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So You Think You Can Dance held auditions for SYTYCD season 9 in New York City — check out DanceOn’s coverage including interviews with Nigel and Mary. Video Below

So You Think You Can Dance is searching for dancers to compete on Season 9! SYTYCD S3 contestant Lauren Gottlieb tells you about her auditions experience, and where you can audition. Also, SYTYCD choreographers Napoleon and Tabitha D’umo share their exciting news with Lauren! Video Below

In case you’re not an avid Twitter follower of Nigel (@dizzyfeet) you might have missed some of Nigel’s tweets today that talk about some big changes that will be coming to SYTYCD 2012. Here are the tweets from Nigel Lythgoe:

#FOX have cancelled the results show so I will have to change the format of #SYTYCD. At least we have another season at the end of MAY.

— Nigel Lythgoe (@dizzyfeet) January 1, 2012

Of course, I’m a little intrigued and a bit shocked that the results show has been cancelled. It will take some time for me to process this idea and think of whether this is a really good or bad thing. There’s no doubt that SYTYCD hasn’t done what Fox would like it to do and if this next season wasn’t good then I wouldn’t be surprised if SYTYCD is cancelled all together. So, I guess it makes sense for Fox to cancel the results show as a preliminary step.

My gut feeling says that this could be a good thing. If done right it could bring new life into SYTYCD. Change is not always good, but if done right it can be great. One thing that I think I’ll miss most from the results shows is the group dance. Those group dances were some of the best dances that SYTYCD put together. They were always fun and exciting. I hope Nigel and Fox find a way to somehow incorporate the group dances still.

Another interesting thing is how “dancing for your life” will work. To be honest, it never really felt like they were dancing for their life. At least not since SYTYCD season 2 where I may have just been uninformed to how it was really working. I can only think of once or twice when the “dancing for your life” may have made any real impact on the judges. They basically already know who they want to have leave most of the time.

I’m sure I’m missing other things, but wanted to get this out there to hear your thoughts.

Don’t worry #SYTYCD fans. I’m thrilled we have a new series. We’ll do our best to find some great talent starting next week in Atlanta.

— Nigel Lythgoe (@dizzyfeet) January 1, 2012

I love when Nigel says British things like “series” as opposed to “season”. I’d love to hear from anyone that plans to go to the SYTYCD Auditions in Atlanta.

I’m certainly not mad at FOX they have supported #SYTYCD FOR 9 seasons. With the help of Mike Darnell I think we have some great new ideas.

— Nigel Lythgoe (@dizzyfeet) January 2, 2012

I’m optimistic like Nigel. Fox really has been great to keep SYTYCD around for 9 seasons. As I said above, they need to breathe some new life into SYTYCD or it will be cancelled, so I say let’s swing for the fences. 9 seasons is great for a TV show, but I definitely would like another 9 seasons of SYTYCD!

My best suggestion for Nigel Lythgoe and Mike Darnell is to search for more unpolished dancers that we can see become polished over the arc of the series. Mix that with some tremendous dancers and we’ll have another great season.

Lauren Gottlieb (So You Think You Can Dance Season 3, Top 6) and Todrick Hall (American Idol, Broadway’s Memphis) recap week 5 of Dancing with the Stars Season 13. Find out how the couples did when taking on 80′s night! All new episode of FYI every Tuesday — Video below

Just Dance catches the So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) Tour on the road and interviews Jess, Ricky, Caitlynn and Clarice! Find out about Marko’s injury, and watch exclusive footage of the opening number and Melanie & Marko’s spicy dance from the show on the road. Video Below

It was announced today that Fox has chosen to pickup up SYTYCD for another season in 2012. Here’s the tweet from Nigel:

FOX has picked up #SYTYCD for it’s 9th season, it was announced today by Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment, Fox. [HOORAY]

October 6, 2011 1:09 pm via EchofonReplyRetweetFavorite

@dizzyfeet

Nigel Lythgoe

That’s right, this will be So You Think You Can Dance season 9. Pretty awesome that it’s been around so long and that is was renewed after SYTYCD Canada was cancelled. While I don’t think the ratings have been as strong as they’d like, the show does have a really strong loyal following. Although, I’m not sure that we’ll get a SYTYCD season 10 in 2013 if the ratings for SYTYCD 2012 aren’t better than they were this year. The tone of Nigel’s tweet shows his excitement for the renewal which to me says renewal of SYTYCD wasn’t a sure thing. Maybe Nigel and the SYTYCD producers should take a look at some suggestions to improve SYTYCD.

