UGH. As if the kiddie version of So You Think You Could Dance couldn’t get any worse. FOX announced today that 13 year old Maddie Ziegler, once part of the Dance Moms cast before she broke out as a star in her own right, will join the judges panel. The SYTYCD is set to premiere on Monday May 30 at 8/7c pm.
From the FOX press release:
Award-winning dancer Maddie Ziegler will join Nigel Lythgoe, Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo as a judge on So You Think You Could Dance: The Next Generation. Ziegler will lend her expertise as a young dancer to critique and praise the contestants as they battle it out during the studio shows this summer.
So You Think You Could Dance: The Next Generation premieres Monday, May 30 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), on FOX. The new season will feature a younger generation of dancers between the ages of 8-13, who are skilled in various dance styles, such as contemporary, tap, hip-hop, ballroom, animation or breaking. The dancers will be paired up with All-Stars to compete for the title of America’s Favorite Dancer.
Best known for starring in the award-winning reality series Dance Moms, 13-year-old Maddie Ziegler has gone on to star in singer-songwriter Sia’s music video trilogy. She has had the honor of performing artistic contemporary routines on Saturday Night Live, the Grammy Awards (2015), The Ellen DeGeneres Show (three times), We Can Survive at the Hollywood Bowl, Dancing with the Stars (twice) and Jimmy Kimmel Live. She also is making a name for herself as an aspiring actress with roles on such hit television shows as Pretty Little Liars, Austin & Ally and Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn. She will be making her big screen debut in the upcoming feature The Book of Henry, starring opposite Naomi Watts and directed by Colin Trevorrow. Ziegler also recently took home a People’s Choice Award, winning the DailyMail.com Seriously Popular Award.
Auditions for SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE: THE NEXT GENERATION have begun and head to Chicago next week (Friday, March 11), followed by New York (Friday, March 18). Please visit fox.com/dance for more information about Season 13.
During auditions, the next generation of dancers will compete for a place at “The Academy,” where only the most talented will be selected for the next round of competition. At the end of the round, the best of the best, the Top 10 dancers will be partnered permanently with a SYTYCD All-Star. The competition then moves to the SYTYCD studio, where, with Ziegler and the returning SYTYCD judges watching their every move, the top youngsters will compete each week in a variety of styles, working and performing alongside their All-Stars with world-renowned choreographers. As the competition heats up, contestants will be eliminated until a winner is named on the season finale.
FOX and creator in a desperate bid to keep this show afloat. I am really going to miss being introduced to exciting new talent in the world of professional dancing. We’ll see if featuring kids will make the show any more appealing to summer TV watchers. If it doesn’t, it may be time to cancel the once great dance competition.
