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 contestants. 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 TenâÂÂboth gender: five women and five menâÂÂfor the studio shows.
In episode ten, and for the rest of the season, the Studio Performance Shows showcase the contestants 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 (both gender) with the lowest vote totals will be up for elimination. The judges decide which woman and man: 1 in each gender will be cut.
On September 16, 2019, Bailey Muñoz was crowned "America's Favorite Dancer" and became the first b-boy contestant 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. Muñoz and fellow grand finalist Mariah Russell, who were paired as a couple from the first performance episode, became the forty-first contestants in the show's run never to face elimination from being among the bottom four contestants, became the thirty-second contestants to be in the grand finale, and became the sixth pair in the show's run never to face elimination from being among the bottom four contestants in the grand finale and became the second original couple who were the final two without being in the bottom four and the second season that the top four were never in the danger zone.
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 contestants 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 contestants 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 audition contestants 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 audition contestants 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 contestants Trent and Colton Edwards.
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 Judgesâ 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 âÂÂdance for their livesâÂÂ; or be cut from the competition. Of those that started: approximately only one in four, or twenty (ten women, and ten men in each gender) will make it to the Top Twenty; and they will face The Final Cut, with only half (five women, and five men in each gender) going through to the Top Ten studio performance shows.
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 contestants who started are cut, including Trent, one of the identical twins. Day Two, the Ballroom Round cuts another fifteen contestants including: Colton, the other identical twin; and Sarah âÂÂSmacâ McCreanor, a jazz contestant who wowed the judges as a comedic performing contestant, 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 contestants faced more cuts: including Jay Jackson, a contemporary contestant, 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 contestants take on The Group Round: the judges do their cuts by seeing the contestants grouped by their dance genres; eleven contestants are cut, leaving thirty-three contestants.
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 contestants 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 (each gender) compete the following week in episode nine. The five contestants going through will be announced each night.
In order of appearance in episode eight:
In order of appearance in episode nine:
The Top Ten contestants are:
Contestants are listed in chronological order of elimination.
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 studio showsâÂÂtaped in front of a live audience on Saturdays, then aired the following Monday; with the exception of the finale, which was broadcast liveâÂÂsending home contestants based on viewer votes to determine "America's favorite dancer". Contestant 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 contestant, Bailey, contestants "draw from a hat what genre and choreographer they're paired with". The contestants 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 pairs.
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".
The Top Six contestants sees the introduction of the All-stars (AS) into the opening group number, and as duet pairs for the first round. Choreographer Mandy Moore noted that using the AS forces the contestants to quickly develop a connection with a new pairs. Each contestants will perform: a solo; two duets, one with an AS, and one with their contestants 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 & Krystal "Phoenix" Meraz the opening group included the six contestants as well as six All-stars doing a contemporary piece to "Down" by District 78 featuring Alexandra Senior.
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 contestants will perform: a solo; four duets, one with an AS, and one with each of the other contestants; 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 contestants 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.
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 JerseyâÂÂcovering the U.S., with two Canadian stopsâÂÂand 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 contestant. The concert will feature some of the current season's most popular routines and also include original works created for the tour.
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 âÂÂElectricityâ by Dua Lipa.