So You Think You Can Dance (American season 11)
So You Think You Can Dance, an American dance competition show, returned for its eleventh season on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. The commission of an eleventh season was first announced by series creator Nigel Lythgoe on the September 10, 2013, telecast of the season 10 finale. The season again features Lythgoe, who also serves as executive producer, and ballroom expert Mary Murphy as the two permanent members of the judge's panel while Cat Deeley continues in her role as host for a tenth consecutive season.
Contemporary dancer Ricky Ubeda won the competition, and his prizes include $250,000, the chance to appear on the cover of Dance Spirit magazine, the offer of a role in the 2014 Broadway revival of the musical On the Town as choreographed by one of this season's guest choreographers, Joshua Bergasse, and the title of America's Favorite Dancer. The runner-up was tap dancer Valerie Rockey. This season saw the show eliminate interactive viewer participation by telephone, with producers preferring to divert weekly voting to the show's website and the network's new proprietary smartphone app, a process that reduced the overall number of votes each participating viewer could cast each week.
Auditions
Open auditions for season 11 were held in five cities beginning on Jan 13.| Air Dates | Audition Venue | City | Audition Date | Guest judges |
| June 18, 2014 | Fox Theatre | Atlanta, Georgia | January 13, 2014 | Lil Buck Jenna Dewan Tatum |
| June 11, 2014 | Merriam Theatre | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | January 20, 2014 | Misty Copeland Billy Porter |
| May 28, 2014 | Ernest N. Morial Convention Center | New Orleans, Louisiana | January 31, 2014 | Wayne Brady |
| May 28, 2014 June 4, 2014 | Oriental Theatre | Chicago, Illinois | February 27, 2014 | Jenna Elfman Fabrice Calmels |
| June 4, 2014 June 11, 2014 | Orpheum Theatre | Los Angeles, California | March 23, 2014 | Christina Applegate |
Callbacks
In a change from the procedure of the previous nine seasons, in which post-open-audition callbacks were held in Las Vegas and referenced collectively as "Vegas Week", season 11's callbacks were held in Los Angeles, with no special nomenclature. A total of 157 dancers began the week by performing a solo; those contestants not cut at this point went on to learn and perform various styles of choreography with cuts being made after every round. At the end of the final round of the week, 44 dancers remained, from which the judges selected a Top 20 to proceed into the performance show stage of the competition.Finals
Top 20 Finalists
As with most previous seasons of So You Think You Can Dance, ten female contestants and ten male contestants were selected at the end of the callbacks week to proceed into the performance show stage of the competition.Female Contestants
Male Contestants
Elimination chart
Performances
In contrast with previous seasons, the top 20 showcase, in which all the dancers performed in their own styles, was a competitive and special episode.Meet the Top 20 (July 2, 2014)
- Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Jason Derulo
- Performances:
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer | Result |
| Top 20 | Jazz | "Stalker Ha"—Kingdom | Sonya Tayeh | |
