Season 2

Season 2
Season Run	May 25, 2006 – August 16, 2006
Judges	Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy Mia Michaels Shane Sparks Dan Karaty Brian Friedman
Host(s)	Cat Deeley
Winner(s): Benji Schwimmer
Origin	Newport Beach, California
Genre(s)	Swing/Latin Ballroom
Runner-up(s)
Travis Wall	Contemporary
Chronology
Previous Season	Season 1
Next Season	Season 3

Season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance premiered on May 25, 2006. Benji Schwimmer was crowned America's Favorite Dancer, with Travis Wall as runner-up.

Production

Season 2 was Cat Deeley's first season as host. She would later continue to host the series every season. The Top 10 went on to do a performance tour, which was the first So You Think You Can Dance tour. The winner of Season 2 received $100,000 as well as a new hybrid SUV, and a one-year contract with Celine Dion's Las Vegas Show "A New Day...".

Auditions

Venue	City	Judges
Hilton Theatre (now Lyric Theatre)	New York City, New York	Nigel Lythgoe Mia Michaels Dan Karaty
Charleston Music Hall	Charleston, South Carolina	Nigel Lythgoe Doriana Sanchez Ron Montez
Orpheum Theatre	Los Angeles, California	Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy Brian Friedman
Chicago Theatre	Chicago, Illinois	Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy Shane Sparks

Vegas Week

The Vegas callbacks were held at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino (The Aladdin Hotel at the time). One hundred and sixteen dancers began the week-long training and only 41 dancers remained after judges made cuts following each round of choreography, from which the judges chose the Top 20.

Task/style	Music	Choreographer(s)
Hip-Hop	"Run It!" Chris Brown	Shane Sparks
Samba	"Magalenha" Sérgio Mendes	Mary Murphy Artem Chigvintsev assisting
Contemporary		Mia Michaels
Jazz-Fusion	"So Sexy" Shanice	Brian Friedman
Individual solo	Dancer's choice	Dancer

Finals

Top 20

Female Contestants

Finalist	Age	Home Town	Dance style	Placement
Donyelle Jones	27	Los Angeles, California	Hip-hop/Jazz	3rd
Heidi Groskreutz	24	Cliffside Park, New Jersey	Swing/Latin Ballroom	4th
Natalie Fotopoulos	22	Tampa, Florida	Contemporary Jazz	Top 6
Allison Holker	18	Orem, Utah	Contemporary	Top 8
Martha Nichols	19	Brooklyn, New York	Tap/Contemporary/Hip-hop	Top 10
Ashlee Nino	21	Forth Worth, Texas	Hip-hop	Top 12
Jessica Fernandez	19	Margate, Florida	Ballet	Top 14
Aleksandra Wojda	23	Pretoria, South Africa	Contemporary	Top 16
Joy Spears	19	Killen, Alabama	Jazz	Top 18
Erin Ellis	19	Nashville, Tennessee	Jazz	Top 20

Male Contestants

Finalist	Age	Home Town	Dance Style	Placement
Benji Schwimmer	22	Moreno Valley, California	Swing/Latin Ballroom	Winner
Travis Wall	18	Virginia Beach, Virginia	Contemporary	Runner-Up
Ivan Koumaev	18	Seattle, Washington	Hip-hop	Top 6
Ryan Rankine	20	Brooklyn, New York	Ballet	Top 8
Dmitry Chaplin	23	Rostov-on-Don, Russia	Latin Ballroom	Top 10
Musa Cooper	28	Camden, New Jersey	Hip-hop	Top 12
Jaymz Tuaileva	20	Phoenix, Arizona	Contemporary	Top 14
Ben Susak	19	Phoenix, Arizona	Contemporary	Top 16
Jason Williams	20	Wilmington, North Carolina	Hip-hop/Jazz/Funk	Top 18
Stanislav Savich	22	Brooklyn, New York	Ballroom	Top 20

Season 2 Top 20

Aleksandra Wojda

Allison Holker

Ashlee Nino

Ben Susak

Benji Schwimmer

Dmitry Chaplin

Donyelle Jones

Erin Ellis

Heidi Groskreutz

Ivan Koumaev

Jason Williams

Jaymz Tuaileva

Jessica Fernandez

Joy Spears

Martha Nichols

Musa Cooper

Natalie Fotopoulos

Ryan Rankine

Stanislav Savich

Travis Wall

Elimination Chart

Contestants are listed in reverse chronological order of elimination.

• The song for the eliminated female contestant is "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall.
• The song for the eliminated male contestant is "It's the End of the Road" by Matt Goss.

Legend

Female

Male

Bottom 3 couples

Bottom 4 contestants

Injury

Week:	6/15	6/22	6/29	7/6	7/13	7/20	7/27	8/3	8/17
Contestant	Result
Benji Schwimmer									WINNER
Travis Wall					Btm 3		Btm 4		Runner-Up
Donyelle Jones									3rd Place
Heidi Groskreutz		Btm 3		Btm 3					4th Place
Ivan Koumaev	Btm 3			Btm 3				Elim
Natalie Fotopoulos					Btm 3	Btm 4	Btm 4
Ryan Rankine		Btm 3		Btm 3		Btm 4	Elim
Allison Holker	Btm 3			Btm 3
Dmitry Chaplin		Btm 3	Btm 3		Btm 3	Elim
Martha Nichols					Btm 3
Musa Cooper					Elim
Ashlee Nino			Btm 3
Jaymz Tuaileva	Btm 3		Btm 3	Elim
Jessica Fernandez	Btm 3		Btm 3
Ben Susak			Elim
Aleksandra Wojda		Btm 3
Jason Williams		Elim
Joy Spears
Stanislav Savich	Elim
Erin Ellis

Performance Shows

Main article: Season 2/Performances