''So You Think You Can Dance'', also known as ''SYTYCD'', is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

reality program Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

competition airing on the

Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

network. Season six premiered on Wednesday, September 9, 2009, with

Nigel Lythgoe Nigel Lythgoe OBE (; born 9 July 1949), also known as Nasty Nigel, is an English television and film director and producer, television dance competition judge, former dancer in the Young Generation and choreographer. He was the producer of the ...

and Mary Murphy returning as permanent judges and

Cat Deeley Catherine Elizabeth Deeley (born 23 October 1976) is an English television presenter and actress. From 1998 to 2002, she hosted the ITV children's show ''SMTV Live,'' for which she won a BAFTA Children's Award, and its spin-off chart show '' C ...

returning to host. Season six is the show's only season to air during the fall season, immediately following the summer airing of season five. Live shows began airing October 26 and the season finale aired on December 16.

Russell Ferguson Russell Ferguson is an American Krump dancer from Boston, Massachusetts. He won ''So You Think You Can Dance'' season 6, making him the first Krumper to win the title. Russell is a graduate of the Boston Arts Academy and attended the University of ...

, the first krumper to make it to the Las Vegas auditions, won the title of "America's Favorite Dancer" in first place and the $250,000 prize. Also in the finale were Jakob Karr in second place,

Kathryn McCormick Kathryn McCormick (born 7 July 1990) is an American actress and dancer, noted for placing third in the sixth season of the American televised dance competition ''So You Think You Can Dance'', in which she had the highest placement for a woman on ...

in third place, Ellenore Scott in fourth place, Ashleigh Di Lello in fifth place and Ryan Di Lello in sixth place. This season is also noteworthy for featuring

Ariana DeBose Ariana DeBose (; born January 25, 1991) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for a Tony Award. In 2022, ...

who, despite being amongst the first contestants eliminated, would later go on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Anita in the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

remake of

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

Auditions

Locations

Open auditions for this season somewhat overlapped season 5. These auditions for season 6 were held in the following cities after season 5's Las Vegas week, but before season 5's finals started: Lythgoe was accepting an honorary degree from the

University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Universi ...

; therefore, two guest judges were present.

Las Vegas week

''Judges:''

, Mary Murphy,

Adam Shankman Adam Michael Shankman (born November 27, 1964) is an American film director, producer, writer, dancer, author, actor, and choreographer. He was a permanent judge on season 6–7 of the television program ''So You Think You Can Dance''. He began h ...

Mia Michaels Mia Michaels Melchiona (known professionally as Mia Michaels; born February 22, 1966) is an American choreographer and judge on the television show ''So You Think You Can Dance''. She has worked with Tom Cruise, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan, M ...

Tyce Diorio "Tyce" Diorio (born August 22, 1970) is an American dancer and choreographer. He is best known for his work as a choreographer and guest judge on the Fox television series ''So You Think You Can Dance''. He has choreographed and performed with ...

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an ...

The Las Vegas callbacks were held at

Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino Planet Hollywood Las Vegas (formerly the Aladdin) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. The property was previously the site of an earlier resort known ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. 152 dancers were invited to participate in the callback auditions. This number was cut to 38 dancers, before the announcement of the season's top 20 contestants. Las Vegas week included the following rounds, with cuts made after each:

Top 20 Contestants

Female Contestants

Male Contestants

Dumlao replaced original Top 20 dancer Billy Bell, who had to withdraw from the competition due to illness.

Finals

Elimination chart

The elimination song for the women playing during the montage was " Never Say Never" by

The Fray The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut album, ''How to Save a Life'' released in 2005, was certified double platinum by the RIAA and platinum in Australia, ...

. The elimination song for the men playing during the montage was "Where It Ends" by 16 Frames. The show was unable to schedule full performance and results shows for the first two weeks due to conflicts with the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

.
These female dancers were barred from performing their routines. See below for more information.

Performance nights

Due to network conflicts with the

, the show was unable to schedule a separate results show for the first two weeks. As a result, no public voting was held on those occasions; after the couples' performances, the judges alone selected four dancers to perform solos, and subsequently eliminated two. The standard format of a performance show followed by voting, with a results show the following night, resumed for the third week of competition.

