed Kathryn over his head and she landed on his back. Nigel loved it and called the big finish stunning and said he couldn't wait to see it again in slow motion. Mary Murphy said Ryan was at home in his style and said Kathryn had control and balance in her performance. Adam said this show should now be called 'The Rise of Kathryn.' He said Ryan was, as ...