So You Think You Can Dance is a South African version of the American dance reality competition created by Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and produced locally by Rapid Blue which has a similar premise to the American Idol series of singing competitions, with nationwide auditions leading to the discovery of the next big South African dance star.
So You Think You Can Dance premiered on SABC1 on Saturday 9 August 2008, at 18h30. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 3 premiered on SABC1 on Saturday 17 August 2013, at 18h30. New episodes broadcast weekly, with Results Show episodes beginning on Monday 23 September, at 19h00.
About the Show
Dancers skilled in everything from ballroom and ballet to salsa and hip-hop compete to be named the best dancer in South Africa.
The show starts with a nationwide casting call where dancers must impress the judges with their moves and routines to survive the auditions. Those who do are invited to a dance 'boot camp' where they're put through their paces by top choreographers.
Only the best 20 move forward to the studio shows where they learn challenging routines and dance their hearts out individually and in pairs to impress the panel of judges and audiences, who play their part by voting.
The winner receives prizes to the value of R250,000.
The show was hosted by Sade Giliberti in Seasons 1 and 2 and by Sinazo Yolwa in Season 3. The judges are as follows:
Season 1
Harold van Buuren
Adele Blank
Didi Moses
David Matamela
Debbie Rakusin
Season 2
Harold van Buuren
Adele Blank
Didi Moses
David Matamela
Season 3
Harold van Buuren
Themba Nofemele
Lorna Maseko-Lukhele
Show Format
Producers travel around the country looking for the best dancers at casting sessions in major cities across the nation.
At the casting sessions, each dancer must perform their own routine in front of a panel of judges, who then decide immediately who is good enough to continue.
Those chosen to stay work on a routine as a group, and after a further round of eliminations followed by a choreographed routine with a partner, the final 50 are selected to move on to the Dance Boot Camp.
At the Dance Boot Camp, each of the dancers is put through their paces by 5 choreographers, who take them through a variety of dance styles.
At the end of the camp, the group is immediately cut down, 20 of whom will be chosen to move forward to the studio shows after one-to-one interviews with the choreographers. This group is then cut down to a final 10.
Each studio show is structured the same way. As contestants are eliminated the remaining participants are randomly paired together, and the dances they need to perform the following week are drawn from a hat.
We follow each couple as they learn their routine by a top choreographer, before performing that routine in front of the panel of choreographers, and a live studio audience.
Once all the couples have performed, the panel identify the 3 weakest couples (or in later shows, 2 weakest couples) to go up for elimination by the public who vote for their favourites to stay.
Each dancer has an opportunity to encourage voters to keep them in the competition by dancing a solo routine for 45 seconds immediately before the phone lines are opened.
Each week, one guy and one girl is eliminated until only 4 dancers remain.
After performing for the last time, all 4 dancers are put to the public vote and it is the public who decide the final winner.
Winners
Season 1: Elizma Widschutte
Season 2: Lulu Mlangeni
Season 3: Sibahle Tshibika
Seasons
Series exclusive to SABC1
Season 1
Premiere: 9 August 2008 | Finale: 1 November 2008 | Sat, 18h30 / Tue, 19h00
Season 2
Premiere: 24 July 2010 | Finale: 16 October 2010 | Sat, 18h30 / Wed, 18h30
Season 3
Premiere: 17 August 2013 | Finale: 9 November 2013 | Sat, 18h30 / Mon, 19h00