Welcome to Pure So You Think You Can Dance

Nigel recently talked in an interview about his new show which is a sort of dance olympics:

Nigel describes his new dance show as basically a dance Olympics with dancers from all over the world and judges from all over the world also. Judges would only get to score those dancers that weren’t from their country. Sounds like it could be really interesting or really lame depending on how well the show is produced.

In a separate place, Nigel Lythgoe talks about Dancing with the Stars and fat dancers. I like that Nigel is happy to share the dancers between the various shows. Makes a lot of sense to me and I’m glad he sees that these dancers need work. It does make me wonder what kinds of contracts people on these shows sign to participate.

I was also very interesting in Nigel mentioning that Dancing with the Stars was possibly interested in having Chelsie Hightower on the show. She’s a great dancer. Quite the tom boy as you might recall, but she’d be pretty entertaining on the show. I’d be interested to see how versatile she is just as I was interested to see how versatile Lacey was when she made the switch.

Nigel is also pretty open about the idea of fat dancers. He doesn’t address specifically if Lacey Schwimmer is a fat dancer or not, but he does say there are a number of fat dancers that shouldn’t be dancing. I appreciate his comments there. It’s just not pleasant to watch. People are welcome and encouraged to dance if they are overweight, but don’t make the rest of us watch it. It’s just not pretty.

Completing the list of the videos from the SYTYCD finale, here’s all the incredible special group performances. The Wade Robson Cirque Du Soleil video is incredibly unique and different, but the battle between Phil and Rob was the best part of the whole night in my opinion.

Video of So You Think You Can Dance Finale - Cirque Du Soleil

Robert Muraine & Phillip Chebeeb battle danced to the song “Stronger”—Kanye West

- Original Music Video
Video of So You Think You Can Dance Finale - Pop N Lock Battle Phil n Rob

Debbie Allen Dance Academy featuring Nigel Lythgoe danced to the song “Boogie Wonderland”—Earth, Wind and Fire

Video of So You Think You Can Dance Finale - Debbie Allen Academy feat. Nigel

Video of So You Think You Can Dance Finale - Mary Murphy and Dmitry

Video of So You Think You Can Dance Finale - Past Dancers and Their Success

Video of So You Think You Can Dance Finale - The Best of SYTYCD

The final installment of music from the 2008 Season of So You Think You Can Dance. A very sad time for all of us. However, when you look back at the long list of SYTYCD music, then at least we can listen to our favorite music from the show to get us by until next year.

Top 20 Group Dance to the song “Boom”—Sin featuring T-Pain (Hip-hop; Choreographer: Shane Sparks)

Top 5 Male dancers group dance to the song “Five Guys Named Moe” from Five Guys Named Moe (Broadway; Choreographer: Nigel Lythgoe)

Robert Muraine & Phillip Chebeeb battle danced to the song “Stronger”—Kanye West

- Original Music Video
Mary Murphy & Dmitry Chaplin danced a Samba to the song “Baila, Baila”—Angela Via

Cirque du Soleil/Cast of Criss Angel: Believe danced to the song “Homage to the Rabbits”—Éric Serra; Choreographer: Wade Robson

Debbie Allen Dance Academy featuring Nigel Lythgoe danced to the song “Boogie Wonderland”—Earth, Wind and Fire

Dancers from seasons 1-3 danced to the song “Don’t Stop the Music”—Rihanna

- Original Music Video

Elimination Music
Courtney Galiano was eliminated to the song “It’s Only Life”—Kate Voegele

Katee Shean was eliminated to the song “From Where You Are”—Lifehouse

I just read a report that Nigel is leaving American Idol to focus on SYTYCD and a new venture with Simon Fuller. Here’s a quote from Nigel:

Due to the huge success of ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ my summer will be taken up by travels to South Africa, Australia and Canada to work on local versions of the show. I will step back from my day-to-day producing work on ‘American Idol’ and will be devoting my time to a new venture with Simon Fuller. I have very much enjoyed my personal and professional relationship with Simon. He is without doubt, a man of vision, and I look forward to partnering with him on new and exciting challenges in all forms of entertainment.

I wonder what Nigel’s new venture with Simon Fuller is. The trips around the world to see various dancing would be an amazing experience.

Today I was sent a TV Guide article that has some quotes from Nigel Lythgoe talking about the departure of Will Wingfield from So You Think You Can Dance. The part in quotes is from the article with my commentary in between.

Did the brilliant Will Wingfield exit Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance too soon? Head judge/executive producer Nigel Lythgoe certainly thinks so.

Who cares what Nigel thinks? It’s not his choice anymore it’s America’s.

When the moment of truth arrived during last week’s results show, here’s what the audience didn’t see: Lythgoe putting his head down on the judges’ table as if he couldn’t bear to watch what was going to happen next. Would it be Will or another audience favorite, Twitch, getting the boot?

How funny is this? Nigel acts as if Will getting booted off is wrong. This of course would assume that there’s a right and wrong answer. The fact is that there isn’t. There’s no such thing as right or wrong when we’re talking about a favorite dancer. Especially since Fox has said repeatedly that So You Think You Can Dance is “America’s Favorite Dancer.” Considering Nigel Lythgoe isn’t even an American, then does his opinion really matter in a contest for “America’s Favorite Dancer?” America voted and America decided. It’s great that way and that’s the beauty of America.

When Cat Deeley announced that Will would be going home, the crowd gasped. Widely acknowledged to be the finest all-around dancer this season — and coming off of a sensational pas de deux with Katee Shean and a rousing James Brown imitation in his Wednesday solo routine — nobody saw it coming. After the initial shock, the audience gave a standing ovation. “To me, it’s very much like losing Chris Daughtry or Tamyra Gray from American Idol,” Lythgoe said after the show. “Either one of them leaving — Will or Twitch — was a big disappointment. I really thought Will, Twitch and Joshua would be fighting it out until the end.”

So I must admit. I really actually enjoyed Will’s James Brown imitation. The pas de deux was incredible because of Katee I thought, so no surprises there for me when Will got booted. I can agree that Will is a great dancer, but dancing isn’t just about technique. Will didn’t have that it quality that I think the final three men had and that’s why he’s gone.

Twitch had fallen to his knees, with his back to the audience, when he landed in the bottom two, and had to be comforted by Deeley. “I had words with him,” shares Lythgoe. “I said, ‘Look, you’re in the Top 10. After this, there’s only going to be one winner, so please use the next few weeks just to enjoy yourself.’”

Cat Deeley comforting Twitch was one of the nicest parts of the show. As if we needed another reason to like Cat even more. I also love how Nigel “had words with him.” What a commanding father figure.

Lythgoe says Twitch will probably get the same kind of sympathy vote this week that hip-hopper Comfort got the week prior — before she was sent packing for a second time. Who will be standing at the end? “A boy is gonna be the winner this year,” says Lythgoe. “That’s my gut.”

It’s not about sympathy, but Nigel is right. Twitch fans will not provide sympathy votes, but they will get out and vote more than they ever have before. That spells trouble for Mark Kanemura.

I would normally say I don’t know at this point if a guy or a girl is going to win this year, but Nigel has more than his gut to determine if a guy is going to win. I imagine as producer of the show he’s seen the numbers of votes so I’ll go with him and say a guy will win. Joshua Allen winning So You Think You Can Dance would be a great ending and well deserved.