| Brooklyn Fullmer Serge Onik | Cha-cha-cha | "Hell Yeah"—Midnight Red | Dmitry Chaplin | Bottom 6 |
| Emily James Casey Askew | Contemporary | "All of Me" —John Legend | Travis Wall | Askew in Bottom 6 |
| Valerie Rockey Zack Everhart | Tap | "Sing"—Ed Sheeran | Anthony Morigerato | Safe |
| Bridget Whitman Stanley Glover | Contemporary | "Doesn't Mean Goodbye"—Jon McLaughlin | Bonnie Story | Safe |
| Jourdan Epstein Jacque LeWarne | Ballet | "Pas de Deux - Black Swan - Tchaikovsky"—Richard Bonynge & The London Symphony Orchestra | Marat Daukayev | Epstein in Bottom 6 |
| Malene Ostergaard Marcquet Hill | Samba | "Morning Drums"—Gregor Salto | Louis van Amstel | Ostergaard eliminated |
| Carly Blaney Rudy Abreu | Contemporary | "Take It Easy"—Jetta | Stacey Tookey | Safe |
| Emilio Dosal Teddy Coffey | Hip-hop | "Nightshift"—Commodores | Christopher Scott | Safe |
| Jessica Richens Ricky Ubeda | Contemporary | "Vow"—Meredith Monk | Sonya Tayeh | Safe |
| Tanisha Belnap Nick Garcia | Cha-cha-cha | "I'm a Freak"—Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull | Louis van Amstel | Garcia eliminated |
Top 20 (July 9, 2014)
- Group Dance: "New York, New York" from On the Town
- Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Misty Copeland
- Performances:
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer | Result |
| Tanisha Belnap Rudy Abreu | Jazz | "You Need"—Bengsons | Sonya Tayeh | Safe |
| Valerie Rockey Ricky Ubeda | Contemporary | "Oh Darling"—Gossling | Travis Wall | Safe |
| Bridget Whitman Emilio Dosal | Hip-hop | "Work"—Iggy Azalea | Luther Brown | Bottom 6 |
| Jessica Richens | West Coast Swing | "Respect" —Aretha Franklin | Benji Schwimmer | Richens Safe |
| Carly Blaney Serge Onik | Contemporary | "Latch "—Sam Smith | Sonya Tayeh | Safe |
| Emily James Teddy Coffey | Hip-hop | "Don't"—Ed Sheeran | Dave Scott | Bottom 6 |
Stanley Glover | Broadway | "I've Got Your Number"—Nancy Wilson | Spencer Liff | Glover Eliminated |
| Jourdan Epstein Marcquet Hill | Pop Jazz | "Work Bitch"—Britney Spears | Sean Cheesman | Epstein Eliminated |
| Brooklyn Fullmer Casey Askew | Argentine Tango | "Gallo Ciego"—Luis Bravo's Forever Tango | Miriam Larici Leonardo Barrionuevo | Safe |
| Jacque LeWarne Zack Everhart | African Jazz | "Dibiza" —Danny Tenagila | Sean Cheesman | Safe |
Top 18 (July 16, 2014)
- Group Dance: "How It's Done"—District 78
- Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Misty Copeland
- Performances:
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer | Result |
| Jacque LeWarne Zack Everhart | Hip-hop | "Stay With Me"—Sam Smith | Keone Madrid Mari Madrid | Everhart Bottom 6 |
Marcquet Hill | Contemporary | "Disappear" —Mikky Ekko | Dee Caspery | Hill eliminated |
| Jessica Richens | Jazz | "Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter"—Nikka Costa | Tyce Diorio | Safe |
| Bridget Whitman Emilio Dosal | Jive | "Happy"—Pharrell Williams | Anya Garnis Pasha Kovalev | Whitman Bottom 6 |
| Emily James Teddy Coffey | Contemporary | "Ne me quitte pas"—Nina Simone | Tyce Diorio | Safe |
| Brooklyn Fullmer Casey Askew | Jazz | "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"—Michael Bublé | Bonnie Story | Fullmer eliminated |
| Valerie Rockey Ricky Ubeda | Viennese Waltz | "I Won't Give Up"—Jason Mraz | Lacey Schwimmer | Safe |
| Carly Blaney Serge Onik | Hip-hop | "Senile"—Young Money feat. Tyga, Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne | Luther Brown | Onik Bottom 6 |
