We’re less than one week away from the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. (It makes its debut Monday, March 30, on FOX.) In anticipation of the show’s new format (featuring young dancers instead of the 18-and-up set), here are a few things we’re really hoping to see this season.
1. Really, really good young dancers.
If you’ve been to any competition or convention lately, you know that the mini and junior divisions are boasting some serious talent these days. Being in the mini category no longer means doing a cutesy tap dance to “Little Bitty Pretty One.” So we’re holding out hope that the show stays true to the talent we know is out there and focuses more on seriously trained, talented young dancers rather than ones who are just into tricks and winks at the judges.
2. Legit advice from Maddie Ziegler.
Now that she’s broken free from the Dance Moms world, Ziegler will be joining the esteemed judges’ panel, making her the show’s youngest-ever judge. We saw Ziegler’s maturity really start to shine through during the final seasons of Dance Moms, and we’re hoping that despite being young, she still allowed to be totally candid with the dancers. (Bring out the sass, Maddie!)
3. Kindness, empathy, and honesty.
Yes, these dancers are younger and therefore have more fragile egos and emotions than the typical SYTYCD competitors. But we hope the judges will still give honest feedback. It’s OK to tell the dancers what they should do to improve — so long as we stay more Mary Murphy (miss her!) and way, way, way less Abby Lee Miller. We’re fans of fairness and positive reinforcement!
4. All the young dancers performing with Travis and tWitch.
Pretty please? We know it would be magic.
5. Ellen DeGeneres as a guest judge.
The whole world knows Ellen is a huge fan of dance, So You Think You Can Dance, and uber-talented kids. So it seems only natural that she’d turn up as a guest judge for at least one episode, right? (Make it happen, producers!)
6. Cat Deeley’s baby!
The show’s hostess-with-the-mostest gave birth to a baby boy in January, and we’re just dying to see him make his small screen debut during the show. Give the people what they want, Cat!
Will you be tuning in on Monday? Let us know in the comments!