So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation

So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation is the 13th season of So You Think You Can Dance, an American dance competition show. The show premiered on Monday, May 30, 2016 in a new format featuring dancers between ages 8 and 13. The season is broadcast on Fox in the United States, one show each week on Mondays, as it was last season. The top prize remains $250,000, and Cat Deeley continues as host.

Auditions were held in Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL and New York City. 100 dancers were selected for the Dance Academy portion of the season, in which 10 finalists will be selected and paired with "all-stars" from previous seasons, who will mentor and perform with them.

Judges

Series creator and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, along with new permanent members Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo, return as members of the permanent judging panel and judge the audition rounds. After this, the fourth judge, 13-year-old Maddie Ziegler, joined the show.

Format

Season 13 features a significant shift in format in that the contestants were all between the ages of 8 and 13 at the time of auditions. Approximately 100 dancers were selected from the auditions for the next segment of the season, the Dance Academy. From these, the top 10 were selected as finalists and paired with a So You Think You Can Dance "all-star" who provides mentorship during the live shows and participates as a partner in performances.

Auditions

Open auditions for season 13 were held in three cities beginning in February 2016.

Air Date	Audition Venue	City	Audition Date
May 30, 2016	Orpheum Theatre	Los Angeles, CA	February 27, 2016
June 6, 2016	Lou Conte Dance Studio	Chicago, IL	March 11, 2016
June 13, 2016	Broadway Dance Center	New York City	March 18, 2016

During the audition round, the judges interviewed each auditioner, watched a brief audition and gave feedback, while the auditioner's family sat at the side of the stage and often participated in the interviews. Offstage, Cat Deeley chatted with contestants and judges. Approximately 100 dancers were sent through to the Academy.

Dance Academy

Dance Academy week was split among two episodes. The June 20 episode covered the first day of the Academy. The first task for the 10 all-stars was to watch solo dances by each of the competitors who were sent through from the auditions. From these, each all-star selected five dancers (at least three from their own dance style), from the large number of auditioners, to join their "team". If a dancer was selected by more than one all-star, he or she could choose which all-star's team to join. Choreographer Warren Carlyle and the all-stars then taught the 50 remaining competitors a Broadway couples dance routine in 90 minutes, and dancers from each team were paired with dancers from another team. After all of the couples danced, each all-star was required to cut one dancer from his or her team, leaving a total of 40 contestants. Throughout the episode, Maddie Ziegler and Cat Deeley interviewed successful competitors.

The June 27 episode covered days two and three of Academy week. On day two, the all-stars each narrowed down their teams to three and then two dancers, based first on a hip-hop routine for pairs choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, and then on a contemporary routine, created by Travis Wall, danced simultaneously by the remaining three members of each team. On the last day, the last two dancers from each team danced a solo just for their own all-star. Each all-star then selected one finalist, making a total of 10 finalists that he or she will mentor through the finals round. The all-stars and their finalists are:

Contemporary

Kathryn McCormick: season 6, 3rd place - Tate
Robert Roldan: season 7, 3rd place - J. T.
Sasha Mallory: season 8 runner-up - Jordan

Ballroom

Jenna Johnson: season 10, top 8 - Jake
Paul Karmiryan, season 10, top 6 - Ruby
Jonathan Platero, season 5, top 16 - Daniela

Tap

Gaby Diaz, season 12 winner - Emma

Hip-Hop

Marko Germar, season 8, top 3 (replacing Joshua Allen) - Sheaden
Comfort Fedoke, season 4, top 8 - Tahani
Du-Shaunt "Fik-Shun" Stegall, season 10 winner - Kida

Although Marko competed in season 8 as a contemporary/jazz dancer, he stepped in, before the first live show, to mentor hip-hop dancer Sheaden after Joshua withdrew from the show.

