So You Think You Can Dance (American season 16)

The sixteenth season of So You Think You Can Dance ("SYTYCD"), an American dance competition reality show on FOX, returned on June 3, 2019. The series has won numerous awards since its debut in 2005, including eleven Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography, the most for any show. This panel of judges again features series creator Nigel Lythgoe, as well as the return of ballroom dance champion and expert Mary Murphy. New to the panel are choreographer Laurieann Gibson and B-boy dancer/choreographer Dominic "D-Trix" Sandoval, who serve as the third and fourth judges during auditions and live shows. Cat Deeley continues in her role as host for a fifteenth consecutive season, for which she has earned five Emmy Award nominations. The grand prize is $250,000, a cover article in "Dance Spirit", and the title of "America's Favorite Dancer".
In the first five episodes, the Judges' Auditions featured about six full performances each along with the judges' critiques, as well as montages of other dancers. From those auditions, a pool of eighty-three contestants, who each earned a Golden Ticket advancing them to The Academy where they face, in the next episodes, six Academy Rounds that winnow down to the Top Ten—five women and five men—for the live shows.
In episode ten, and for the rest of the season, the live Studio Performance Shows showcase the finalists in solos, duets, and group numbers, as they vie to connect with viewers who vote for their favorites. The following week, at the end of the show, the two women and two men with the lowest vote totals will be up for elimination. The judges decide which woman and man will be cut.
On September 16, 2019, Bailey Muñoz was crowned "America's Favorite Dancer" and became the first b-boy to win the title in the show's history. A forty-stop tour featuring the Top Ten contestants and two All-stars started soon after the finale and ran until December 2019.
Judges' Auditions.
Madison Jordan, an eventual Top Six contestants, shared that she submitted her online video in January and was contacted a month later to in-person auditions. Those auditions, for dancers ages eighteen to thirty, took place with producers in: New York on February 9, 2019; Dallas on February 12; and Los Angeles on February 23. From these, approximately 130 dancers were chosen by the producers to audition in Hollywood in March before the panel of judges.
In addition to the new judges, the televised auditions have been revamped so instead of remote tryouts, the contestants come to the new "SYTYCD" Hollywood studio, outfitted with 120 cameras surrounding the stage, allowing the movement to be "frozen" in time, like bullet time. Another change is the addition of a studio audience instead of being just the rest of auditioners and their supporters.
The five episodes of Judges' Auditions each featured about six full-length dance routines; with an introduction package about the contestant, critique, and vote from the judging panel. Only a few of those were excluded from moving to The Academy Rounds; the successful auditioners were given a "Golden Ticket" to the Academy. In addition, montages of auditions were also mixed in with the full ones, showing a mix of some voted through.
Some of the episodes were also themed; episode four featured various couple configurations including identical twin eighteen-year-old contemporary dancers Trent and Colton Edwards.
The Academy.
"The Academy Rounds", filmed in April, started in episode six at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California with the eighty-three contestants who made it through the "Judges’ Auditions" to get a Golden Ticket by excelling in a dance style of their choice. Over three days they will go through four "Choreography Rounds" of The Academy; rehearsing new dance routines, from a professional choreographer, en masse for ninety minutes.
They then face the original four judges, in small groups, who can: pass them through; have them “dance for their lives”; or be cut from the competition. Of those that started: approximately only one in four, or twenty (ten women, and ten men) will make it to the "Top Twenty"; and they will face "The Final Cut", with only half (five women, and five men) going through to the "Top Ten" studio performance shows.
Choreography Rounds.
The four "Choreography Rounds" were:
The Academy's first three rounds were shown in episode six. Day One started with the "Hip-hop Round", after which ten of the eighty-three dancers who started are cut, including Trent, one of the identical twins. Day Two, the "Ballroom Round" cuts another fifteen people including: Colton, the other identical twin; and Sarah “Smac” McCreanor, a jazz dancer who wowed the judges as a comedic performer, but whose dancing was not at a high enough standard for the season.
Episode seven picks up in the middle of the "Contemporary Round", where fifty-four dancers faced more cuts: including Jay Jackson, a contemporary dancer, and drag queen, who competed in drag last year but opted not to this time; and Jarrod Tyler Paulson, who is in a romantic relationship with fellow contestant Madison Jordan, who advanced to the "Top Twenty". Day Three sees the forty-three remaining dancers take on "The Group Round": the judges do their cuts by seeing the contestants grouped by their dance genres; eleven are cut, leaving thirty-three.
