Entertainment

No More Super-sized Episodes From 'SYTYCD'

by Keertana Sastry

One of the most entertaining shows on TV is back Wednesday night: It's time for Season 11 of So You Think You Can Dance which means more of your favorite routines, contestants and Mary Murphy screams than you can count. (Is it just me or does she get louder every year?) So while we all reminisce about our favorite So You Think You Can Dance auditions and Top 20 performances from the last ten seasons, let's make sure we tune in for the newbies.

The two-hour Season 11 premiere airs on Wednesday night and unlike some of the past seasons, Wednesday nights will be So You Think You Can Dance's only airtime. But tonight we get to see Nigel, Mary and a few special guest judges see auditions and potential America's Favorite Dancers in New Orleans and Chicago. In Chicago, Dharma and Greg star Jenna Elfman and ballet dancer Fabrice Calmels will be joining Nigel and Mary on the judges panel while in New Orleans Whose Line Is It Anyway star and overall awesome human being Wayne Brady is stopping by to give his two cents. Auditioning in Chicago has been a staple for the Fox show but this is the first year the SYTYCD crew is auditioning in New Orleans. Other audition cities on Season 11's agenda include Atlanta, Philadelphia and the standard audition city, Los Angeles.

We're hoping for some great talent to come out of the south and the middle of the country this year. Over the last ten seasons, some of the best and most charismatic dancers have come from both areas of the United States including Season 1's Jamile McGee from Ohio, Season 3 breakdancer Sara Von Gillern from Illinois, Season 4's Twitch from Alabama and winner Joshua Allen from Texas, Season 7's Kent Boyd from Ohio and so many more.

This year, the talent looks to be pretty incredible with many styles of dance ranging from the popular contemporary to the most unique of unique. Like Nigel has said before, the So You Think You Can Dance audition process is actually one of my favorite portions of the show, not because the rest of the season is boring — the Top 20 performances are always great — but because we get to witness so many people bring their personal style into all different kinds of dance. I'm truly hoping that a few dancers with the more unique styles of dance can make through the audition rounds and have a successful Vegas week because it would be so nice to break up the extremely talented but extremely long line of contemporary dancers' solos with something fresh. Remember, for example, Hampton "The Exorcist" Williams or the traditional Mongolian Bowl Dancer? Those dancers were incredible but sadly couldn't make the final cut. I'm crossing my fingers for more people like that to finally crack the Top 20. It'll happen someday, maybe Season 11 is the time.

Images: Fox; Tumblr