So You Think You Can Dance Australia

AGE: 19
LIVES: SYDNEY, NSW
DANCE STYLE: HIP-HOP
OCCUPATION: STUDENT / RETAIL ASSISTANT

“I am my biggest competitor; I just want to be better than my best each day”

This talented and very intelligent young man chose a career in dance rather than follow in the footsteps of his brother, father and grandfather in law. Easily academic enough to pursue law, Charlie chose to follow his heart with the hope of working as a professional dancer. A dream that is about to become a reality.

Growing up in Dubbo meant that Charlie didn’t have access to the variety of classes he desired. The self-taught hip-hopper made the decision to move away from his family and come to Sydney to enrol full-time at Brent St Studios in 2008. His dedication to dance has clearly paid off as Charlie proved versatile enough to secure a position in the Top 20. Hard-working and cheeky, Charlie is also a tapper and has dreamed of working with the Tap Dogs.

AGE: 19
LIVES: SYDNEY, NSW
DANCE STYLE: CONTEMPORARY / JAZZ / HIP-HOP
OCCUPATION: DANCER / DANCE TEACHER / CHOREOGRAPHER

“I feel I’m ready for the challenge this year and I hope that my versatility makes me stand
out from the other dancers”

His mother thought dance lessons would bring BJ out of his shell and how right she was. Dancing since four years of age, BJ has had a wealth of dance experience in his short career, including performing alongside Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas and Jessica Mauboy as well as touring South Korea with CATS in 2008.

BJ auditioned in season one of SYTYCDA and made it into the Top 40. However, he didn’t perform as well as he would have liked due to illness. He returned this series to prove to himself and the judges that he has what it takes to be part of the Top 20, and he did just that.

Determined to prove he can do more than just hip-hop tricks and passionate to train and inspire young dancers to follow their dreams, BJ has maturity and vision well beyond his years.

AGE: 26
LIVES: GOLD COAST, QLD
DANCE STYLE: JAZZ
OCCUPATION: DANCE TEACHER

“My strength is the passion I have for dance and I hope this comes across in my performances”

This boy next door is just as comfortable in boardies, bare feet and a singlet as he is performing alongside Hugh Jackman in The Boy from Oz. Born and bred on the Gold Coast, Ben started dancing aged 9 after begging his mum to put him in lessons. The decision paid off as Ben has gone on to achieve acclaim with his performances in The Boy from Oz, Dirty Dancing The Musical and Happy Feet. But his success has not come without hardship. Suffering from asthma as a child, medication caused him to put on weight. Before Ben could pursue his dream of working as a professional dancer he made the decision to lose the weight, an enduring and challenging feat. His efforts paid off as he now leads a successful career, not only as a professional dancer, but also a dance teacher.

Inspired by season one to audition, the main thing that Ben is looking forward to is learning a range of new and different dance styles from the pool of talented choreographers on SYTYCDA.

AGE: 25
LIVES: SYDNEY, NSW
DANCE STYLE: LYRICAL / CONTEMPORARY
OCCUPATION: PROFESSIONAL DANCER

My biggest strength as a performer is that I work really hard to get something right”

Determined, passionate and energetic, Amy Campbell has a wealth of national and international performance experience under her belt, so it’s surprising to believe she was too scared to audition for season one of SYTYCDA. She faced her fears for season two and proved she well and truly has what it takes to be a fierce competitor.

Inspired by her two elder sisters, both ballerinas, Amy has been dancing for 22 years, a remarkable length of time considering she is just 25. Years of training in jazz, ballet and contemporary led to her first professional gig at 15yrs of age, performing in Singapore.

She has also performed in New York, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Puerto Rico, not to mention working in Saturday Night Fever’s Australasian tour. Amy also has a talent for performing with aerial silks – a skill she hopes to be able to share on the show.

Sunday 5 April 7.30pm – Top 6 Perform
Monday 6 April 7.30pm – Elimination

Special Guest Choreographers From US SYTYCD – Tabetha & Napolean
Special Guest Performances From Duffy, Chicago & Stomp

The top 6 will take to the floor on Sunday night, tasked with performing an impressive three routines each. Over a period of just three days, the dancers will have to learn two routines per couple as well as a girls and guys trio routine. With such a short time to learn and perfect the choreography, this week will be the most challenging week the dancers have faced yet.

To add to the pressure, Tabitha and Napoleon, two of the most celebrated and popular choreographers from the US series of SYTYCD, will be part of the Top 6 show. They will take on a number of choreography challenges this week including duo routines and the group number. Tabitha and Napoleon are renowned for creating some of the best routines featured on the us series and our dancers will now get the opportunity to work with them and more importantly, impress them.

Once again, Monday night is the verdict show and all six dancers will be up for elimination. The two dancers that received the least amount of votes as a result of Australia voting after the Sunday night performance show will be eliminated, leaving us with our Top 4.

To add to the excitement of Monday night’s show, we will be treated to not one but three special performances. UK singing sensation Duffy will be on stage, along with performers from Chicago and Stomp, capping off an incredible line-up of talent.

This is the most important show leading in to the Finale – for those dancers who make it in to the Top 4, they’ve made it the last step before the Finale. One of these four dancers will win So You Think You Can Dance Australia and will be crowned Australia’s favourite dancer.

Kicking off tonights elimination are the top 10 with a hot piece of choreography set to Madonna’s Music Inferno.

Two more will leave tonight and for the first time, it’s from your vote.

Talia and Penny are safe.  Of Gianne, Amy and Kat, Amy is the only one that is safe.