The Final Cuts.
The Academy Week finishes with the last two "Academy Rounds": The "Solo Round" features each of the remaining thirty-three contestants dancing a solo in their own genre, thirteen are cut, and the "Top Twenty" are revealed; while "The Final Cut" pares the dancers down to ten contestants.
In episode eight and nine, we will see "The Final Cut" coverage. Each contestant will be paired with a "SYTYCD" All-Star, and choreographer, to rehearse a duet outside the contestant's genre. In episode eight the Top Ten girls compete, the Top Ten boys compete the following week in episode nine. The five contestants going through will be announced each night.
Top Ten Girls.
In order of appearance in episode eight:
Top Ten Boys.
In order of appearance in episode nine:
"Top Ten" contestants.
The "Top Ten" contestants are:
Elimination chart.
Contestants are listed in chronological order of elimination.
Studio shows.
The Academy Rounds took place in April, the contestants had a few months off to practice as the live shows did not begin filming until August. The rest of the season consists of the live shows—taped in front of a live audience on Saturdays, then aired the following Monday; with the exception of the finale, which was broadcast live—eliminating finalists based on viewer votes to determine "America's favorite dancer". Finalist Sophie Pittman shared the experience can be "kind of nerve-racking because we don't know what to expect". According to Barbara Muñoz, mother of another finalist, Bailey, contestants "draw from a hat what genre and choreographer they're paired with". The dancers are in rehearsal Tuesday through Saturday, "more than eight hours a day with professional choreographers", with new styles each week and usually one or more partners.
Top Eight.
The Top Eight show marks a format change to a two-hour show. Each contestant will dance five times: a solo; two duets; and two group numbers including the opening; before the elimination at the end.
Top Eight group number:
Choreographed by Jonathan and Oksana Platero, the number is a mash-up of Latin/Rhythm dances to "Himno del Carnaval", by District 78 featuring Agina. Afterwards host Cat Deeley alluded to this episode going "around the world", with later numbers presenting dance styles from Africa, Polynesia, and South America. "Dance Spirit" Alison Feller noted the series has gone "above and beyond" to "bring worldly dance forms to the small screen".
Top Six.
The Top Six sees the introduction of the All-stars (AS) into the opening group number, and as duet partners for the first round. Choreographer Mandy Moore noted that using the AS forces the finalists to quickly develop a connection with a new partner. Each finalist will perform: a solo; two duets, one with an AS, and one with their finalist partner; and two group numbers, the opening number, and a trio.
Host Cat Deeley shared that last week's vote was the biggest of the season. The judges know the results and will base their elimination decisions on the "Top Six" performances.
Top Six group number:
Choreographed by Christopher "Pharside" Jennings &amp; Krystal "Phoenix" Meraz the opening group included the six finalists as well as six All-stars doing a contemporary piece to "Down" by District 78 featuring Alexandra Senior.
Top Four.
The Top Four is the last night of the competition, and sees the continuation of the All-stars (AS) in the opening group number, and as duet partners. Next week's finale showcases the Top Ten in favorite performances from the season. Each finalist will perform: a solo; four duets, one with an AS, and one with each of the other finalists; and the opening number. The votes from this week will be combined with last week's to reveal the winner in the finale.
Top Four group number:
Choreographed by Mandy Moore the opening group included the finalists as well as AS doing a contemporary piece inspired by Cats, the movie based on the musical of the same name, premiering in December 2019; the performance used a medley inspired by the movie's music.
"So You Think You Can Dance Live! 2019" tour.
In July 2019, the "So You Think You Can Dance Live! 2019" tour was announced. The forty-stop tour starts October 12 in Atlantic City, New Jersey—covering the U.S., with two Canadian stops—and ends December 6, 2019, in Reno, Nevada.
The Top Ten contestants will be among the performers, which will also include two "SYTYCD" All-Stars: Lauren Froderman, season seven winner; and Cyrus "Glitch" Spencer, season nine finalist. The concert will feature some of the current season's most popular routines and also include original works created for the tour.
National Dance Day.
The 10th anniversary of National Dance Day (September 21), an event started by "SYTYCD" creator and lead judge Nigel Lythgoe's American Dance Movement (formerly the Dizzy Feet Foundation) was announced for several weeks. The official routine choreography is by Matt Steffanina to “Electricity” by Dua Lipa.