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''So You Think You Can Dance Australia'' is an Australian version of the American reality dance competition ''
So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...
''. The show is hosted by
Carrie Bickmore Carrie Bickmore (born 3 December 1980) is an Australian talk show and current affairs Gold Logie award-winning television and radio presenter. Early life Bickmore was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1980, but moved to Perth, Western Aus ...
, with judges
Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...
, Shannon Holtzapffel, Jason Gilkison and Aaron Cash. The first season began airing on Sunday, 3 February 2008 at 7.30 pm and continued on Sundays and Mondays until the final on 27 April 2008. The program's second season began airing on Sunday, 1 February 2009 and continued on Sundays and Mondays until the final on 26 April 2009. The third season began on 31 January 2010 and continued on Wednesdays and Thursdays until 21 April 2010. The show was previously hosted by former ''
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' judge
Natalie Bassingthwaighte Natalie Bassingthwaighte (; born 1 September 1975) is an Australian recording artist, actress, and television personality. Born and raised in Wollongong, New South Wales, she began her career in musical theatre. She later pursued an acting care ...
, with Jason Coleman, Matt Lee and Bonnie Lythgoe acting as the judges. Through telephone and SMS text voting, viewers have chosen nineteen-year-old Broadway dancer Jack Chambers, eighteen-year-old
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 ...
dancer Talia Fowler and eighteen-year-old
Contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is ...
dancer Robbie Kmetoni as ''Australia's Favourite Dancer''. The eligible age-range for contestants is currently 18–35 years old. In July 2010 it was announced Network Ten had cancelled ''So You Think You Can Dance Australia'' in favour of a new musical/dancing format for 2011. However, Network Ten says they are in continual discussions with production company
FremantleMedia Australia Fremantle Australia Pty Ltd. (formerly FremantleMedia Australia) is the Australian arm of global British production and entertainment company Fremantle. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of market leader Grundy Television and comedy special ...
and Conrad Sewell Productions regarding the format's future. In 2011, rumors began to appear in the Australian media industry press that the series would be returned to broadcast, likely on original home network Ten. The show returned with a fourth series broadcast on Network Ten starting on 9 February 2014.


Series overview


Overview of format and presentation by season


Grand finalists


Season 1 (2008)

Auditions for the first season were held during July and August 2008 in
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the Sou ...
, Melbourne,
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
and Sydney. After being selected, through either an impressive initial audition or after a choreography workshop, the top 100 contestants spent a week in Sydney for more auditions, ultimately forming a Top 20. Auditions began on 9 October 2007 in Brisbane, Queensland and ended in Sydney, New South Wales on 6 November 2007. A 600-seat arena was constructed in Sydney for the finals. Jack Chambers was announced as the winner on 26 April 2008. Chambers won $200,000 prize money and the title of ''Australia's Favourite Dancer'', with
Rhys Bobridge Rhys Bobridge, also known as Rhys, is an Australian pop singer, dancer and make-up artist based in Sydney. Early life Bobridge started gymnastics at seven years of age, which led him to attending classes at Johnny Young Talent School, alongside ...
, Kate Wormald, Demi Sorono finishing as runner-up, third place and fourth place respectively. Several finalists later performed during the
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
''
Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program ''Pop Idol' ...
'' grand final, as well as Ten's New Year's Eve broadcast.


Season 2 (2009)

Auditions for the second season were held during September and November 2008. Dancers auditioning were requested to bring pre-approved copyright music CDs because of music licensing issues. Judges hoped that season 2 would see more industry dancers auditioning after the favourable response to the first season of the show. Repeats of the performance and results show aired a week later on
MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...
. Talia Fowler was announced the winner on 27 April 2009. Fowler received $200,000 prize money, the title of ''Australia's Favourite Dancer'' and the opportunity to perform at the finale of America's version of
So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...
, while Ben Veitch came 4th place, then Amy Campbell came 3rd place, while lastly Charlie Bartley was named runner-up.
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 s ...
and Mary Murphy made separate appearances in this season as guest judges.


Season 3 (2010)

The third season premiered on 31 January 2010. Robbie Kmetoni was announced the winner on 21 May 2010. Kmetoni received $200,000 prize money and the title of ''Australia's Favourite Dancer''. Furthermore, he will have the opportunity to choose from three exclusive dance contracts (including
Australian Dance Theatre Australian Dance Theatre (ADT), known as Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre from 1993 to 1999, is a contemporary dance company based in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1965 by Elizabeth Cameron Dalman . The ADT was the first moder ...
,
Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...
and Burn the Floor) to perform throughout Australia and overseas, While Robbie Kmetoni's friend Jessie Hesketh was named runner-up, then Ivy Heeney came 3rd place, while lastly Phillipe Witana came 4th place and the first season where each contestants were in the bottom three or four.


