Welcome to the third season of So You Think You Can Dance, the search for the next person who will become Australia's favourite dancer.
This season promises to be just as exciting as the past two seasons, with new competitors, new challenges, more exciting performances, and high drama.
The biggest change this year is that performance shows have been moved from Sunday nights to Wednesday nights, as in the American version. (In the first two seasons, performance shows were taped on Friday nights and edited before being shown on Sunday nights. This season, performance shows are taped on Monday nights except for the top 4 performance, which is taped on a Tuesday night) This will put the show against established programs on other channels such as Criminal Minds on Seven and Spicks & Specks on the ABC.
The show also gain new sponsors this year: The Royal Australian Navy, Norsca, Berocca (replacing Metamucil as official medicine), Bonds, and Australian Banana Growers Council, while McDonalds returns as a sponsor, and Panasonic returns as official audiovisual partner.
On top of its Twitter account, this year the show has a new Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/sytycda
Who will follow Jack Chambers and Talia Fowler as Australia's favourite dancer? Tune in and find out! If you miss part or all of an episode, or if you live in areas that don't receive the program or Channel Ten at all, you can catch the episode at the official SYTYCDA website: http://dance.ten.com.au

Prizes
Each top 20 contestant receive a $1000 artistic grant from McDonald's. The bottom 10 dancers each receive two Panasonic Lumix cameras, while the top 10 dancers each receive a Panasonic VIERA plasma TV and a Panasonic Blu-Ray recorder.
The winner receives $200,000 prizemoney plus the chance to perform in one of 3 dance tours in Australia or overseas:
1. Joining forces with Internationally acclaimed contemporary company Australian Dance Theatre (based in Adelaide), this years winner will be offered a contract to perform in "Ignition" Season 2010, ADT's annual choreographic season by Artistic Director, Garry Stewart and his outstanding choreographers. The prize includes four weeks of rehearsal and a five week season at the Adelaide Festival Centre.
2. "Burn The Floor" is Jason Gilkison’s sizzling ballroom blockbuster that’s been wowing audiences around the globe for over ten years. Hot off the heels of their hugely successful sell out run on Broadway – Burn the Floor are offering Australia’s favourite dancer an all expenses paid contract on their upcoming 35 week US tour.
3. The SYTYCD winner will be offered a leading role on the Australian production of Broadway hit musical Hairspray, set to premiere at Melbourne's Princess Theatre on October this year. The local version will be directed by David Atkins (also responsible for 2000 Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony and the opening and closing ceremonies of the recent Vancouver Winter Olympics) and choreographed by Jason Coleman.

2010 Top 20 Contestants



Guys
Don Napalan, 25 (Sydney, NSW) Genre: Hip-hop ELIMINATED 11/3
Doug De Vodgt, 23 (Perth, WA) Genre: Jazz/Broadway ELIMINATED 4/3
Garrett "Gaz" Griffiths, 25 (Gold Coast, QLD) Genre: B-boy ELIMINATED 25/2
Heath Keating, 22 (Mullumbimby, NSW, but now lives in Sydney) Genre: Contemporary/ballet ELIMINATED 18/3
Kieran McMahon, 18 (Keilor Park, VIC) Genre: Ballroom/Latin ELIMINATED 1/4
Matthew "Matt" Geronimi, 22 (Sydney, NSW) Genre: Ballroom/Latin ELIMINATED 25/3
Nick Geurts, 21 (East Bentleigh, VIC) Genre: Contemporary/ballet ELIMINATED 8/4
Phillipe Witana, 30 (Brisbane, QLD) Genre: Hip-hop 4th place
Robert "Robbie" Kmetoni, 18 (Sydney, NSW) Genre: Contemporary/ballet WINNER
William "Will" Centurion, 31 (Sydney, NSW) Genre: Ballroom/Latin ELIMINATED 18/2