| Tanisha Belnap Rudy Abreu | Broadway | "Sing Sing Sing "—Bob Fosse | Warren Carlyle | Belnap Bottom 6 |
Top 16 (July 23, 2014)
- Group Dance: "Take Me to the River"—Annie Lenox
- Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Misty Copeland
- Guest Performance: Lucy Hale—"Lie a Little Better"
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer | Result |
| Valerie Rockey Ricky Ubeda | Bollywood | "Dilliwaali Girlfriend"—Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani | Nakul Dev Mahajan | Safe |
| Bridget Whitman Emilio Dosal | Contemporary | "The Leaving Song"—Chris Garneau | Travis Wall | Safe |
| Tanisha Belnap Rudy Abreu | Hip-hop | "Good Kisser"—Usher | Dave Scott | Safe |
| Jessica Richens | Foxtrot | "I Put a Spell on You"—Nina Simone | Dmitry Chaplin | Richens Bottom 6 |
| Carly Blaney Serge Onik | Contemporary | "Foolish Games"—Jewel | Mandy Moore | Both eliminated |
| Emily James Teddy Coffey | Salsa | "Bruk It Down" —Mr. Vegas feat. Alison Hinds | Oksana Dmytrenko Jonathan Platero | Both eliminated |
| Jacque LeWarne Zack Everhart | Jazz | "Back to Black"—Beyoncé feat. André 3000 | Sonya Tayeh | Safe |
Casey Askew | Hip-hop | "Hustle Hard Remix"—Ace Hood feat. Rick Ross & Lil Wayne | Will "WilldaBeast" Adams | Askew Bottom 6 |
Casey Askew Emilio Dosal Emily James Serge Onik Tanisha Belnap Valerie Rockey Zack Everhart Jr. | Contemporary | "So Broken" —Björk | Sonya Tayeh | N/A |
| Bridget Whitman Carly Blaney Jacque LeWarne Jessica Richens Ricky Ubeda Rudy Abreu Teddy Coffey | Jazz | "Love Runs Out"—OneRepublic | Travis Wall | N/A |
Top 14 (July 30, 2014)
- Group Dance: "Last Moment"—Christophe Filippi
- Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Christina Applegate
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer | Result |
| Bridget Whitman Emilio Dosal | Jazz | "Long Road to Hell"—Avicii | Ray Leeper | Both Eliminated |
| Tanisha Belnap Rudy Abreu | Contemporary | "Seduces Me"—Celine Dion | Mandy Moore | Safe |
| Jacque LeWarne Zack Everhart | Paso Doble | "Dragula"—Rob Zombie | Jean-Marc Généreux | Bottom 4 |
Teddy Coffey | Broadway | "From This Moment On" from Kiss Me, Kate | Warren Carlyle | |
| Jessica Richens Casey Askew | Contemporary | "Like Real People Do"—Hozier | Travis Wall | Safe |
Serge Onik | Quickstep | "A Cool Cat in Town"—Tape Five feat. Brenda Boykin | Jean-Marc Généreux | |
| Valerie Rockey Ricky Ubeda | Hip-hop | "Turn Down for What"—DJ Snake & Lil Jon | Christopher "Pharside" Jennings Krystal "Phoenix" Meraz | Safe |
| Top 7 Girls | Contemporary | "My Immortal"—Evanescence | Mandy Moore | N/A |
| Top 7 Guys | Contemporary | "Wave"—Beck | Travis Wall | N/A |
- Solos:
| Dancer | Style | Music | Result |
| Serge Onik | Cha-cha-cha | "Wicked Games" —Parra for Cuva feat. Anna Naklab | Eliminated |
| Carly Blaney | Contemporary | "Not About Angels"—Birdy | Eliminated |
| Casey Askew | Contemporary | "Kiss Me"—Ed Sheeran | Safe |
| Emily James | Contemporary | "Infra 8"—Fuller, Bonner, Barr, Burdge & Worsey | Eliminated |
| Teddy Coffey | Hip-hop | "If I Ever Fall in Love" —Shai | Eliminated |
| Jessica Richens | Jazz | "Fever"—Beyoncé Knowles | Safe |
Top 10 (August 6, 2014)
- Group Dance: "Bang Bang"—Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj
- Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Tara Lipinski
- Guest Performance: Christina Perri—"Burning Gold"
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer | Result |
Brandon Bryant | Bollywood/Disco | "Disco Khisko" from Dil Bole Hadippa | Nakul Dev Mahajan | |
| Tanisha Belnap Ryan Di Lello | Argentine Tango | "The Gaucho's Pain"—Tango Jointz | Miriam Larici Leonardo Barrionuevo | Eliminated |
Jasmine Harper | Hip-hop | "Get Low"—Dillon Francis | Tabitha D'umo Napoleon D'umo | |
| Valerie Rockey Ade Obayomi | Jazz | "Hearts a Mess"—Gotye | Tyce Diorio | Safe |
| Rudy Abreu Jenna Johnson | Cha-Cha-Cha | "Maps"—Maroon 5 | Louis Van Amstel | Eliminated |
| Jacque LeWarne Chehon Wespi-Tschopp | Contemporary Ballet | "Adagio for TRON"—Daft Punk | Travis Wall | Bottom 4 |
| Ricky Ubeda Lauren Froderman | Rockabilly Jazz | "Bossa Nova Baby" — | Mandy Moore | Safe |
| Casey Askew Kathryn McCormick | Broadway | "Maybe This Time"—Liza Minnelli | Spencer Liff | Bottom 4 |
| Jessica Richens Stephen "tWitch" Boss | Hip-hop | "U Got Me Up" — | Tabitha D'umo Napoleon D'umo | Safe |
| Zack Everhart Amy Yakima | Contemporary | "Europe, After The Rain"—Max Richter | Sonya Tayeh | Safe |
Top 8 (August 13, 2014)
- Group Dance: "A Place With No Name"—Michael Jackson
- Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Jenna Dewan Tatum
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer | Result |
| Ricky Ubeda Jaimie Goodwin | Contemporary | "Smile"— Michael Jackson | Travis Wall | Safe |
| Valerie Rockey Ryan Di Lello | Samba | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'—Michael Jackson | Jean-Marc Généreux | Safe |
| Casey Askew Comfort Fedoke | Hip-hop | "Xscape"—Michael Jackson | Christopher "Pharside" Jennings Krystal "Phoenix" Meraz | Eliminated |
Nick Lazzarini | Contemporary | "She's Out of My Life"— Michael Jackson | Stacey Tookey | |
Allison Holker | Jazz | "Dirty Diana"—Michael Jackson | Ray Leeper | |
| Zack Everhart Mackenzie Dustman | Broadway | "The Way You Make Me Feel"—Michael Jackson | Spencer Liff | Safe |
| Jacque LeWarne Stephen "tWitch" Boss | Hip-hop | "Slave to the Rhythm"—Michael Jackson | Dave Scott | Eliminated |
| Jessica Richens Will Wingfield | Contemporary | "Earth Song"—Michael Jackson | Mandy Moore | Safe |
- Solos:
| Dancer | Style | Music |
| Tanisha Belnap | Ballroom | "Warrior"—Havana Brown |
| Zack Everhart | Tap | "Gotta Get Thru This" —Daniel Bedingfield |
| Casey Askew | Contemporary | "Outro"—M83 |
| Rudy Abreu | Contemporary | "Warrior"—Drehz |
| Jacque LeWarne | Ballet | "Nocturne in C Sharp Minor, : Lento"—Dejan Lazic & Pieter Wispelwey |
| Jessica Richens | Jazz | "Taking Chances"—Celine Dion |
| Valerie Rockey | Tap | "Dance with Me Tonight"—Olly Murs |
| Ricky Ubeda | Contemporary | "Hægt, kemur ljósið"—Ólafur Arnalds |
Top 6 (August 20, 2014)
- Group Dance: "Hide "—N.A.S.A feat. Aynzil Jones
- Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Christina Applegate
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer |
| Valerie Rockey Ricky Ubeda | Broadway | "I've Got the World on a String"—Frank Sinatra | Spencer Liff |
| Jessica Richens | Disco | "Dim All the Lights"—Donna Summer | Doriana Sanchez |
Zack Everhart Jr. | Foxtrot | "Anything Goes"—Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga | Jean-Marc Généreux |
