MIA MICHAELS AND ADAM SHANKMAN JOIN NIGEL LYTHGOE AS RESIDENT JUDGES ON “SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE”
Season Seven Premieres Thursday, May 27, on FOX
Emmy Award-winning choreographer Mia Michaels and acclaimed director and choreographer Adam Shankman will return to SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE as the series’ resident judges. Michaels – who has been a guest judge and choreographer on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE since its first season – will sit alongside Shankman and Nigel Lythgoe as the new judge and draw upon her expertise to critique and praise the dancers throughout the competition.
“I am extremely happy that Mia and Adam have returned and agreed to be resident judges,” said Nigel Lythgoe, executive producer/co-creator, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. “Mia’s outspoken approach combined with Adam’s passion will definitely add a fresh new chemistry to the panel.”
Hosted by Cat Deeley, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE returns for its seventh season Thursday, May 27 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) with some exciting new twists, including 10 finalists competing and only one dancer eliminated per week. Additionally, the competitors will be partnered each week with a different SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE All-Star dancer – former SYTYCD finalists who are skilled in various styles of dance, including Ballroom, Hip Hop, Jazz and Contemporary. The All-Stars include Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Comfort Fedoke, Courtney Galiano, Anya Garnis, Lauren Gottlieb, Neil Haskell, Allison Holker, Mark Kanemura, Pasha Kovalev, Kathryn McCormick, Ade Obayomi and Dominic “D-trix” Sandoval.
For the new season, producers traveled across the country to Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, New York, Los Angeles and Miami in search of dancers who represent the best in America. Those who shine during auditions are given a ticket to Las Vegas for callbacks, where they work with top choreographers to learn and then be judged on multiple styles of dance.
Two-time Emmy Award-winning and three-time Emmy-nominated choreographer Mia Michaels’ credits include Cirque du Soleil’s “Delirium,” “West Side Story,” “Hello, Dolly!,” Céline Dion’s “A New Day” and “Taking Chances World Tour,” the American Music Awards, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and working with pop superstars, including Madonna, Prince, Ricky Martin and Gloria Estefan. Michaels joined SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE in 2005 as a guest judge and contributing choreographer. She was honored with an Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography on a Television Series in 2007 for “Calling You” and again in 2009 for “Mercy.” The Florida native was born into a family of dancers. She began studying dance at age 2 with her father and her sister, and furthered her training at the Miami Conservatory, the Miami Performing Arts Center and Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy.
Adam Shankman is a master of comedy and one of the most-loved and commercially successful filmmakers of his generation. His credits include “The 81st Academy Awards”; “The Last Song” starring Miley Cyrus; “17 Again” starring Zac Efron; “Hairspray,” the feature film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical; and “The Wedding Planner” starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey. Prior to directing, Shankman was one of the premier dance and physical comedy choreographers for film, and choreographed music videos for Whitney Houston, The B-52’s, Barry White, Aaron Neville, Chic and Stevie Wonder. A native of Los Angeles, Shankman attended The Juilliard School, and began his career as an actor and dancer in New York.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE was created by Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and comes from 19 Entertainment Ltd. and dick clark productions. It is executive-produced by Simon Fuller, Nigel Lythgoe and Barry Adelman.