Girls
Carly Cooper Smith, 21 (Sydney, NSW) Genre: Jazz/Broadway ELIMINATED 1/4
Grace Stewart, 21 (Brisbane, QLD, but now lives in Sydney) Genre: Contemporary/ballet ELIMINATED 4/3
Ilona Fabiszewski, 21 (Sydney, NSW) Genre: Hip-hop ELIMINATED 18/2
Issabelle "Issi" Durant, 18 (Sydney, NSW) Genre: Contemporary/ballet ELIMINATED 11/3
(Lauren) Ivy Heeney, 23 (Sunbury, VIC) Genre: Contemporary/ballet 3rd place
Jess Stokes, 20 (Sydney, NSW) Genre: Contemporary/ballet ELIMINATED 25/3, reinstated 27/3 after Jessica P withdrew, eliminated 8/4
Jessica Prince, 21 (Newcastle, NSW) Genre: Contemporary/ballet WITHDREW 26/3
Jessie Hesketh, 19 (Sydney, NSW) Genre: Contemporary/ballet RUNNER-UP
Mikhaela Gregory, 20 (Hoppers Crossing, VIC) Genre: Jazz/Broadway ELIMINATED 25/2
Renee Ritchie, 20 (Hobart, TAS, but now lives in Sydney) Genre: Contemporary/ballet ELIMINATED 18/3

Sources: SYTYCD website and Who magazine

2010 SYTYCD Schedule
(all episodes shown at 8pm local time unless otherwise stated. Performance shows are recorded two days before the air date.)
*Live to NSW, ACT, VIC and TAS, delayed to other regions

January 31: Gold Coast auditions
February 2: Sydney auditions
February 3: Melbourne auditions
February 4: Top 100 round, Top 20 revealed
February 10: Top 20 showcase night
February 17: Top 20 performance
February 18: Top 20 results* (guest performer: Taylor Swift, recorded on February 8 )
February 24: Top 18 performance
February 25: Top 18 results* (guest performer: Gossip)
March 3: Top 16 performance
March 4: Top 16 results* (guest performer: Adam Lambert)
March 10: Top 14 performance
March 11: Top 14 results* (guest performer: Kelly Rowland)
March 17: Top 12 performance (couples to perform two routines from this round onwards)
March 18: Top 12 results* (guest performer: Cobra Starship)
March 24: Top 10 performance
March 25: Top 10 results (guest performer: Ke$ha)
March 31: Top 8 performance
April 1: Top 8 results (guest performer: Gabriella Cilmi)
April 7: Top 6 performance
April 8: Top 6 results (guest performer: Jason Derulo)
April 14: Top 4 performance
April 21: GRAND FINAL (guest performers: Regina Spektor, Australian Dance Theatre, cast of Fame the Musical)

yeah i know but i more like American Idol , so will watch that only.

Bonnie Lythgoe has admitted to excruciating nerves before the live shows of So You Think You Can Dance.
"I get so nervous you should see me," the show judge told the Sunday Herald Sun. "I can't eat, I can't breathe, I can't do anything."
"Matt (Lee) and I are exactly the same, while Jason (Coleman) is in total control."

There will be previews of the show in TV Week magazine this week and next week.
Can't wait for tonight's show

YAY for this thread!! I shall be moving in here for the next few months Sorry if my furniture gets in the way hehe
I LOVE SYTYCDA!! I went backstage and met the Top 10 at the tour last year My friends from dancing auditioned this year, look out for her: Zoe, 18, Adelaide

The Sunday Telegraph says that the top 3 from season 2 last year, Talia Fowler (winner), Charlie Bartley (2nd) and Amy Campbell (3rd), will all star in Fame: The Musical, which opens in Melbourne's Regent Theatre on April 15 before hitting Brisbane and Sydney later this year. Timomatic, which reached the top 8 last year, will also have a role.
Kate Wormald, who finished 3rd in season 1 in 2008, has been signed to beauty brand Norsca and will give dance tips on SYTYCD website.

Omg Geoffrey (I think that was his name the guy whose mum had never seen him dance) was amazing his routine was incredible. Stunning.

xx

our TV aerial fell off the roof in the wind so I can't watch it!!! OMFG I'm soooooooo peed off!!!

With Brisbane's Queensland Performing Arts Centre unavailable, the auditions were held at Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. I noticed there were more people flying from interstate to audition, instead of waiting for their chances when auditions would be held at their home state, due to work/study commitments.
Poor you You can catch tonight's program at the Channel Ten website in the morning

I saw her performance tonight, which was quite good. A little spoiler for you:

Zoe reached the top 100 via choreography class

REALLY!!! Did she get in?!?!?!?!?
i dont think she made it very far if she did :'(

I will miss the first week

^ You will miss the first week if you can't watch the video on Channel Ten website.