Finals

Top 10 Finalists

Finalist	Age	Home town	Dance style	All-star mentor
Tate McRae	13	Calgary, Alberta, Canada	Contemporary/Ballet	Kathryn
Ruby Castro	12	Miami, Florida	Ballroom	Paul
Emma Hellenkamp	10	San Diego, California	Tap	Gaby
Jordan Nata'e Wandick	14	Bakersfield, California	Contemporary	Sasha
J. T. Church	10	Haymarket, Virginia	Jazz	Robert
Jake Monreal	12	Miami, Florida	Ballroom	Jenna
Sheaden Gabriel	12	Murrieta, California	Hip Hop	Marko
Daniela Avanzini	11	Atlanta, Georgia	Ballroom	Jonathan
Leon "Kida" Burns	14	Sacramento, California	Hip Hop	Fik-Shun
Tahani Anderson	13	Victorville, California	Hip Hop	Comfort

Elimination chart

**Legend**
Female	Male	Bottom 3 contestants	Bottom 2 contestants

Contestant	Results
Result show date:	7/18	7/25	8/1	8/8	8/15	8/22	8/29	9/12
Tahani Anderson
Daniela Avanzini
Leon "Kida" Burns
Ruby Castro
J. T. Church
Sheaden Gabriel
Emma Hellenkamp
Tate McRae
Jake Monreal
Jordan Nata'e Wandick

Performances

Top 10 (July 11, 2016)

The first live show, on July 11, 2016, was a two-hour broadcast. It opened with a group dance by all ten all-stars dancing with their contestants and all together, futuristically dressed in white. In the middle of the show there was a contemporary group dance by the all-stars, and the show ended with a group hip-hop dance by all of the top-ten contestants. During the show, each contestant performed one solo and one duet with his or her all-star; both dances were in the contestant's primary dance style. At the beginning of the show, host Cat Deeley announced that all-star Joshua Allen has been replaced by Marko Germar, to mentor and partner with hip-hop dancer Sheaden Gabriel. Maddie Ziegler sat in on the contestants' first rehearsals and joined the judging panel, during the broadcast, giving the contestants "relatable feedback" and offering encouraging words about their performances.

Dancers	Style	Music	Choreographer(s)	Result
Top 10 & all stars	Multiple styles	"Prodigy""?Nathan Lanier	Christopher Scott	N/A
Leon "Kida" Burns Du-Shaunt "Fik-Shun" Stegall	Hip-hop	"Winning""?Fingazz	Christopher Scott
Tate McRae Kathryn McCormick	Contemporary	"Goldenheart""?Dawn Richard	Tyce Diorio
Jake Monreal Jenna Johnson	Cha-cha-cha	"Toca Toca Radio Edit""?Fly Project	Jean-Marc Gnreux
Sheaden Gabriel Marko Germar*	Hip hop	"Why I'm Here (Original Mix)""?Statik Link feat. Young Live	Christopher "Pharside" Jennings Krystal "Phoenix" Meraz
Jordan Nata'e Wandick Sasha Mallory	Contemporary	"The Light That Never Fails""?Andra Day	Brian Friedman
Emma Hellenkamp Gaby Diaz	Tap	"Watch Me Do""?Meghan Trainor	Anthony Morigerato
Ruby Castro Paul Karmiryan	Cha-cha-cha	"How Deep Is Your Love""?Calvin Harris & The Disciplines	Jean-Marc Gnreux
Tahani Anderson Comfort Fedoke	Hip-hop	"Cut It""?O.T. Genasis feat. Young Dolph	Luther Brown
Daniela Avanzini Jonathan Platero	Salsa	"Latinos""?Proyecto Uno	Oksana Platero
J. T. Church Robert Roldan	Contemporary	"Stand in the Light""?Jordan Smith	Mandy Moore
All stars	Contemporary	"Unsteady (Erich Lee Gravity Remix)""?X Ambassadors	Mandy Moore	N/A
Top 10	Hip-hop	"Move (If You Wanna)""?MIMS	Willdabeast Janelle Ginestra	N/A

Solos:

Dancer	Style	Music
Emma Hellenkamp	Tap	"Impossible""?Lion Babe
Tahani Anderson	Hip-hop	"Anyway""?Chris Brown feat. Tayla Parx
J. T. Church	Jazz	"?Dance with Me Tonight"?"?Olly Murs
Ruby Castro	Paso Doble	"Unstoppable"?"?E.S. Posthumus
Daniela Avanzini	Jive	"?Proud Mary"?"?Tina Turner
Leon "Kida" Burns	Hip-hop	"Ants""?edIT
Jordan Nata'e Wandick	Contemporary	"Freedom""?Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton
Tate McRae	Contemporary	"The Beginning""?Factor Eight
Sheaden Gabriel	Hip-hop	"Look at Me Now""?Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
Jake Monreal	Cha-cha-cha	"I Like It Like That""?Tito Nieves