'Dance' steps up for
2nd season of competition
By MARISA GUTHRIE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
'So You Think You Can Dance' executive producer Nigel Lythgoe (above) and host Cat Deeley (below)
Dancers and those with Twyla Tharp delusions have another chance to get a leg up - because Fox is at work on a second season of last summer's "So You Think You Can Dance."
The show puts dancers through a 12-week competition/boot camp to master everything from ballroom to hip hop. The winner gets a New York apartment and enough cash to live their dream. Last year's champ, Nick Lazzarini, and runnerup, Melody Lacayanga, have signed with Mark Meismer's Evolution dance company.
Producers will be in New York March 2 to audition dancers. Lineup begins at 8 a.m. at the Hilton Theatre, 213 W. 42nd St.
Last year's show was a work in progress. It was on a breakneck schedule and viewer voting was added at the last minute.
Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who also will return as a judge, said there will be some tweaks, including a half-hour results show.
Lythgoe is also a producer on "American Idol," and while there's no comparison between the two shows in terms of popularity and influence, he contends that dancers don't suffer from the same delusions as wanna-be singers. "I think everybody can put themselves in the shower and think they can sing," he said. "With dancing, it's a different thing. There are some brilliant untrained street dancers."
But most contestants have some formal training.
"You just can't be as deluded about your ability with dancing as you are with singing. If you're tone-deaf, you're tone-deaf, but you can't be blind," said Lythgoe.
The second season of "So You Think You Can Dance" premieres in May. Cat Deeley, a TV personality in her native U.K., takes over hosting duties from Lauren Sanchez, who is pregnant.
Lythgoe also addressed the Kelly Clarkson controversy. Simon Cowell took Clarkson to task earlier this year, painting her as an ingrate for not allowing her music to be performed on "Idol."
"The whole ... thing, I think was a little unfair," said Lythgoe. "I still don't know if she was aware that the music was at one point held back from us. If she did hold back from us, then she deserved that smack [from Cowell].
"She was attacked again at the Grammys for not thanking 'Idol.' Well, she also didn't thank her father. That happens. I don't hold any grudges against Kelly Clarkson. By winning two Grammys, she has validated 'American Idol.'"
Originally published on February 22, 2006
Great pic!
He just seemed like the nicest kid on that show. I was glad to hear that they're going to have a season 2 this year because it was so popular. 