Week 1 (October 26, 2009)

="Meet the Top 20"

= *Performances:

=Performance show

= *Top 20 Couple dances: Noelle Marsh did not perform on the show due to injury. She would become Ferguson's partner in Week 2. *Bottom 4 dancers' solos: *Eliminated: **Ariana DeBose **Brandon Dumlao *New partners: **Pauline Mata and Peter Sabasino

Week 2 (November 3, 2009)

*Top 18 Couple dances: *Bottom 4 dancers' solos: *Eliminated: **Bianca Revels **Phillip Atmore *New partners: **Channing Cooke and Victor Smalley

Week 3 (November 10, 2009)

*Top 16 Couple dances:

Week 4 (November 17, 2009)

*Top 14 Couple dances:

Week 5 (November 24, 2009)

*Top 12 Couple dances:

Week 6 (December 1, 2009)

*Top 10 Couple dances: *Solos:

Week 7 (December 8, 2009)

*Top 8 Couple dances: *Solos: Ashleigh Di Lello was paired with Russell Ferguson, but dislocated her shoulder during rehearsal of their Bollywood number and was barred from performing by doctors. As a result, she did not perform a solo and Ferguson danced their two numbers with the choreographers' assistants, Alysha Shroff. Voting for Di Lello was still opened; viewers were urged to consider her previous performances and rehearsal footage in making their choice in voting for her.

Week 8 (December 15, 2009)

*Top 6 Couple dances:

Result shows

Week 3 (November 11, 2009)

*Group dance: Top 16: "Warrior, Pt. 2"—

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After the ...

( Hip-Hop; Choreographer: Dave Scott) *Guest dancers:

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate a ...

: "Episodes"—

Ulysses Dove Ulysses Dove (January 17, 1947 in Columbia, South Carolina – June 11, 1996 in Manhattan) was a choreographer. Dove began his dance training at Boggs Academy in Georgia. Dove gave up his premedical studies at Howard University to transfer to ...

(

Contemporary Ballet Contemporary ballet is a genre of dance that incorporates elements of classical ballet and modern dance. It employs classical ballet technique and in many cases classical pointe technique as well, but allows greater range of movement of the u ...

; Choreographer:

) *Bottom 3's solos: Sabasino chose to dance

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

. *Eliminated: **Pauline Mata **Peter Sabasino *New partners: **None

Week 4 (November 18, 2009)

*Group dance: Top 14: "Aha!"—

Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Heap (born 9 December 1977) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Her work has been considered pioneering in pop and electropop music. Heap classically trained in piano, cello and clarinet starting at ...

( Contemporary Jazz; Choreographer:

Wade Robson Wade, WADE, or Wades may refer to: Places in the United States * Wade, California, a former settlement * Wade, Maine, a town * Wade, Mississippi, a census-designated place * Wade, North Carolina, a town * Wade, Ohio, an unincorporated commu ...

, co-conceived with Amanda Robson) *Musical guest: "According to You"—

Orianthi Orianthi Penny Panagaris (born 22 January 1985), known mononymously as Orianthi, is an Australian guitarist, singer and songwriter who rehearsed in 2009 with Michael Jackson in preparation for his '' This Is It'' concert series, and performed wi ...

*Guest dancers: Nakul Dev Mahajan and NDM Bollywood Dance Productions: "Desi Girl" from '' Dostana'' (

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

; Choreographer: Nakul Dev Mahajan) *Bottom 3's solos: *Eliminated: **Channing Cooke **Kevin Hunte *New partners: **Karen Hauer and Victor Smalley

Week 5 (November 25, 2009)

*Group dance: Top 12: "What's a Girl Gotta Do"–

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe. The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first rose to popularity in the underground house scene ...

feat.

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, ''Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the sing ...

( Pop-Jazz; Choreographer:

Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo Tabitha A. D'umo (née Cortopassi) and Napoleon Buddy D'umo, known together as Nappytabs, are Emmy Award-winning married choreographers. They are best known for their choreography on the television show ''So You Think You Can Dance'' and for bei ...

