Entertainment
As America gets ready to choose its favorite dancer in the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance Season 15, which airs on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. E.T., you might find yourself wondering when can you get your next fix of the country's hottest young dancing stars. So will So You Think You Can Dance return for Season 16? Although Fox hasn't officially renewed SYTYCD for Season 16 yet, you can still feel pretty confident that it'll be back again next summer.
This year, SYTYCD is pulling in an average rating of .62 in the 18 – 49 demographic, reports TVSeriesFinale.com. That's down slightly from Season 14's .69 rating, but probably isn't anything to worry about. Overall, SYTYCD is still coming in the respectable place of 22 out of 47 in TVSeriesFinale.com's ranking of this summer shows by ratings. It doesn't seem likely that such a reliable series would get the axe just yet, though you never know.
Since its inception (with the exception of Season 6, the encore fall season in 2009), SYTYCD has always been a summer series. Therefore, it makes sense to assume that it could return sometime in June 2019. Deadline broke the news of the Season 15 renewal on Feb. 16, 2018, and Fox announced the official premiere date a little over a month later. So keep your eyes peeled for official news from the network sometime in Spring 2019.
And what if you want to make a play to become America's favorite dancer yourself? How do you audition to be on SYTYCD Season 16? Well, you'd better start warming up now. According to Dance Spirit magazine, auditions for Season 15 started on Mar. 2, 2018 in New York City. Assuming they start in early March again this year, that should give enough time to perfect your pops, locks, and pas de bourrees.
If you need a little inspiration before putting on your dancing shoes, or just a distraction to keep you busy until Season 16 comes out, why not check out some of the highlights from the past 15 seasons in the list below?
"Black Mambo," Heidi & Benji - Season 2
Definitely the fastest Mambo of all time, cousins and competitors Heidi and Benji make Johnny and Penny from Dirty Dancing look like absolute beginners. Plus they're both so darn cute, you can see why America was so eager to name Benji its favorite dancer.
"Are You The One," Danny & Neil - Season 3
Sabra might have taken home the $250,000 prize back in Season 3, but you can't say Danny & Neil didn't give it their all as they competed in the top four, especially as they rocked this intense, aggressive contemporary number from Mia Michaels.
"Hallelujah," Alex & Allison - Season 7
Allison was already an All Star during this performance, but Alex earned his spot in the SYTYCD hall of fame during this evocative contemporary routine from choreographer Sonya Tayeh. The pair are so in sync, it's like they were made to do these moves.
"Total Eclipse Of The Heart," Melanie & Neil - Season 8
By the time he showed up as an All Star for the second time in Season 8, I'd learned to expect nothing but sheer perfection from Neil. But it's Melanie who *literally* flies through this routine, making one of the world's most tired karaoke tracks feel brand new again.
"Call Me Mother" - Season 14 Top 8
This celebratory tribute to drag was a big moment for SYTYCD in Season 14, as it showed just how much the series had grown in its 13 years on air. Dancing to RuPaul's drag anthem "Call Me Mother" would probably have been dubbed too controversial for the conservative network back when the show premiered in 2009. Plus, the top 8 pull it off flawlessly.
"Collide," Kent & Lauren - Season 7
Packed with lifts, flips, and splits from the first few bars, Travis Wall cemented his position as SYTYCD royalty with this romantic routine. Plus, the chemistry between Kent and Lauren is enough to keep you swooning and glued to the screen until the very last moment for a passionate slice of STYCD history.
"Mercy," Twitch & Katee - Season 4
Twitch and Katee reinvent the door with this charming, surprising, and ridiculously adorable number. Even if it isn't one of the most technically shocking or risky routines the show has ever done, it's a perfect example of why the show is just so damn fun to watch.
"Bleeding Love," Chelsea & Mark - Season 4
Who doesn't love it when SYTYCD explores the romantic side of hip hop? And what's more romantic/heartbreaking than this gorgeous hip hop-meets-lyrical routine from married choreo couple Tabitha and Napoleon, performed irresistibly by Chelsea and Mark?
"Calle Ocho" - Season 5 Top 16
Isn't it time to put a little Pitbull back on your playlist? Probably the sexiest group number ever performed on the show, this masterpiece from choreographers Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon and Tabitha Duomo had the girls stomping their heels on tables filled with water while everyone else shook their hips at warp speed.
"Calling You," Heidi & Travis - Season 2
If you've been watching SYTYCD for this long, there's no way you haven't heard of the Bench Dance, but I had to add it anyway. Fact: no SYTYCD fan has ever been able to look at a bench and a sunflower the same way after watching this near-perfect contemporary routine. It won the show one of its two Emmys that season, for good reason.
It'll be at least a year before SYTYCD hopefully returns with a fresh round of auditions and brand new choreography, but after 15 whole seasons on the air, there is more than enough material to keep you happily ensconced in a YouTube video loop for the next 12 months. My advice? Start with your old favorite routines first and just keep watching.
