So You Think You Can Dance 9 (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
So You Think You Can Dance, an American television dance competition, returned for its ninth season on May 24, 2012 on FOX Television. Fox and series creator Nigel Lythgoe have each independently confirmed that the weekly results show, a staple of the series in seasons 2-8, has been cut from the show format and that only one episode will air each week for the show's ninth season. This season has marked three firsts in the series history: this season had two winners (one male and one female), as opposed to the single winner format used in previous seasons, a contemporary dancer was not amongst the contestants remaining in the competition in the finale, and lastly, a ballet dancer is the winner of the competition.
Auditions
Open auditions for this season were held in the following locations:
The Las Vegas callbacks were held at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. For the first time in nine seasons, contestants were allowed to choose their own groups for the group choreography round, in contrast to previous seasons where the groups were assigned. With cuts made following each round of choreography, thirty-five dancers remained at the close of the week, prior to the selection of the Top 20.
* Only participated on the judge's panel on the round they choreographed.
Finals
Format changes
In January 2012, Fox announced that So You Think You Can Dance would be returning for its ninth season in a format similar to that seen in season one; a single two-hour episode per week, eliminating each week's results show. In an interview shortly thereafter, Lythgoe hinted at a format where each week's episode is ended with the revelation of the bottom three couples (based on the votes from the previous week) but after all dancers had performed the new week's routines, giving the judges an additional routine to take into account when deciding which dancers (from amongst the bottom three couples) to save and which to send home for that week. This contrasts with the season one format where judges would nominate a bottom three couples and home viewers would vote out two dancers, the results being pre-taped and shown at the beginning of the next week's episode. Lythgoe also hinted at which elements of the results show were likely to be carried over into the new format, suggesting the group and guest dance routines would be shown priority over guest musical acts.
These above changes all proved to be in place once the season's performance shows began airing but were also accompanied by a number of other format tweaks. These additional changes most notably include the fact that the season will crown two winners (one male and one female) and that voting for individual dancers (as opposed to couples) began with the first week of the Top 20 competition with 1-855-GO-HIM## for the guys and 1-855-GO-HER## for the girls as opposed to half way through the performance show phase, as in previous seasons. Additionally there have been tweaks to the format of the "dance for your life" solos, the last chance efforts which dancers are given to impress judges and remain in the competition if the at-home-viewer votes put them in the bottom 6 dancers. In previous seasons, all dancers who were in danger of elimination were automatically assigned to perform such solos but in season 9 the judges, taking into advisement the dancers' previous performances and the advice of the choreographers who have worked with them, will decide each week which (if any) dancers will perform solos. For example, in Week 2, the first week of the competition to feature eliminations (in this case a double elimination), the judges decided which two of the six dancers in danger they wished to save without asking for additional solos. By contrast, in week 3 they decided that Lindsay Arnold and George Lawrence Jr. would be safe without being required to perform a solo but the remaining four dancers were required to perform, with two ultimately eliminated.
The ninth season is also the first in which dancers have been able to exert some control over the styles they dance for their duets; Lythgoe revealed during the week 3 performances that during this season couples are given the ability to pick their styles from the pool of available routines for a given week, with the order of choosing determined by drawing lots. Season 9's Top 14 show also became the first episode in the show's history to feature only one style, the first to feature only one choreographer and the first to feature routines from previous seasons danced by new contestants when it aired as a tribute to long-time contributing choreographer Mia Michaels, with seven of her past contemporary routines danced by season 9 contestants.
Top 20 Finalists
Female Contestants
Finalist
Age
Home Town
Dance Style
Elimination date
Placement
Eliana Girard
21
West Palm Beach, Florida
Ballet
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Winner
Tiffany Maher
19
Plantation, Florida
Jazz
September 18, 2012
Runner-up
Witney Carson
18
American Fork, Utah
Latin Ballroom
September 5, 2012
Top 6
Lindsay Arnold
18
Provo, Utah
Latin Ballroom
August 29, 2012
Top 8
Audrey Case
18
Edmond, Oklahoma
Jazz
August 22, 2012
Top 10
Amelia Lowe
18
Butler, New Jersey
Contemporary
August 15, 2012
Top 14
Janelle Issis
24
Vestavia Hills, Alabama
Belly Dancing
August 15, 2012
Top 14
Amber Jackson
21
Decatur, Georgia
Contemporary
July 25, 2012
Top 16
Alexa Anderson
19
Chandler, Arizona
Contemporary
July 18, 2012
Top 20
Janaya French
20
Aurora, Colorado
Contemporary
July 18, 2012
Top 20
Male Contestants
Finalist
Age
Home Town
Dance Style
Elimination date
Placement
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
23
Zurich, Switzerland
Ballet
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Winner
Cyrus "Glitch" Spencer
22
Atlanta, Georgia
Popping/Animating
September 18, 2012
Runner-up
Cole Horibe
26
Honolulu, Hawaii
Martial Arts Fusion
September 5, 2012
Top 6
Will Thomas
19
Troy, Michigan
Contemporary
August 29, 2012
Top 8
George Lawrence Jr.
19
Atlanta, Georgia
Contemporary
August 22, 2012
Top 10
Matthew Kazmierczak
21
Peoria, Arizona
Contemporary
August 15, 2012
Top 14
Dareian Kujawa
20
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Contemporary
August 15, 2012
Top 14
Brandon Mitchell
27
Kansas City, Kansas
Stepping
July 25, 2012
Top 16
Daniel Baker
24
Newcastle, Australia
Ballet
July 18, 2012
Top 20
Nick Bloxsom-Carter
20
Thousand Oaks, California
Ballroom
July 18, 2012
Top 20
Elimination chart
Contestants are listed in reverse chronological order of elimination. Haley Reinhart's "Free" is played in the montage of a female contestant's elimination, and Mikey Wax's "Counting On You" is played in the male contestant's.
Legend
Female
Male
Bottom 6 contestants
Bottom 4 contestants
Week:
7/18
7/25
8/15
8/22
8/29
9/5
9/18
Contestant
Result
Eliana Girard
Btm 6
Winner
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
Btm 6
Btm 4
Tiffany Maher
Runner-Up
Cyrus "Glitch" Spencer
Cole Horibe
Btm 4
Elim
Witney Carson
Btm 6
Btm 4
Btm 4
Will Thomas
Elim
Lindsay Arnold
Btm 6
Btm 6
George Lawrence, Jr.
Btm 6
Btm 6
Elim
Audrey Case
Matthew Kazmierczak
Elim
Amelia Lowe
Dareian Kujawa
Btm 6
Janelle Issis
Brandon Mitchell
Elim
Amber Jackson
Daniel Baker
Elim
Alexa Anderson
Nick Bloxsom-Carter
Janaya French
^ Voting will be based on the individual contestants from the start, rather than from Top 10 on.
Performance shows
Unlike previous seasons, each week's Bottom 6 / Bottom 4 dancers are determined by the previous week's voting. The judge's panel still chooses which of these bottom dancers will be eliminated each week until the Top Ten. However not all dancers who are in danger of elimination will perform final solos by default; the judges will determine each week which dancers will be asked to perform a "dance for your life" solo, if any. As no voting had been conducted previously, no dancers were eliminated for the Week 1 show; as a result, four dancers were eliminated in the Week 2 show, as opposed to the usual two. No voting took place after the Top 6 performance / Top 4 announcement show. The next week's show (the Top 4 performance finale) was followed by voting, the results of which were announced yet one more week later on the season's grande finale.
*Due to an illness, Janelle was unable to dance in the showcase. She would've danced in the jazz number with Audrey & Tiffany, as well as in the group routines.