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The New Studio.
A custom-built studio, a 120-camera bullet-time rig, and the format's first-ever live audience for televised auditions make season sixteen the biggest production upgrade in the show's run.
A rhythm worth tracking.
Season sixteen debuts a custom-built set nicknamed SYTYCD Hollywood, wired with 120 cameras for bullet-time effects, and welcomes a live studio audience to televised auditions for the first time in the show's run. Laurieann Gibson and Dominic 'D-Trix' Sandoval join Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy on the panel, and roughly 130 dancers advance from the audition tour into the Hollywood round.
The #06 slot.
Slot #06 of 18 in the So You Think You Can Dance Editor's Canon. Season sixteen lands solidly in the A-tier for investing in production rather than gimmick. The custom-built SYTYCD Hollywood set, wired with 120 cameras for bullet-time effects, is the biggest infrastructure investment the show has made since its debut, and the decision to let a live studio audience watch televised auditions for the first time adds a genuine energy the earlier audition-tape format never had. Laurieann Gibson and Dominic 'D-Trix' Sandoval bring fresh eyes to the panel alongside Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, and the roughly 130 dancers who advance into the Hollywood round keep the open-call premise intact. It's a season built on craft, not reinvention.
4 moments, no spoilers.
- Ep 1 · a new stage
A custom-built set nicknamed SYTYCD Hollywood debuts, wired with 120 cameras to capture bullet-time effects during performances.
- Ep 1 · a crowd for the first time
Televised auditions welcome a live studio audience for the first time in the show's run.
- Ep 2 · two new judges
Laurieann Gibson and Dominic 'D-Trix' Sandoval join Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy on the panel.
- Ep 4 · the field narrows
Roughly 130 dancers advance from auditions into the Hollywood round before the live-show field is set.