Nigel Lythgoe and the rest of the "So You Think You Can Dance" gang came to the Fabulous Fox Theatre earlier this year for the 11th season of the sturdy summer series.
The first night's episode features New Orleans and Chicago. Atlanta will show up on the June 18 episode.
Lythgoe said the show will return to one single winner after crowing a male and female winner the past two seasons. Otherwise, he and Mary Murphy are back as judges and Cat Deeley will return as host. A third celebrity guess judge will be thrown in as well. Guest judges in the audition cities include Jenna Dewan-Tatum (Atlanta), Charles "Lil Buck" Riley (Atlanta), Billy Porter and Misty Copeland (Philadelphia), Wayne Brady (New Orleans), Jenna Elfman and Fabrice Calmels (Chicago) and Christina Applegate (Los Angeles). Guest judges at the Pasadena callbacks include Adam Shankman, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, Tara Lipinski and Irina Dvorovenko.
The show will also feature a mini-competition focused on dance crews, hosted by Justin Bieber, a fan of the show. Lythgoe said he was inspired by the Atlanta dance crews that have generated multiple contestants on the show.
Here's how Fox explains that process;
Each week, Bieber and his his choreographer Nick DeMoura will showcase two dance crews on each of the four audition episodes. After the crews are showcased, hash tags will be revealed that viewers can use to tweet their favorite of the two crews. The tweets will be tallied and the most popular crew overall will be invited to perform on the finale. Please check fox.com/dance for voting terms.
Lythgoe said he hopes the show, which has seen its ratings wane to series lows last year, can at least match last year's numbers so Fox might keep it around.
He also believes the quality of dancers has not dropped off despite the show's falling popularity among viewers, noting that many have been preparing for this show the past decade.
TV preview
"So You Think You Can Dance," debuting season 11 at 8 p.m., Wednesday, May 28, 2014, Fox
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