Hi Everybody,

So I wanted to do a short write-up about the tour (I saw it in Atlanta) and one of our readers sent us a link to her pictures from the Norfolk, VA show. Donna C. must have been on the front row because her pictures are ah-mah-zing! Clearly, her favorites are Melanie and Tadd, but she’s got a lot of great shots of everybody. Well, done Donna C. and thanks for sharing them with us!

The tour shows are always high-energy, but Season 8 ramped it up about 100%. I don’t think a single dancer got to stand still for even 5 minutes during the show. Even when they were changing costumes, they must have been hopping and jumping back on stage. It was so much fun and so well-orchestrated that EVEN without the All-Stars and MARKO! it was a fabulous show.

I’d have to say that the best thing about this tour versus other tours I’ve seen is that those cheesy little bits with the dancers talking between routines were limited this time around. In fact, this was the only one, at the beginning (also the only time I can verify that any dancer stood still):

Melanie and Sasha do a little introducing

What they did this go-around was set up big sequences and incorporate several of the best (and new!) routines within the sequences. They would segue between routines with solos.

So, they would have a big group number, then a smaller group or pairs routine (often overlapping, with several couples on stage at once so there was no gap between numbers) and then a solo. Then, we’d have another big group number melting into smaller routines and another solo. It was always high-energy and entertaining. I didn’t feel like *I* had a chance to catch my breath all night, so I don’t know how the dancers did it.

My favorite moments:

-Melanie performed the statue routine on her own since Marko was injured and it was so gorgeous and poignant. She filled the space, but it also felt like she was dancing in his honor. She got a standing ovation in Atlanta (it was a hometown crowd, after all, but it was also spectacular).

-Ricky filled in BEAUTIFULLY for Neil (with Melanie in the “Total Eclipse of the Heart” routine) and also for Kent (with Sasha in the “Fool of Me” wall routine) AND Twitch (with Sasha again in “Misty Blue”). He was so good and not only filled the shoes of the All-Star who originally performed the routines, but made them his own.

-Nick was amazing. It was so good to have him on the tour and see him dance as much as he did.

-Almost all of the solos were awesome! They kept just building in intensity and I could see how much man of them had grown since the beginning of Season 8.

-The whole sequence that began with the wall of bars for “Please, Mr. Jailer” and also had the table on stage at the same time was so inventive and stellar. Some of my favorite routines were in that section of the tour (you’ll see it in the pictures) and there was some new stuff as well.

This may have been one of my favorite tours just for the sheer intensity. I didn’t get to meet and greet with the dancers afterwards due to weather, so I was really glad I got to meet them beforehand (and got all those hugs).

Check out some of my favorite of Donna C.’s pictures below and click here to see the slideshow of her photos.

Hi everybody!

I just got back from interviewing the tour dancers before tonight’s show. It was a lot of fun. They’re all really funny and warm. I got hugs all around as we walked out of the interview room and I’m looking forward to watching the dances.

Marko is still injured so he won’t be dancing tonight. Still, the dancers are hopeful he’ll join them before too long.

Here’s a warning: Some of the dancers’ responses are really soft and I’m kinda loud, especially when I laugh, since the camera was closest to me. I hope I don’t kill your eardrums, but I think you’ll enjoy the dancers’ responses to your questions. Also, I was so entertained by the dancers that I forgot I was interviewing them just a little bit a few times. It was so much fun!

Please send us more as our writers should be interviewing the dancers at different cities along the tour!

AND I forgot to show y’all the picture I took! Here it is:
Read more…

Watch this video of Lauren Gottlieb (SYTYCD) and Todrick Hall (American Idol) recapping the first week of DWTS Season 13. Video Below

Check out Pure Dancing with the Stars for all your DWTS coverage needs.

Hi everybody!

The SYTYCD Season 8 tour has started and tomorrow will be Atlanta’s turn. Amanda and I will both be there and it looks like we’ll be able to meet with the dancers in the afternoon, before the show, and ask them questions. Including Season 8 winner Melanie, who’s a Marietta girl like me!

SO, is there anything you’d like us to ask them? Let us know!