| Valerie Rockey Stephen "tWitch" Boss | Hip-hop | "Yeah"—Usher feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris | Will "Willdabeast" Adams |
Will Wingfield | Contemporary | "99 Red Balloons"—Sleeping At Last | Sean Cheesman |
| Jessica Richens Ade Obayomi | Jazz | "Boneless"—Steve Aoki, Chris Lake & Tujamo | Ray Leeper |
| Ricky Ubeda Anya Garnis | Cha-Cha-Cha | "Dare "—Shakira | Jean-Marc Généreux |
Makenzie Dustman | Contemporary | "Over You"—Ingrid Michaelson feat. A Great Big World | Stacey Tookey |
| Zack Everhart Du-Shaunt "Fik-Shun" Stegall | Hip-hop | "Sail" —Awolnation | Phillip Chbeeb |
- Solos:
| Dancer | Style | Music |
| Ricky Ubeda | Contemporary | "My Tears Are Becoming A Sea"—M83 |
| Jessica Richens | Jazz/Contemporary | "I Was Here"—Beyoncé |
| Casey Askew | Contemporary | "Lay Me Down" —Sam Smith |
| Valerie Rockey | Tap | "What I Like About You"—The Romantics |
| Jacque LeWarne | Ballet | "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"—The Andrews Sisters |
| Zack Everhart | Tap | "Butterfly"—Jason Mraz |
Top 4 (August 27, 2014)
- Group Dance: "Wind Beneath My Wings"—RyanDan
- Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Jesse Tyler Ferguson
- Guest Performance: Jason Mraz—"Love Someone"
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer |
| Valerie Rockey Ricky Ubeda | African Jazz | "Voices of Savannah"—DJ Chus | Sean Cheesman |
| Jessica Richens Zack Everhart Jr. | Broadway | "Hernando's Hideaway"—Ella Fitzgerald | Spencer Liff |
| Valerie Rockey Zack Everhart | Contemporary | "Pearls"—Sade | Tyce Diorio |
| Jessica Richens Ricky Ubeda | Jazz | "F for You"—Disclosure feat. Mary J. Blige | Ray Leeper |
| Jessica Richens Valerie Rockey | Bollywood | "Ghaghra"—Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani | Nakul Dev Mahajan |
| Ricky Ubeda Zack Everhart Jr. | Hip-hop | "The Antidote"—District 78 | Chris "Pharside" Jennings Krystal "Phoenix" Meraz |
| Valerie Rockey Aaron Turner | Tap | "Love Me or Leave Me"—Sammy Davis Jr. | Anthony Morigerato |
| Ricky Ubeda Kathryn McCormick | Contemporary | "Not About Angels"—Birdy | Stacey Tookey |
| Zack Everhart Aaron Turner | Tap | "Piano Man"—Billy Joel | Anthony Morigerato |
| Jessica Richens Robert Roldan | Contemporary | "When I Go"—Over the Rhine | Travis Wall |
- Solos:
| Dancer | Style | Music |
| Ricky Ubeda | Contemporary | "Skin & Bones"—David J. Roch |
| Jessica Richens | Jazz | "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"—Juliet Simms |
| Valerie Rockey | Tap | "Valerie"—Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse |
| Zack Everhart | Tap | "Superstition"—Adam Rafferty |
Week 10 (Finale) (September 3, 2014)
- Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Debbie Allen, Adam Shankman, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Tara Lipinski
- Group dances & guest performers:
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer |
| Top 20 | Broadway | "Doctor Jazz"—Jelly's Last Jam | Warren Carlyle |
| Top 10/All-stars | Contemporary/Hip-hop | "Sweet Disposition"—The Temper Trap | Sonya Tayeh & Christopher Scott |
| Wanted Ashiqz | Bollywood dance/Hip-hop | "Dhoom Again" from Dhoom 2 | Themselves |
| Michael Dameski | Contemporary | "Unstoppable"—E.S. Posthumus | Himself |
| Les Twins | Hip-hop | "Fading Flower"—Yuna | Themselves |
Michael Dameski is the winner of So You Think You Can Dance Australia's fourth season.