Season 8

Season 8
Season Run	May 26, 2011 – August 11, 2011
Judges	Nigel Lythgoe Mary Murphy
Host(s)	Cat Deeley
Winner(s): Melanie Moore
Origin	Marietta, Georgia
Genre(s)	Contemporary
Runner-up(s)
Sasha Mallory	African Jazz
Chronology
Previous Season	Season 7
Next Season	Season 9

Season 8 of So You Think You Can Dance premiered on May 26, 2011. Melanie Moore was crowned America's Favorite Dancer, with Sasha Mallory as Runner-Up.

Production

The Top 20 returned this season in contrast to the previous season's Top 11. Mary Murphy also returned as a main judge to replace Mia Michaels, who was absent during Season 7 due to contract issues and surgery. Adam Shankman was unavailable to return as a main judge due to him directing Rock of Ages. In his place were guest judges Lil' C, Tyce Diorio, Jason Gilkison, Toni Redpath, and Robin Antin. This season was also the first time viewers were given the chance to vote online.

Auditions

Air Date	Venue	City	Audition Date	Guest judge
May 26, 2011	Paramount Theatre	Oakland, California	October 13, 2010	Tyce Diorio, Toni Redpath
May 26, 2011	Fox Theatre	Atlanta, Georgia	February 19, 2011	Lil' C
June 1, 2011	N/A	Brooklyn, New York	November 15, 2010	Jason Gilkison
June 1, 2011	Capitol Theater	Salt Lake City, Utah	February 2, 2011	Robin Antin
June 2, 2011	Orpheum Theatre	Los Angeles, California	March 12, 2011	Tyce Diorio

Vegas Week

The Vegas callbacks were held at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. 31 dancers remained after judges made cuts following each round of choreography. The judges were Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Adam Shankman (who was replaced by Jason Gilkison on Day 2 because of scheduling conflicts), Debbie Allen, Robin Antin, and Tyce Diorio.

Task/style	Music	Choreographer(s)
Individual solo	Dancer's choice	Dancer
Hip-Hop	"Look at Me Now" Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes	Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo
Broadway	"I Gotcha" from Fosse	Tyce Diorio
Jive	"Blue Suede Shoes" from Viva Elvis Elvis Presley	Jason Gilkison
Group routines	Chosen at random by the dancers from a selection on songs	Dancers
Contemporary	"Yellow" Vitamin String Quartet	Travis Wall
Individual solo (last chance)	Dancer's choice	Dancer

Finals

Top 20

Female Contestants

Finalist	Age	Home Town	Dance style	Placement
Melanie Moore	19	Marietta, Georgia	Contemporary	Winner
Sasha Mallory	23	Bakersfield, California	Jazz/Modern/African	Runner-Up
Caitlynn Lawson	18	Moses Lake, Washington	Contemporary Jazz	Top 6
Jordan Casanova	19	Chino Hills, California	Jazz/Commercial	Top 8
Clarice Ordaz	19	Whittier, California	Jazz	Top 10
Ryan Ramirez	19	Morgan Hill, California	Contemporary	Top 12
Ashley Rich	22	Antioch, California	Contemporary Ballet	Top 14
Miranda Maleski	19	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Contemporary	Top 16
Iveta Lukosiute	30	Klaipėda, Lithuania	Ballroom	Top 20
Missy Morelli	20	Arvada, Colorado	Jazz	Top 20

Male Contestants

Finalist	Age	Home Town	Dance Style	Placement
Marko Germar	22	Dededo, Guam	Contemporary Jazz	3rd Place
Tadd Gadduang	25	West Valley City, Utah	Breakdance	4th Place
Ricky Jaime	19	Miami, Florida	Contemporary	Top 6
Jess LeProtto	18	Little Falls, New Jersey	Broadway	Top 8
Mitchell Kelly	20	Atlanta, Georgia	Contemporary	Top 10
Alexander Fost	21	Alhambra, California	Ballet	Top 12
Chris Koehl	21	Garland, Texas	Hip-Hop	Top 14
Robert Taylor, Jr.	31	Brooklyn, New York	Hip-hop	Top 16
Wadi Jones	24	Ossining, New York	Breakdance	Top 20
Nick Young	19	Franklin, Wisconsin	Tap	Top 20

Season 8 Top 20

Alexander Fost

Ashley Rich

Caitlynn Lawson

Chris Koehl

Clarice Ordaz

Iveta Lukosiute

Jess LeProtto

Jordan Casanova

Marko Germar

Melanie Moore

Miranda Maleski

Missy Morelli

Mitchell Kelly

Nick Young

Ricky Jaime

Robert Taylor, Jr.

