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So You Think You Can Dance, the dance
version of American Idol, pits the 10 best male dancers and 10 best
female dancers in the country against each other in a battle of dancing
talent. Every Wednesday night, the contestants perform duets in
styles such as Jive, Cuban Rumba, Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot Tango,
Argentine Tango, Salsa, Club Salsa, Disco, Broadway, Contemporary, Hip
Hop, and Krumping.
2006's Top 20 Included four ballroom
dancers: Benji Schwimmer (Redlands, CA), Dmitry Chaplin (Brooklyn,
NY), Stanislav Savich (Brooklyn, NY), and Heidi Groskreutz (Cliffside
Park, NJ).
Benji Schwimmer was the 2001 US
Open Swing Dance Showcase Champion, Six-Time U.S. Open Swing Dance
Champion and Ranked in the Top 7 of all US International Latin
couples. He danced with his cousin (and current So you Think You
Can Dance Contestant) Heidi Groskreutz for over 16
years.
Dmitry Chaplin is an Amateur
International Style Latin Dance competitor, currently partnered with
Benji's cousin and So You Think You Can Dance contestant Heidi
Groskreutz. Heidi and Dmitry have been national Latin finalist at
events such as Ohio Star Ball.
Stanislav Savich originally
auditioned with his girlfriend and partner Julia Tamarkina. He is
an International Style Latin dancer and was the first male to be cut
from the show.
Heidi Groskreutz is the only
female ballroom dancer to make the Top 20. She was a Six-Time U.S.
Open Swing Dance Champion with her cousin Benji Schwimmer and currently
competes in Amateur International Style Latin dance with So You Think
You Can Dance contestant Dmitry Chaplin. According to their web
site, Heidi will be teaching at Dance Manhattan in New York City in
2006.
Notable former DanceSport competitor Jean
Marc Genereaux has also served as judge on the show, in addition to
choreographing.
Choreographers and Judges for Season 2
have included: Resident Judge Mary Murphy, and choreographers Ron
Montez, Alex DaSilva, Mark Weiss, Michael Mead and Toni Redpath, and
Victor Veyrasset and Heather Smith. For
More Information on contestants, judges, choreographers and the show in
general, visit the Etchings
Dance Web Site SYTCD Page or the Official
SYTYCD Web Site. |
