So You Think You Can Dance Australia

So You Think You Can Dance Australia first hit the airwaves on the 3 February 2008. Since then, this all-dazzling dance series has taken some of Australia's brightest dance talent and thrust them into the limelight.

History of So You Think You Can Dance

So You Think You Can Dance was first aired in the US in July 2005, and is the creation of Nigel Lythgoe, who is also one of the show's judges, and Idol's Simon Fuller.

The format of the show loosely follows that of the Idol series, with auditions being held nation-wide, followed by a series of tasks and eliminations. It covers a wide range of dance genres, from Boogaloo to Cha Cha, Hip Hop to Ballet. Finally, a winner is crowned "America's Favourite Dancer" and cash and other prizes awarded. Auditions are now underway in for the show's fifth season.

The Australian version of the series (SYTYCD) works on the same format, with the initial round of auditions moving to each major city. Hosted by former Neighbours star, singer and author, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, SYTYCD's judging panel consists of three regular judges, dancer Matt Lee, choreographers Jason Coleman and Bonnie Lythgoe, with guest judges that have included choreographer Jason Gilkinson and Kelley Alley.

The first season of the show involved the collaboration of over 20 of Australia's most esteemed choreographers and dancers, and peaked at over 2.15 million viewers. The first season's overall winner was Jack Chambers, who has since been attempting the move to Broadway dance in New York.

Many dancers, choreographers and producers agree that the series has been hugely beneficial for the dance industry in Australia. Bassingthwaighte said: "I think that it made the general public outside of the dance arena aware of the skills it takes to be a top dancer. Contestants from the last [series] have found work in the field, and everyone wants to dance now - it's cool."

SYTYCD: far from perfect?

SYTYCD is now in its second season, and from 3000 contestants the final 20 have been chosen. But despite its popularity, there has also been a lot of criticism over the formula of the show from people within the dance community and outside of it.

Journalist Valerie Lawson, of the Brisbane Times, wrote in March 2008: "Its very success - the program attracted an audience of 1.5 million on Sunday last week - is compromising dance as a performance art. The audience is led to believe that the most obvious effort, the most athletic of tricks, and the most vulgar of moves, represent dance at its best."

In addition, some controversy began to surround judge Jason Coleman, with some dancers accusing him of being under-qualified for the role after he wrongly named a dance move a 'promenade' when it should have been a 'pivot'. He has also been accused of favouring choreographer Kelly Aykers, with whom he has business interests.

Coleman laughed off the accusations, stating: "Mate, this is just nit-picking. With this show a pivot is the same thing as a promenade. In my world it's called a promenade, in the ballroom dancing world it's a pivot. I'm aware of the differences, but don't have time in my minute-and-a-half speech to explain."

Love it or hate it, SYTYCD appears here to stay.

To me, the key difference between SYTYCD and social dancing today is that on the TV show their partner dancing is all choreographed and they make it look like they feel the music and the story they are trying to portray.

Most the dancing I've been fortunate enough to learn is within the Latin scene (rather than ballroom, hip hop, jazz, etc.). If you go to actual dance classes (as opposed to performance choreographs), they teach you the steps - i.e. the basic footwork, how to lead and follow and basic styling.

When you take what you've learnt in the classes out to social dancing, you really feel the music and as a girl have to follow the guys lead. You can not anticipate what comes next. It's loads of fun and typically in the latin scene, it's all pretty casual and you dance each new song with a new partner. It's a great way to meet people and in my opinion the best way to learn is to go social dancing regularly with the people from your class.

Another key difference between the show and social dancing is that they do a new dance each week. When you pick a style of dancing, over time you may branch out. For example, in the Latin scene, if you learn salsa, you might start with Cuban or LA style and later learn other dances like bachata, zouk, on2, cha cha cha or Argentinian tango.

Also in the show, they do their solo performances. In the Latin dance scene this doesn't really happen much. There is a solo variant of salsa dance called a shine, but how social is partner dancing when you do it on your own?

I remember once asking my salsa teacher "why don't more people dance?" and he said "it hasn't found them yet". I highly recommend you give dancing a go, even for just a bit of fun. Who knows, it might just be your thing! And if not, well you've lost an hour of your time and about $20 for a one-off social class.

Now you've found it, go see if you can dance!”

Amanda G, Sydney