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Dancing inside the box: So You Think You Can Dance contestants on their best--and worst--moves.

Article Excerpt
So You Think You Can Dance, the reality TV show from Fox this summer, has brought dance into America's living rooms as never before. Young people from all over the country compete in jazz, modern, hip hop, ballroom, Broadway, salsa, and more. Borrowing from the American Idol format, the early auditions include dewy-eyed amateurs who are told by the judges to find another career--or worse. Only the most charismatic and TV-ready dancers from each of four cities are invited to the semi-finals in Las Vegas. The next round eliminates all but 10 guys and 10 girls, who are paired off to pas de deux in randomly selected styles. The judges, who include Nigel Lythgoe (also the executive producer), Mia Michaels, Shane Sparks, Mary Murphy, and Dan Karaty, can make perceptive comments but can also rip a hard-working dancer a part with terms like "pitiful" and "without soul." Viewers vote by phone for their favorites, and each week the bottom three couples have to "dance for their life" with a 30-second solo. Then the judges pick one guy and girl to leave the show. The winner takes home $100,000 and a contract with the Las Vegas spectacular A Brand New Day, choreographed by Mia Michaels and starring Celine Dion.

Who are the brave young souls who pack up their hopes and dreams and head for the show? Dance Magazine interviewed...

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