) *Musical guest: "

Give It Up To Me "Give It Up to Me" is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira featuring American rapper Lil Wayne, taken from the deluxe version of the former's eighth studio album ''She Wolf''. It was released on 19 October 2009, by Epic Records as the ...

"–

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

*Guest dancer(s): Paloma Herrera: Don Quixote: Kitri's Variation (The Fan) - Ludwig Minkus (

Ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

; Choreographer: Paloma Herrera) *Bottom 3's solos: *Eliminated: **Karen Hauer **Victor Smalley *New partners: **None. Now that only 10 dancers remain, partners are randomly assigned each week and the top 10 will be voted individually.

Week 6 (December 2, 2009)

*Group dance: Top 10: "

It's Still Rock and Roll to Me "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" is a song written and performed by Billy Joel, from the hit album '' Glass Houses''. Released in 1980, the song peaked at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts for two weeks, from July 19 through August 1, ...

"—

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

(

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

; Choreographer:

) *Musical guest: "I Wanna Rock"—

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

(featuring

Quest Crew Quest Crew is an American hip-hop dance crew from Los Angeles, California who were declared winners of the third season of '' America's Best Dance Crew''. They made their first few appearances individually on shows like ''So You Think You Can ...

and The Ranger$) *Guest dancer(s):

The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers ''The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers'', commonly called ''The LXD'', is a 2010–2011 American web series that premiered on Hulu. The series follows two groups of rival dancers: The Alliance of the Dark, who are the villains, and The Legion of E ...

: "Yellow"—Vitamin String Quartet ( Hip-Hop; Choreographer: Harry Shum, Jr., Christopher Scott, and

Galen Hooks Galen Hooks is an American dancer, choreographer, creative director, producer, singer/songwriter and actress. Work Hooks is an MTV VMA-nominated choreographer and dancer who has worked with over 60 artists, such as Janet Jackson, Justin Bieber ...

) *Bottom 4's Solos: * Eliminated: ** Noelle Marsh ** Nathan Trasoras

Week 7 (December 9, 2009)

*Group dance: Top 8: "Pon de Floor" (Samantha Ronson remix)—

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after t ...

feat.

Vybz Kartel Adidja Azim Palmer (born 7 January 1976), better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall recording artist, composer, record producer, and entrepreneur. Among his various nicknames, he is referred to as "Worl' Boss". As summarize ...

(

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

; Choreographer:

Sonya Tayeh Sonya Tayeh is a New York City-based choreographer. She has worked nationally and internationally across the worlds of dance and theater. She has earned several accolades for her work, including the Tony award for her choreography work on the Br ...

) *Musical guests: :*"

Nobody Nobody may refer to: * Nobody, an indefinite pronoun Nobody may also refer to: Fictional characters * Nobody (''Kingdom Hearts''), a race of beings in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' video game series *Nobody, a character in the Jim Jarmusch films '' D ...

"—

Wonder Girls Wonder Girls () was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single "Irony" and 5 members: Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna and Sohee. After Hyuna's departure in July, Yubin was added into th ...

:*"

Live Like We're Dying "Live Like We're Dying" is a song written by Danny O'Donoghue, Andrew Frampton, Mark Sheehan and Steve Kipner. It appeared as a bonus track on The Script's self-titled debut studio album, and a B-side for some of the album's singles. It is b ...

"—

Kris Allen Kristopher Neil Allen (born June 21, 1985) is an American singer and songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of ''American Idol''. Prior to ''Idol'', he self-released a 2007 album, ''Brand New Shoes''. Allen's ...

*Bottom 4's solos:

Week 8 (Finale) (December 16, 2009)

*Judges:

Lil' C Christopher "Lil' C" Toler (born 1983) is an American dancer and choreographer best known for his choreography and judging on the TV show ''So You Think You Can Dance'', and for his appearance in the 2005 krumping documentary ''Rize''. Since app ...

, Mary Murphy,

*Musical Guests: :*" I See You"—

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved nationa ...