BJ and Charlie are both safe.  Of Timomatic, Loredo and Ben, Ben is safe.

Not only will the winner of So You Think You Can Dance walk away with $200,000 and the chance to perform on So You Think You Can Dance in the United States, this year McDonalds are giving the three runners up a share of $30,000 to further their dancing careers.

The Fray perform their hit You Found Me which has just gone platinum.

It’s time for the bottom four solos.

Gianne brings a lot of energy with her routine.
Kat lets go with Technologic
Timomatic is smooth with Let Me Love You
Loredo shows his African rhythms

This is going to be one difficult decision but someone has to go.  From the girls, it’s Gianne.  From the guys, the dream is over for Loredo.

Your Top 8 and couples for next week are:

Penny Higgs & Charlie Bartley
Talia Fowler & Ben Veitch
Kat Risteska & Timomatic Omaji
Amy Campbell & BJ Rorke

Sunday 29 March 7.30pm – Top 8 Perform
Monday 30 March 7.30pm – Elimination

Monday Night Special Performance – Kaiser Chiefs

For the first time this season, the top 8 dancers will be required to perform a routine with their partner as well as two group perfornances – a girls and a guys. With only a matter of days to master these routines, the versatility of the dancers is paramount as they need to grasp new choreography and new partners in a matter of days.

The fate of the dancer’s position in the competition rests completely in the hands of the australian public. Judges Jason Coleman, Bonnie Lythgoe and Matt Lee are on hand to comment on each performance but they no longer have a say in who stays and who leaves. That decision rests solely with the voting public.

The six contestants that don’t receive enough votes from Australia will be announced on monday night by Natalie Bassingthwaighte, and have one more opportunity to showcase their talents before the announcement of which two contestants will be leaving the competition.

Following in the footsteps of Lily Allen, Macy Gray and Sam Sparro, award-winning British indie sensations, Kaiser Chiefs, will be performing on the SYTYCDA stage on monday night. Their rock anthems have earned them international acclaim and their performance is sure to be a highlight.

7.30pm Sunday March 22 & 7.30pm Monday March 23

Sunday 22 March / 7.30pm – Top 10 Perform
Monday 23 March / 7.30pm – Elimination

Sunday night will be a spectacular night of viewing as the Top 10 dancers perform TWO routines each, in a bid to win the viewer’s heart, and ultimately, their vote. The contestants will be required to dance two routines, but will they keep the same partner for both routines? What we do know is that every dancer must continue to showcase their versatility in order to survive in the competition.

From this point on, the competition will become much more fierce, physically, emotionally and mentally, as the dancers are required to learn and perfect numerous routines each week.

And in a new twist, the fate of the dancers moves away from the judges and will now completely rest in the hands of the Australian public. It is their votes which will determine who leaves the competition each week. Australia will now no longer be able to rely on the judges to keep their favourite in the competition and they must vote in order to give their favourite dancer the best opportunity to remain in the competition.

With only a handful performance shows remaining before the Final 4 are announced, these 10 dancers are only weeks away from the Finale. They will have to display their stamina and versatility over the coming weeks in order to prove to Australia that they have to what it takes to be Australia’s Favourite Dancer and winner of So You Think You Can Dance Australia.

Sunday March 15 and Monday March 16 at 7.30pm on Ten

Sunday 15 March at 7.30pm – Top 12 Perform

Monday 16 March at 7.30pm – Elimination

Eight contestants have left the competition, giving the remaining 12 dancers another opportunity to shake their booty in a bid to win the viewer’s votes.

The judges, Jason Coleman, Bonnie Lythgoe and Matt Lee, will critique the dancers on their performance, technique and entertainment value. Who will flourish and who will flounder?

Tonight’s performance is another opportunity for the dancers to prove they are able to grasp new choreography with potentially a new partner. The contestants only have a matter of days to learn and perfect a new routine, not to mention the challenge of tackling a brand new dance genre. Some dancers will be in their comfort zones, others will be stretched far from it.

The stigma of making it to the top 10 is incredibly important to the dancers, so this is their last chance to convince Australia, and the judges, that they deserve one of the coveted spots.

Monday night will see host Natalie Bassingthwaighte reveal the three couples that haven’t received enough votes from Australia and therefore are up for elimination. Each of the six dancers must now ‘dance for their lives’ and convince the judges that they still deserve to be in the competition.

By the end of Monday night’s episode, Australia will have its top 10 dancers. With only a handful of performance nights remaining before the finale, who has what it takes to win the competition and be crowned Australia’s favourite dancer?

Sunday, March 8 / 7.30pm – Top 14 Perform

Monday, March 9 / 7.30pm – Elimination

Fourteen dancers have survived the three eliminations so far but they still have a few more to get through before they make it to the finale.

Each week the dancers are challenged physically and emotionally, having only a few days to grasp a brand new routine and genre, as well as potentially a new partner. They work tirelessly, rehearsing up to 12 hours a day to in order to master and perfect a routine, before performing on stage, in front of Australia.

The seven couples dancing this week will perform in genres such as hip-hop, ballroom, Broadway and contemporary. Australia is given the opportunity to vote for their favourite couple after Sunday night’s show with the three couples with the least amount of votes announced on Monday night’s show.

These six dancers have one last chance to convince the judges, Jason Coleman, Bonnie Lythgoe and Matt Lee, that they deserve a place in the competition with their solo ‘dance for their life’ rou- tine. Two dancers will leave the competition on Monday night – one male, and one female.

The fate of Australia’s favourite dancer rests in the hands of the public – if you want to save your favourite dancer from being in the bottom three and therefore facing elimination, then you must vote.