@johnson Are you sure it was Zoe? My friend didnt see her...

^ There was a girl named Zoe from Adelaide and I thought it was her.

EDITED 2/2: If you live in Victoria you and your friend can win a trip to see a live performance show in Sydney. The prize includes accommodation, limo transfer and meeting Natalie and the judges backstage. Entry details in the new Switched On (TV) supplement in Wednesday's Herald Sun, which also features an interview with Natalie Bassingthwaighte. (Switched On is one of several supplements that will appear on News Limited metropolitan papers nationally from Monday to Friday.)

I was surprised at the number of international people..either they live in QLD now or flew in. The two friends who came up from SYD..why don't they audition in SYD, maybe there going to audition at both.

Liam the breakdancer, her used to teach breakdancing at my dance school, and he breakdancers for the gold coast blaze. So glad he got through.

..and lol at it being held at the GC convention centre..i work there and was like WTF..auditions where held here. Didn't even realise...

I asked my friend and Zoe didn't get in!! I'm surprised, she's a full time dance student at AC Arts and she's AMAZING!!

Just saw Kym Walterson, teacher at Sydney's Hebersham Primary School, performing in front of fellow contestants, his class and the three judges. He made it through to the top 100, but he and the 25 or so kids who went to see the audition at Sydney's Luna Park function centre had to keep this a secret until the audition went to air tonight.

WOW, that's a good effort for primary school kids!! I think most people tell their close friends and family though

Remember Forever? She auditioned last year with a painted face and got through. This time she went to the audition with a normal look but her dance was (in Jason's words) the worst he had seen.

OMG, Forever danced at the Grand Final, and she was also in the video montage at the begining of the Live Tour!!! I love her! Was she good, or was Jason being mean?

^ Well, Forever's dance was average this time, and Jason was not being mean.
Jason described the dance by Grace of Brisbane as "the best of Sydney". What a compliment!

Lucky Grace!! I'm so going to audition when I'm 18!!

Omg Chantal.

xx

The Melbourne auditions were held at the BMW Edge theatrette at Federation Square - and at night. And like Australian Idol last year, the Adelaide and Perth auditions will not be shown. Why?

WHY NOT RADELAIDE!! What about all of us who have friends that auditioned!!! I hate Channel 10!! GRRRR

Just saw this 20-year-old girl named Jess who moved to Paris when she was 12. Her dance was unbelievable.

I wanna move to France, French people are hot

Just finished watching the Melbourne auditions. It's the first time a second-round audition was held at Federation Square (BMW Edge amphitheatre) and at night. A clever tactic by the producers to hold the dances under the cover of darkness so that no many people found out what happened.
Be sure to watch the two-hour top 100 round tomorrow. There was a group of dancers who were eliminated midway through a routine choreographed by Kellie Abbey.

Great to see last year's top 4 back
Kym Walterson, the Sydney primary school teacher, did not make it through the first round.
Now comes the biggest shock of tonight's episode:
In the second round, 25 people were picked by Jason Coleman and eliminated in one go, while rehearsing for the jazz routine. However, they were not really eliminated, they were given a secret choreography challenge. They were divided into groups of 5-6 and given their own costumes and each group had to devise its own routine.

^

xx

Awwww, I wanna watch it!! I was allowed to tape it today, but I can't watch it until Monday

What do you think of the top 20 contestants for this year? I only saw half of last night's episode as I had to travel to the airport to pick up my brother (who had just returned from Hong Kong), and I will watch the episode again at the SYTYCD website on Saturday morning.

New tweet from SYTYCD website:

Finally saw the top 100 episode today. It was a dramatic week for Issi, who had to juggle her HSC exams and preparing for her dance routines (this kind of gave way that the top 100 was done in late November). She didn't do well in the top 40 solo dance, but still managed to reach the top 20.
Renee is the first Tasmanian to reach the finals of SYTYCD. Will she be as well as fellow Tasmanian Reggie Bird, who won Big Brother in 2003?

The top 20 contestants went to see the top 100 episode in Gold Class style at Event Cinemas at George Street, Sydney, on Thursday night. The video plus clips of them rehearsing can now be seen on SYTYCD website.