:*"

Whataya Want from Me "Whataya Want from Me" is a song by American recording artist and ''American Idol'' eighth season runner-up Adam Lambert from his debut studio album, '' For Your Entertainment''. It was released as the second single from the album. The song pea ...

"—

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

:*"

I Am I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" (po ...

"—

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

:*" Louboutins"—

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

*Guest dancers The Groovaloos ("Groovaloo Street"—Rapier & Burns) *Group dances:

=Judges' picks

= As Ferguson injured himself performing in the first Judge's Pick routine, the noted subsequent routines were shown pre-recorded rather than newly performed live. *6th Place **Ryan Di Lello *5th Place **Ashleigh Di Lello *4th Place **Ellenore Scott *3rd Place **Kathryn McCormick *Runner-up **Jakob Karr *Winner **Russell Ferguson

Promotion

As a result of the auditions for season 6 taking place concurrently with the airing of season 5, increased promotion was possible. A Deeley voice-over at the end of the fifth season's audition episodes sent viewers to the official website for more information about auditioning for the fall season. The judges' travels to various cities were also mentioned if the audition weekend followed a results show. A video segment of Ryan Kasprzak, brother of top 20 contestant Evan Kasprzak and fellow auditioner for season 5, aired during the summer's top 18 results show. It showed him auditioning for season 6 in Los Angeles and making it to the

round. Nigel Lythgoe also mentioned him in the finale of season 5, stating that there will be "more Kasprzak in the fall." Since then, however, it was announced Kasprzak was eliminated after the ballroom round of Vegas week.

Foreign broadcast

Unlike previous seasons, much of season 6 was not simulcast on Canadian network CTV, due to conflicts with their fall schedule. As a result, CTV's sister network 'A' aired the series from its start until the end of November, with CTV resuming with the Top 10 week on December 1. Norwegian channel

TVNorge TVNorge (literally "TVNorway"; originally abbreviated TVN, now just abbreviated N in the logos) is a Norwegian television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. History TVNorge went on the air on 5 December 1988 and was the first adver ...

will air the show in performance and results shows, and shows all routines, as it did in season 5. In

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

the season is set to premier in February.

AXN Asia AXN is an Asian pay television channel owned by KC Global Media Asia based in Singapore. It primarily airs action, police procedural, and reality shows. The network was formerly wholly owned by Sony Pictures Television, but the Asia Pacific, Midd ...

also aired this season just after the season 4 ended airing in January 2010. Australia finally airs this season since the fifth season back in 2009 on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

. This season premiered on January 15, 2011, on the new channel Eleven.

Special performance episode

On October 26, 2009, Fox aired a special episode introducing viewers to the Top 20 contestants of season 6 dancing in their own styles. Contemporary dancer Billy Bell appeared in the special before having to withdraw due to illness.Illness forces Billy Bell out of ‘Dance’

Changes

Besides not starting results shows until the Top 16, this will be the first season where the finale will occur at the Top 6 stage, rather than the usual Top 4. This is most likely due to the show producers and network not wishing to continue airing through the week of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

, due to the special performance show.

Ratings

U.S. Nielsen ratings

References

External links

Official "So You Think You Can Dance" Website

Official "So You Think You Can Dance" Facebook Fan Page
{{So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series) 2009 American television seasons Season 06

Auditions

Locations

Las Vegas week

Top 20 Contestants

Female Contestants

Male Contestants

Finals

Elimination chart

Performance nights

Week 1 (October 26, 2009)

="Meet the Top 20"

=Performance show

Week 2 (November 3, 2009)

Week 3 (November 10, 2009)

Week 4 (November 17, 2009)

Week 5 (November 24, 2009)

Week 6 (December 1, 2009)

Week 7 (December 8, 2009)

Week 8 (December 15, 2009)

Result shows

Week 3 (November 11, 2009)

Week 4 (November 18, 2009)

Week 5 (November 25, 2009)

Week 6 (December 2, 2009)

Week 7 (December 9, 2009)

Week 8 (Finale) (December 16, 2009)

=Judges' picks

Promotion

Foreign broadcast

Special performance episode

Changes

Ratings

U.S. Nielsen ratings

See also

References

External links