So You Think You Can Dance is an American television reality program and dance competition airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company network. Season seven premiered on May 27, 2010. In the August 12 finale, contemporary/jazz contestant Lauren Froderman was named "America's Favorite Dancer" and received the grand prize of $250,000, as well as an appearance on the cover of Dance Spirit magazine and in print advertising for Gatorade.[1]Contemporary dancer Kent Boyd was named runner-up.
Judging panel
Nigel Lythgoe and Adam Shankman returned as permanent judges and Cat Deeley returned to host. Mary Murphy stepped down from her judging position, but guest judged during Las Vegas week and made an appearance at the finale.[2]Mia Michaels became the third permanent judge for this season.[3] During the auditions, various guest judges joined Lythgoe, including Shankman and Michaels along with others. This was Michaels' only season as a permanent judge. It was announced in early 2011 that Murphy would return as a permanent judge for season 8.[4] Michaels left because she felt she didn't fit well on the panel and wanted to do her own work without being linked to the show.[5]
Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Adam Shankman, Toni Redpath, Lil' C, Tyce Diorio Day 1 kicks off with individual solos, Day 2 is hip-hop, Day 3 is cha-cha, Day 4 is broadway, Day 5 is group routines, Day 6 is Contemporary, and the final day is individual solos.
Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe has stated numerous format changes for this season.[2][7][8]
Instead of naming a top 20 to compete in the finals, the show planned on selecting a top 10 - they ended up accepting an extra contestant to create a top 11. The contestants were informed of their inclusion in the finals by the judges either traveling to each dancer's home or personally telephoning them to reveal their fate. This is in contrast to previous seasons where the contestants walked down a long corridor to face the judging panel.
Rather than partnering up the contestants with each other, partners were chosen at random each week from a pool of All-Stars composed of top dancers that have appeared in previous seasons of the show, and the competitors performed in their All-Star partners' specialized style. Additionally, rather than eliminating a pair of contestants each week, contestants were voted on as individuals from the beginning of the competition, and only one was eliminated per week. Only three contestants were featured in the finale, as opposed to the usual four.
On June 16, 2010—the first performance show—host Cat Deeley revealed that the phone numbers viewers needed to dial to vote for their favorite contestant(s) were changed to 1-888-6BEST## from the usual 1-888-TEMPO##, ## being the numerical order of the contestant. This year also marks the first season in which, just like the results shows in all seasons prior, the performance shows were aired live, as opposed to being taped earlier in the week. This is also the first season to be broadcast in high-definition video.
^1 Shean was asked to step in due to an injury sustained by Allison Holker.
^2 Marla, the assistant choreographer, was asked to step in due to contestant Alex Wong sustaining an injury during rehearsal that would force his withdrawal from the competition.
Alex would have done the foxtrot with Anya, but due to his injury, it was cancelled.
^4 Wong sustained an injury to his Achilles tendon during rehearsal and was unable to perform during the show on 7/7/2010. He was therefore automatically placed in the bottom 3 and in danger of elimination. Due to the seriousness of the injury, Wong needed surgery and 3 months of recuperation and was forced to leave the competition, causing both Bell and Galvan to be safe to continue into the next week.
The All-Stars Dance Pool features some of the best and most popular contestants that have been featured on previous seasons. They acted as pairs for the top eleven contestants this season, and rotated every week. Each of the dancers represents one specific style of dance and only danced in that genre with a partner. They did not choreograph any routines but learned them just as the contestants did.
^7 Allison had an old back injury flare up so for this dance she was replaced by Season 4's Katee Shean (3rd Place)
^8 McCormick was asked to step in for competing contestant Ashley Galvan, who suffered a rib injury and was unable to compete.
^9 Boss was asked to step in for competing contestant Billy Bell, who suffered a knee injury and did not compete.
This contestant was eliminated this week.
This contestant was in the bottom 2 this week
This contestant was in the bottom 3 this week.
This contestant did not perform this week due to injury making it the dancer's routine with all-star cancelled.
Due to a pair's injury, this All-star stepped in to perform with the injured pair's contestant partner.
This All-Star did not perform this week and had someone else step in for them.
This All-Star did not perform this week.
This contestant won the competition
Tour
The SYTYCD 2010 Season 7 tour took place in 40 cities across the US, creating many sold-out shows. It took place from the end of September to the end of November. The dancers from Season 7 for the tour were Lauren Froderman, Kent Boyd, Robert Roldan, AdéChiké Torbert, Billy Bell, Jose Ruiz, and Ashley Galvan. The all-stars for the tour were Allison Holker from Season 2, Dominic Sandoval from Season 3, Courtney Galiano from Season 4, Ade Obayomi from Season 5 and Kathryn McCormick from Season 6. Also featured was the winner of Season 6, Russell Ferguson.
^Nielsen split this episode into two, so a combined average is displayed here. The first half gained 6.4 million viewers with a 2.3/8 rating/share, ranked number 1 in the timeslot and number 3 for the night. The second half, which aired at 9 pm, gained 6.5 million viewers with a 2.5/8 rating/share, ranked number 2 in the timeslot and number 2 for the night.