The latest issue of Who magazine, which features Megan Gale on the cover, has the first group photo of the top 20 dancers. Most of them come from NSW, with four from Victoria, two from Queensland, and one each from Tasmania and WA. The most confusing thing is that there are three girls named Jess, which will make voting so difficult.
Look for the first interview with the top 20 in TV Week magazine, which goes on sale on February 8.

Dancer Alvin, who didn’t make it through to the Top 20 was invited by Jason Coleman to submit as a choreographer for the show.

The top 20 contestants' weekly Monday fitness session - beyond being a nice tie-in for the Royal Australian Navy, a major program sponsor clearly targetting young females - has the group participating in team-building exercises with the Navy's taskmasters, reports The Sunday Telegraph.
The boot camp will be part of the two-hour showcase this Wednesday.

Can't wait for the top 20 showcase tonight

The groups for tonight are:
IVY & DOUG
RENEE, CARLY & MIKHAELA
WILL, KEIRAN, MATT, JESSICA
ILONA, JESS S, PHILLIPE
GRACE, JESSIE H, NICK, HEATH
ISSI & ROBBIE
DON & GAZ
The 20 contestants will also dance as a whole, and in groups of guys and girls.


(as posted in The Happiness Thread in General Discussion)


The Daily Telegraph says today that Taylor Swift did take time out to film a segment for So You Think You Can Dance on Monday and immediately hit it off with the young contestants.
She visited Redfern Carriageworks where she performed before posing with the 10 female finalists on the Channel 10 show.
They were costumed Moulin Rouge-style for a Matt Lee -choreographed group routine which goes to air tonight.
Swift's performance of You Belong To Me will air next week.

Herald Sun says that Kesha will perform on SYTYCD results show on March 25.

Wow the Twilight inspired routine was great. I loved the jump Grace did and landed on the 2 guys it was awesome. Heath does the whole evil thing very well.

xx

Great show last night. Certainly a good move to showcase the top 20 dancers before the real competition. But please do it LIVE!

The pairings and dance genre for next week's top 20 performance are:
Don and Issi (hip hop)
Doug and Jess S. (ballroom)
Gaz and Ivy (ballroom)
Heath and Jessica P. (jazz)
Kieran and Carly (contemporary)
Matthew and Jessie H. (contemporary)
Nick and Ilona (jazz)
Phillipe and Renee (hip hop)
Robbie and Mikhaela (ballroom)
Will and Grace (jazz)

OK, this is getting ridiculous now. With the performance show now screening on Wednesday, it will now be taped on a MONDAY. A working day. Just how many people will want to order tickets to see the dancers perform, even though there may be one or two Mondays which are public holidays?
BTW, the Box Office is now open to order tickets (and will do so every Thursday) to performance shows on Monday nights and live results show on Thursdays.

Centrebet odds on SYTYCD winner (note: these were updated after last night's performance show, to be aired on Wednesday):
JESS S. 7.00
ROBBIE 7.50
GRACE 8.00
HEATH 9.00
RENEE 9.00
ISSI 10.00
NICK 11.00
DOUG 12.00
JESSIE H. 12.00
MATT 12.00
DON 15.00
IVY 15.00
WILL 16.00
CARLY 21.00
GAZ 26.00
MIKHAELA 26.00
ILONA 31.00
KIERAN 31.00
PHILLIPE 31.00
JESSICA P. 41.00

My thoughts of top 20 dances so far:
Matt Lee and Natalie pointed out some dancers had suffered injuries while rehearsing but Matt said it was normal. Grace broke her left thumb.
Nick and Ilona's routine to the tune of Lady Gaga and Beyonce's Telephone can only described as cute.
How on earth were Matt and Jessie able to conceal a long sheet of fabric inside their T-shirts? And how did they manage not to tear it apart?

So Good Ad just played YAYAYAYAY! That was a very nice surprise

Will and Grace .. Hah!

Kieran apparently is an Essendon fan, and visited Windy Hill (the Bombers' club HQ) last week before returning to Sydney for more rehearsals.

I'm going for Kieran whoever he is !!! I don't even watch... and what about W&G Rhedz? Funny show

^^ Will and Grace are the couple dancing now (if you're watching in Adelaide )
Grace has cool hair! hehehehehe
And Grace broke her thumb

Hahahaha that's funny as!!

Heath and Jessica's dance to the tune of Alicia Keys' Empire State of Mind (Part 2) was great!

Where are you watching from Johnson? I haven't seen that yet?