Cat Deeley Previews a New Season of Dance

Just as the finales of American Idol and Dancing with the Stars leave us pining for more highs, lows, sparkly costumes and spiky hair, the two-hour premiere of So You Think You Can Dance is prancing in to feed our contest need on Thursday (Fox, May 22, 8 pm/ET). The series, which airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer, promises to serve up weekly doses of crazy kicks, flips and other moves that we're already dying to see. To help get us all warmed up for a summer of dance action, SYTYCD cohost Cat Deeley gave us a sneak peek of what to expect, how the show has changed, and why she'll be just as cheery as ever, all season long. Here's what the British personality had to say on:
Contestants who develop crushes on her:
Clearly, their sanity level needs to be checked. I think the men in white capes are probably about to come and take them away. Listen, I mean they're great dancers, but nobody said they've got any taste...I do feel very protective over them. That's my job; to be kind of the cheerleader when the chips are down and maybe Nigel is not being so nice and they've put everything that they have into a routine that's a minute long and they want to stay on another week. I'm kind of the big sister/cheerleader role that kind of squeezes their hand and goes, "Come on, we can do this."
Being so darn chipper - all the time:
If I wake up and the sun is shining it's not bad. Here in California there's nothing much to be grouchy about I don't think. You've got the sunshine and palm trees and ocean and hills. Yes, I'm pretty happy most of the time I have to say; annoyingly so one might say.
How the show has evolved:
It's not necessarily trends of dance I've noticed, but definitely the dancers are becoming more aware that this isn't just a dance competition. It's to find America's favorite dancer, so it's not necessarily about who's the best technical dancer or who has the most training. It's actually about the person that America connects with the most and it doesn't matter how brilliant your
dancing is.
New styles of dance that might be featured:
It is everything that you know and love, but back bigger and better. Because the bar has kind of been raised, now we want triple back somersaults with extras and a run up the wall because we just get blasé about it. There will definitely be another amazing Mia Michaels routine that's going to give you chills. Wade Robson is also going to do something very special for us. Obviously, what we want to do is keep it fresh, too. We aim to surprise and delight, but all of the normal styles will be there too.
The potential cross-over of American Idol and SYTYCD:
Because of the success of it wouldn't surprise me if something else did happen. I don't know exactly in what form it will be or how it will happen, but there is obviously a synergy between both shows because of the production teams that work on them both. It was such a huge success it wouldn't surprise me if there was.
The success of dance competition shows:
I think that our show is such a success because of the human element that's part of the show. People can like dance or be into dance, but it's that thing of watching other people's successes and failures and trials and tribulations. We've all, at some point in our lives, turned around and fallen over metaphorically and we've had to kind of pick ourselves and dust ourselves off and get on with it. Whether you're a mechanic, a baker, an accountant, whoever you are we can all identify with that. That's what makes the show a success with other people, not just the dancing community and I think it's something anybody can identify with.
Related:
" Check out photos from So You Think You Can Dance
" Watch video: Clips from So You Think You Can Dance