Kelsey McNeal/FOXNigel Lythgoe, you are a sly little minx. You have been dancing around the news that there will be big changes coming up on this season of So You Think You Can Dance. What with your tweets and all. Well, no more! Finally, we were able to get the scoop on how the SYTYCD mastermind is not "letting things get stale" on the seventh season, and we gotta say, it's pretty cool.
Here's the scoop from Nigel himself…
We know that partners will be changing every week, and we know that each week only one dancer is going home. Fans have been up in arms trying to figure out how that would be possible. They cried blasphemy! Well, Nigel has found a way to do just that and then some...
Each week, the contestants will be partnered with a So You Think You Can Dance All-Star! Which means, favorites from past seasons will be back. All-Stars will be put into a "pool," as Nigel called it, during a conference call this morning, and that's how partners and routines are decided. "Instead of drawing the genre of dance out of a hat, contestants will draw a photograph of one of the All-Stars, and that will dictate the genre that they will be dancing." Cool, huh? (P.S.: Smash Mouth's "All Star" has been stuck in our heads all morning. And now you can't stop singing it to yourself, right? Ha!)
Let's break this down. There will be a top ten coming out of Vegas, and each week, contestants will have a different All-Star partner and a different genre to dance. The partner changes each week, as does the type of dancing that is performed. After the performance, the All-Star leaves the stage, and it is just the contestant left to face the judges. "This will be the first time ever, apart from their solos, that they will walk forward alone to be judged," says Nigel.
Wonder how exactly these All-Stars were picked? Us too. "They had to be dominant in their genre, because they are the ones who are going to dictate what competitors are going to dance," he explains. As an example, he uses season-four runner-up, Stephen "Twitch" Boss. "You wouldn't want to do ballroom with him, particularly."
But while these changes will surely shake up season seven, some rules will stay the same. America will still vote and decide on the bottom three, and the judges will still have them dance their solos. So, for those of you shaking and hugging yourself in fear of change, rest assured, the foundation of the show is still there. There will still be crazy-awesome dancing, and Mary Murphy will continue to scream and whoop with joy. "She will be on the panel, and she will be choreographing as well," Nigel says, adding that with the guests judges (Debbie Allen, Lil C, to name a few), there will sometimes be four on the panel.
And what of the white whale that is Paula Abdul coming on as a judge? "I can't think of anybody better than Paula Abdul to judge on this show. Whether it's the right time for her is up to her and her management. I certainly would love her at any point, even if it means having five bloody judges on the show!"
Nigel stayed completely mum on who the All-Stars are and how many there will be, but he did let us know that he will be tweeting the names one at a time over the next couple weeks. What a tease. Well, you might as well put @dizzyfeet on your follow list, pronto!
What say you, gang? Looking forward to new changes on SYTYCD? Or are you a firm believer in, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Although we surely hope you intelligent people don't use the word "ain't." Either way, please share your thoughts and get ready for the two-hour season-seven premiere on May 27!
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Follow Kristin on Twitter @kristinalert.