SYTYCD - Season 7

Let's face it: the last couple of seasons of So You Think You Can Dance have been pretty lackluster. Me, I say it has to do with the personalities of the contestants. Yes, we've seen some really amazing dancers on the SYTYCD stage over the last two outings, but nobody has come close to the sheer "I gotta see their next routine" charisma or adorability of their predecessors (in particular, the superlative class of season 4). Also, there's the absence of Mia Michaels' work from the show. I don't think there's any fan of the show or dancing in general who will argue that Mia's routines are regularly the most creative and interesting pieces of each week she was contributing. Without her, although the other choreographers are all spectacular, no one is Mamma Mia.

Apparently, Fox disagrees with me. They're changing the format of the show drastically for the upcoming season.

+The auditions and Vegas week will whittle the contestants down to just 10 rather than 20, and then the live elimination shows will begin.

+Only one contestant will be eliminated each week.

+Contestants will change partners every week from the start of the live shows.

And the biggest change,

+Contestants will not be dancing with one another, but rather rotating through a cast of "All-Stars": finalists from previous seasons. The press calls them former "favorites", a name I question. Our so-called All-Stars are:

1. "Twitch" Boss, season 4. Okay, a genuine favorite. I really liked him.
2. Comfort Fedoke, season 4. NO thank you. Dancing okay, but I hated that she got a second shot.
3. Courtney Galliano, season 4. Not bad. But not that big a deal, either.
4. Anya Garnis, season 3. Eh. But then, I've not been impressed by any of the show's female ballroom dancers.
5. Lauren Gottlieb, season 3. More eh. Never really did much for me.
6. Neil Haskell, season 3. Who? Oh, the table, battle-of-the-sexes number.
7. Allison Holker, season 2. Who? Oh, the umbrella routine.
8. Mark Kanemura, season 4. Yay, another actual favorite. "Bleeding Love" forever.
9. Pasha Kovalev, season 3. Eh. Same goes for the show's guy ballroom dancers.
10. Kathryn McCormick, season 6. Who? Oh, squeaky voice.
11. Ade Obayomi, season 5. Good, but no big deal.
12. Dominic "D-trix" Sandoval, season 3. If they were going to get someone from Quest Crew, who not Hok? I loved Hok.

So, in short... bleh. I'm ready for this season to come hopefully they'll cast some people I'll want to watch because these changes are ridiculous.