So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States. The series first premiered on July 20, 2005 and has a similar premise to the American Idol series of singing competitions, with nationwide auditions leading to the discovery of the next big star. The show was created by Idol's Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions. A mixture of contestants are chosen for the show, ranging from unknown street dancers to winners of national championships. All contestants have to work their way through a rigorous audition process, and, over the course of the show, are assigned different dance styles and partners each week to test their versatility. It was the #1 rated show in summer 2006 for adults aged 18BAD+96349. The first season was hosted by current American news personality, Lauren S疣chez; the show is currently hosted by former British children's television personality, Cat Deeley, since the second season. In August 2006, it was also announced that there are now spin off versions of the show in New Zealand, Ukraine, Turkey, Israel, Canada, Germany, Greece, Poland, Malaysia, Norway, The Netherlands, South Africa and Australia, with several other countries in the works. So You Think You Can Dance holds auditions in major cities across the U.S., looking for the top dancers in each city. All types of dance backgrounds are encouraged to audition. Salsa, ballroom, hip hop, street dancing, contemporary, jazz, ballet and many other types of dancers can be seen auditioning for a chance to win the grand prize謡hich, in the past, has included a new Hybrid SUV, $100,000 in cash, and a dancing role in Celine Dion's Las Vegas show熔f US$250,000 and the title of "America's favorite dancer." In its five seasons, the winners have been Nick Lazzarini, Benji Schwimmer, Sabra Johnson, Joshua Allen, and Jeanine Mason. The show has won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography.
