In 2005, a 20-year-old hip-hop dancer named Nick Lazzarini won the first season of So You Think You Can Dance, and in doing so kicked off a golden age of dance on television. The show's format — pairing trained dancers across unfamiliar styles — turned technical artistry into appointment viewing for millions who had never set foot in a dance studio. Suddenly, your mom knew the difference between contemporary and krumping.
The Rise of Dance on TV
Dance competition shows didn't start with SYTYCD. The genre's roots trace to Star Search in the 1980s and Soul Train's legendary dance lines. But the reality TV boom of the early 2000s supercharged everything. Dancing with the Stars (2005-present) took a brilliantly simple concept — pair celebrities with professional ballroom dancers — and turned it into an ABC ratings juggernaut. At its peak, over 20 million viewers tuned in to watch everyone from Emmitt Smith to Bindi Irwin learn the paso doble.
So You Think You Can Dance (2005-present) aimed higher artistically. Creator Nigel Lythgoe and resident choreographers like Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, and Travis Wall crafted routines that regularly went viral before "going viral" was even a phrase. Mia Michaels' "Addiction" bench routine (Season 2) and Travis Wall's "Gravity" (Season 10) are still shared as examples of what dance at its highest level can look like on a reality show.
The international explosion was massive: Strictly Come Dancing (UK, 2004) was actually the template for DWTS. World of Dance (2017-2020), produced by Jennifer Lopez, raised the stakes with a million-dollar prize and showcased crews like The Lab and S-Rank alongside solo artists.
Then there's Dance Moms (2011-2019). Love it or cringe at it, Abby Lee Miller's Pittsburgh studio and its young dancers — most notably Maddie Ziegler — became a pop culture phenomenon. The show was more about backstage drama than artistry, but it introduced millions of viewers to the competitive dance world and launched Ziegler into Sia's orbit, changing both their careers.
Cultural Impact
These shows accomplished something remarkable: they built dance literacy in a mass audience. Viewers learned terminology (pirouette, isolations, musicality), recognized styles (Bollywood, paso doble, animation), and developed opinions about technique versus emotion. The judges' critiques became a kind of informal education.
For dancers themselves, the impact was double-edged. TV exposure brought unprecedented opportunities — social media followings, commercial work, world tours with pop stars. But it also compressed complex art forms into two-minute performance packages judged by applause meters. The "TV choreography" style that emerged — dramatic lifts, hair flips, emotional contemporary — became so dominant that some critics argued it was flattening the diversity of the dance world.
Notable Shows and Highlights
A guide to the dance competition landscape:
- So You Think You Can Dance (Fox, 2005-present) — The gold standard for showcasing trained dancers across styles. Alumni include tWitch, Allison Holker, and Fik-Shun
- Dancing with the Stars (ABC, 2005-present) — Celebrity ballroom that made Derek Hough a household name and won 6-time mirrorball champion Mark Ballas a loyal fanbase
- World of Dance (NBC, 2017-2020) — High-production showcase with jaw-dropping crews from around the globe
- Dance Moms (Lifetime, 2011-2019) — Controversial but undeniably influential gateway to competitive youth dance
- America's Best Dance Crew (MTV, 2008-2015) — The show that brought crew culture to prime time, launching JabbaWockeeZ and Quest Crew
- The Greatest Dancer (BBC, 2019-2020) — Short-lived but ambitious UK format
- Street Dance of China (Youku, 2018-present) — A massive hit in Asia with a focus on authentic street styles
The dance competition show isn't going anywhere. Formats evolve — shorter clips, social media voting, TikTok integration — but the core appeal remains timeless: watching a human body do something extraordinary, then arguing about it with your friends afterward.