Cancellation and Revival

In July 2010, it was announced
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 ...
would not recommission ''So You Think You Can Dance Australia'' for a 2011 season. It follows media speculation the show had been cancelled, and talks Ten had a new " shiny floor" format to reveal. Ten advised
FremantleMedia Australia Fremantle Australia Pty Ltd. (formerly FremantleMedia Australia) is the Australian arm of global British production and entertainment company Fremantle. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of market leader Grundy Television and comedy special ...
that it would opt out of format, but didn't rule out a future return. Instead Ten was to develop a local version of British talent show Don't Stop Believing, inspired by the success of
Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
. ''Don't Stop Believing'' was instead to be produced by Shine Australia, which is headed by former FremantleMedia Australia executives. Plans were halted late 2010, with the show cancelled before starting. In October 2011, Ten began airing ads for So You Think You Can Dance Australia implying it would be returning soon, but Ten were yet to release details on when. In February 2012 rumors began to emerge in the Australian media press that former ''
Australia's Next Top Model ''Australia's Next Top Model'' is an Australian reality television series which premiered on 11 January 2005 and concluded on 22 November 2016, and was based on Tyra Banks' ''America's Next Top Model''. It was broadcast on the Australian subscr ...
'' host Sarah Murdoch had been approached to take over hosting duties for a revival of the show as Natalie Bassingthwaighte has moved on to a judging position for Australia's iteration of music talent show The X-Factor who is replacing
Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian singer and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours''. Three years after leaving the programme, she began a singing care ...
. The show was also rumored to be returning to its original network, Channel Ten. These rumors ultimately proved to be inaccurate when Ten revealed that it had engaged Murdoch to host a different dance-themed show entitled '' Everybody Dance Now''. Ultimately the show did return to broadcast on Network Ten, airing season 4 in the spring of 2014 after a four-year hiatus.


Season 4 (2014)

The show resumed airing on 9 February 2014 featuring a shortened format with one show broadcast a week, similar to the U.S. seasons 9 and 10. The new format also eliminated the open audition process, with the season opening at the Top 100 stage, these dancers having been selected via audition tapes and processes not portrayed in any episode, a format atypical of So You Think You Can Dance shows, which generally show the contestant selection process from earlier auditions on. The show also featured an entire change in judging cast, with
Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...
, Aaron Cashacting, Jason Gilkison, and Shannon Holtzapffel filling the seats of the panel, as well as a change in host, with
Carrie Bickmore Carrie Bickmore (born 3 December 1980) is an Australian talk show and current affairs Gold Logie award-winning television and radio presenter. Early life Bickmore was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1980, but moved to Perth, Western Aus ...
presenting. The fourth season concluded on Thursday, 1 May with contemporary dancers Michael Dameski and Lauren Seymour taking 1st and 2nd places respectively. To date, neither Network Ten nor the show's producers have made a statement as to whether the show will be returning for a fifth season.


Ratings

3 February 2008 premiere of ''So You Think You Can Dance Australia'' attracted a peak audience of 2.15 million viewers. The show was the night's top-rating program, averaging 1.83 million viewers over its timeslot. The following two audition episodes also put up respectable figures, peaking at 2.04 million and 1.94 million viewers respectively. The Sunday night Top 100 show averaged 1.6 million viewers to become the most watched program of the night. After its debut, the weekly performance show averaged around 1.5 million viewers. The series one finale averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.2 million viewers nationwide. Over 50 per cent of Ten's key 18–49 age demographic had tuned into the show. In season 3, ratings further slumped to a below million average, after which the show was cancelled. Season 4's revival of the series had smaller viewership still, with most episodes pulling less than a million viewers, and several seeing viewership as low as 300,000.


Controversy

Jason Coleman has been questioned over his position as judge on the show, with members of the dance community accusing him of being under qualified, and using incorrect jargon on the show, calling a
pivot Pivot may refer to: *Pivot, the point of rotation in a lever system *More generally, the center point of any rotational system *Pivot joint, a kind of joint between bones in the body * Pivot turn, a dance move Companies * Incitec Pivot, an Aust ...
a
promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
. Eliminated contestant Marko Panzic also accused Coleman of playing favourites. Critics also cite a possible conflict of interest due to Coleman's external business relationship with choreographer Kelly Aykers. Coleman has responded to these criticisms, saying: "Mate, this is just nit-picking. With this show a pivot is the same thing as a promenade. In my world it's called a promenade, in the ballroom dancing world it's called a pivot. I'm aware of the differences but I don't have time in my minute-and-a-half speech to explain that." In response to the Aykers issue, he said: "Kelly Aykers has delivered three great routines. I would never put myself in a position where I would compliment a person's work because they are my friend. If the work deserves a compliment it will receive it, if it does not, it will not." The show has also received criticism from the Australian dance community and mainstream media over the representation of the art of dance on the show. In one example, commentator Valerie Lawson observes that "''So You Think You Can Dance Australia'' goes further. Its very success ... is compromising dance as a performance art. The audience is led to believe that the most obvious effort, the most athletic of tricks, and the most vulgar of moves, represent dance at its best. As hips swivel, the studio audience cheers. When a guy lifts a girl with as much finesse as a forklift truck the audience roars its approval." On two occasions the show has accidentally broadcast profanities during the PG-rated live show. On the first occasion, Ten issued an apology for a "indistinct and muffled" profanity uttered during the first elimination show, and promised that "efforts
ave been ''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
redoubled to prevent such an incident happening again." Nonetheless, when Sermsah Bin Saad was making his speech after being eliminated, he accidentally swore on national television, saying, "You guys are so fucking awesome!". At that time, Sermsah didn't realise that it was on live and apologised after finding out his mistake. In this case the profane word was censored during broadcast.On a high, dancer drops the F word


See also

*
Dance on television This is a list of television shows which feature dance as a central activity or theme.