Ryan Ramirez

Sasha Mallory

Tadd Gadduang

Wadi Jones

All-Stars

Season 8 featured a combination of the Top 20 format and the All-Star format from Season 7. During weeks 6, 7, 8, and 9, different All-Stars from past seasons came and partnered up with a contestant for that week.

Season 8 All-Stars

Ade Obayomi

Allison Holker

Anya Garnis

Brandon Bryant

Comfort Fedoke

Chelsie Hightower

Ellenore Scott

Ivan Koumaev

Jaimie Goodwin

Janette Manrara

Joshua Allen

Kathryn McCormick

Kent Boyd

Lauren Froderman

Lauren Gottlieb

Mark Kanemura

Melody Lacayanga

Neil Haskell

Pasha Kovalev

Robert Roldan

Stephen 'tWitch' Boss

All-Stars Dance Pool

The All-Stars Dance Pool features some of the best and most popular dancers that have been featured on previous seasons.

All-Stars, Contestant Partners, and Results

Dancer/Season Dance Styles	Partner
	Week 6		Week 7	Week 8	Week 9
Melody Lacayanga (1) Contemporary/Jazz	Mitchell
Allison Holker (2) Contemporary	Ricky		Marko
Ivan Koumaev (2) Hip-Hop	Caitlynn
Anya Garnis (3) Ballroom/Latin			Ricky
Jaimie Goodwin (3) Contemporary				Ricky
Lauren Gottlieb (3) Contemporary/Jazz/Hip-Hop			Jess
Neil Haskell (3) Contemporary/Jazz				Melanie
Pasha Kovalev (3) Ballroom/Latin	Caitlynn	Melanie	Sasha	Caitlynn
Chelsie Hightower (4) Ballroom/Latin	Marko
Comfort Fedoke (4) Hip-Hop	Tadd
Joshua Allen (4) Hip-Hop					Tadd
Mark Kanemura (4) Jazz					Sasha
tWitch (4) Hip-Hop	Sasha			Melanie
Ade Obayomi (5) Contemporary			Jordan
Brandon Bryant (5) Contemporary	Jordan
Janette Manrara (5) Ballroom/Latin				Marko
Ellenore Scott (6) Contemporary/Jazz				Tadd
Kathryn McCormick (6) Contemporary	Jess
Kent Boyd (7) Contemporary/Jazz				Sasha
Lauren Froderman (7) Contemporary/Jazz			Tadd		Marko
Robert Roldan (7) Contemporary/Jazz	Clarice				Melanie

Color	Code
	This dancer was eliminated this week.
	This dancer was in the Bottom 4 this week.
	This dancer was Safe.
	All-Star did not perform this week.
	4th Place
	3rd Place
	Runner-Up
	Winner

Elimination Chart

Contestants are listed in reverse chronological order of elimination.

• The song for the eliminated female contestant was "Waiting Outside the Lines" by Greyson Chance.
• The song for the eliminated female contestant was "Shine" by Sharif Iman.

Legend

Female

Male

Bottom 3 couples

Bottom 4 contestants

Injury

Week:	6/16	6/23	6/30	7/7	7/14	7/21	7/28	8/4	8/11
Contestant	Result
Melanie Moore									WINNER
Sasha Mallory					Btm 3				Runner-Up
Marko Germar									3rd Place
Tadd Gadduang	Btm 3			Btm 3			Btm 4		4th Place
Ricky Jaime		Btm 3		Btm 3	Btm 3	Btm 4		Elim
Caitlynn Lawson			Btm 3		Btm 3		Btm 4
Jess LeProtto	Btm 3						Elim
Jordan Casanova	Btm 3			Btm 3		Btm 4
Mitchell Kelly	Injury		Btm 3		Btm 3	Elim
Clarice Ordaz	Btm 3
Alexander Fost					Elim
Ryan Ramirez		Btm 3		Btm 3
Chris Koehl			Btm 3	Elim
Ashley Rich			Btm 3
Robert Taylor Jr.	Btm 3		Elim
Miranda Maleski	Btm 3
Nick Young		Elim
Iveta Lukosiute
Wadi Jones
Missy Morelli

^1 There was no elimination during the first week, so the judges had to eliminate four dancers during the second week.

Performance Shows

Main article: Season 8/Performances