'So You Think You Can Dance' announces format and judging changes

So You Think You Can Dance will be putting a kibosh on last season's revamp and largely returning to the format utilized during the show's first six seasons when it premieres on Thursday, May 26 at 8PM ET/PT on Fox.


However, one key part of So You Think You Can Dance's seventh-season will still remain -- the use of "all-star" contestants who competed on prior seasons as dance partners.

Unlike last season, which only began with 11 finalists, the eighth season will return to the show's prior Top 20 format and feature the judges selecting 10 guys and 10 girls who will perform for the first time on the show's June 15 broadcast.

Last season, So You Think You Can Dance eliminated the competition's traditional semifinal rounds entirely and went directly to a Top 11, of which each finalist was paired with a rotating all-star each week. All the way up until the Top 4, viewers were only responsible for deciding the bottom-three contestants, while the judges determined which single contestant -- male or female -- would get sent home from the competition.

However, this summer's edition will instead revert to So You Think You Can Dance's prior voting and give home viewers more direct control.  While the judges will still determine which male and female contestant will be eliminated from each week's bottom-three vote-getters through the Top 10, viewers will then once again be the sole deciding factor in which two contestants, one male and female, are eliminated each week.


Similar to last season, So You Think You Can Dance's contestants will also be paired with a rotating all-star (rather than a fellow contestant) once the Top 10 are determined, according to Fox. 

The format of the reality dance competition is not the only aspect of So You Think You Can Dance that will be changing. Fox has also announced after serving as a regular judge for the show's last two editions, Adam Shankman will only serve as an occasional guest judge this season.

Although the show is losing one permanent spot on the judging panel, it is gaining another. So You Think You Can Dance will feature the return of Mary Murphy as a regular judge, joining executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe on the panel along with a variety of guest judges.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski