Canada’s favourite dance show is back for another toe tapping season as the Gemini Award-winning series SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA returns with its highly anticipated fourth season on Monday, June 20 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV, with encore episodes airing on MuchMusic beginning Friday, June 24 at 7 p.m. ET (visit CTV.ca and MuchMusic.com to confirm local broadcast times). Along with the new season, comes a new but familiar face behind the judges’ desk. After stealing the hearts of Canadian viewers in Season 1, and sharing his artistic talents as a choreographer in Seasons 2 and 3, Canada’s Favourite Dancer Nico Archambault joins the judging panel for a special appearance during finals week, making SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE franchise history as the first time a former winner returns to the show as a judge.
Canadians can dance to the beat all summer long as the smash hit competition series kicks things off with a two-hour premiere of the Toronto auditions. The next week the auditions head to Vancouver, Edmonton and Saint John, New Brunswick, for another two-hour episode Monday, June 27 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the Montreal auditions airing Tuesday, June 28 at 8 p.m. ET. Then the highs and lows of finals week air Monday, July 4, and the Top 20 reveal on Tuesday, July 5. The summer of dance continues as the series steams up Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.
“SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA has been discovering exceptional Canadian talent since Season 1,” said Phil King, President CTV Programming & Sports. “As the series heads into its fourth season, it continues its tradition of building stars and blazing trails within the dance scene around the world.”
“This series has become culturally significant not only because it has brought dance into the hearts, minds and homes of Canadians, but also because it has provided a platform for the competitors to build and maintain successful careers, which was almost unheard of for dancers before this show,” said Sandra Faire, Executive Producer SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA. “We’re now seeing a new generation of dancers training specifically to be part of the show because they recognize it’s a launching pad for a thriving career.”
After three amazing seasons of show-stopping performances and multiple SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE franchise firsts, the cast – including Gemini Award-winning host Leah Miller and judges Jean Marc Genereux, Tré Armstrong, Luther Brown, Blake McGrath, plus guest judges Mary Murphy and Rex Harrington – pick their favourite SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA moments in celebration of the upcoming season. Click here to watch Leah Miller spin through them.
Canada’s most talented dancers stepped up to compete for a spot in the coveted Season 4 Top 20, and the audition episode broadcast schedule unfolds as follows (all times ET; times and dates subject to change; visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times):
• Monday, June 20 at 8 p.m. ET (two hour premiere) – Toronto Auditions
• Monday, June 27 at 8 p.m. ET (two hours) – Vancouver, Edmonton and Saint John, NB Auditions
• Tuesday, June 28 at 8 p.m. ET (one hour) – Montreal Auditions
• Monday, July 4 at 8 p.m. ET (two hours) – Finals Week
• Tuesday, July 5 at 8 p.m. ET (one hour) – Top 20 Reveal
• Monday, July 11 at 8 p.m. ET (two hours) – First Performance show of the season, Top 20
• Tuesday, July 12 at 8 p.m. ET (half hour) – First Results show of the season, Top 20
What will be in store for Canada’s new favourite dancer? Check out what the series’ three winners have been up to below, as they make an impression at home and around the world.
Season 1 winner: Nico Archambault
Since being declared Canada’s first-ever Favourite Dancer, Nico Archambault has appeared as Rudolf Nureyev in the Bravo! film Nureyev, had a guest role in Vacation with Derek, and will star in the upcoming French film Sur le Rythme, for which he also did the choreography. This summer, Archambault stars in the French series ILS DANSENT, where he will work with, and mentor, 13 male dancers. Along with his wife Wynn Holmes, Archambault operates the choreography company, Street Parade.
Season 2 winner: Tara-Jean Popowich
After winning the title as Canada’s Favourite Dancer during Season 2, Tara-Jean Popowich has travelled around the world to India, France and Africa teaching and doing choreography. Involved in anti-bullying campaigns in Canada, Popowich also works to bring dance to underprivileged children. Currently in New York, Popowich is working with SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE finalist, and fellow Canadian, Alex Wong on a new show.
Season 3 winner: Denys Drozdyuk
Canada’s most recent winner, Denys Drozdyuk, has not only appeared on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE UKRAINE, but is performing in ballroom competitions throughout Europe and North America with his ballroom partner Antonina Skobina.
Gemini Award-winning host Leah Miller is back for Season 4 and is joined by returning judges Jean Marc Genereux, Tré Armstrong, Luther Brown and Blake McGrath. Guest judges throughout the five-city audition tour include Edmonton native Stacey Tookey (Edmonton auditions), Mary Murphy (Toronto and Montreal auditions), Mia Michaels (Vancouver auditions), Rex Harrington (Toronto auditions), Sean Cheesman (Saint John, NB auditions), and Melissa Williams (Saint John, NB auditions).
Dance hopefuls audition in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver and Saint John, New Brunswick, during November and December 2010, all vying for a boarding pass to advance to the next round of competition. Over 160 dancers advance to Finals Week in Toronto, where they work with some of Canada’s top choreographers to earn a spot in the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA Top 20. The dancers work in partners and select a different dance style each week, ranging from hip-hop and dance hall, to ballroom, tango, contemporary and jazz, in the hopes gaining the public’s votes. Two competitors are eliminated each week during the results shows.
Visit SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA’s official website dance.ctv.ca for the ultimate fan experience including exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews and photo galleries featuring the dancers, judges and choreographers, as well as the latest news, episode recaps, a music guide, quizzes, forums and more. Highlights from the weekly SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA episodes will be available on demand on the CTV Video Player at CTV.ca. Encore episodes air the following Friday on MuchMusic.
Viewers can also follow SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA on the show’s official Twitter account for exclusive giveaways and insider information at @SYTYCDCanada, and can also become a fan of the show on Facebook at facebook.com/SYTYCDCanada. SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA judges Jean Marc Genereux, Tré Armstrong, Luther Brown and Blake McGrath are also on twitter at@JMGenereux, @TreArmstrong, @LuBrown and @BlakeMcGrath.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA was created by Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, and is produced in association with CTV by Danse TV Productions. Sandra Faire and Trisa Dayot are Executive Producers.
