Season 1

2005 · 12 episodes

Season one features Lauren Sánchez as host, Nigel Lythgoe as the main judge, and Mary Murphy, Dan Karaty, Mia Michaels and Brian Friedman as most frequent guest judges.

1Auditions #1 and #2: New York and ChicagoIn this two-hour episode, we watched the first and second auditions in both New York and Chicago. We saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the first stage of auditions, the three producers from American Idol screened the contestants fairly leniently because the second audition was far more "telling." In the second audition, a choreographer gave them two pieces: one set as a solo and one set on a male/female duo. If they couldn't keep up they were sent home. Those that made it through will go to Hollywood. Throughout the premiere episode, they also gave small video vignettes of a few of the contestants at their homes.
2Auditions #3: Los AngelesIn this special 90 minute episode, the auditions take place over 2-days in Los Angeles, CA. The dancers perform a number, solo or with a partner, for the producers in order to move on to the next round. The producers let several creative, attention-getting dancers through regardless of how well they can actually dance, but heavily weighted on their "likeability" for a TV show. In the next round, the dancers are given choreography to perform in smaller groups for more talent-related judging. They are to learn a solo routine as well as a partner routine, but the first day of LA auditions put so few people through that they skip the solo routine. Several dancers are put through to Hollywood, and a few husband/wife teams are broken apart as one part of the team makes it through and the other doesn't.
3Hollywood: 50 CompeteThe dancers are divided into 5 groups to attend class with each choreographer. Alex's salsa class, Brian's hip-hop class, Dan's hip-hop class, Mia's contemporary class and Mary's ballroom class. As the week draws to a close the choreographers meet with Nigel to decide who will be cut out. The choices are made and announced to cut the group down to 24.
4Hollywood: 50 Cut to 16The 26 remaining dancers enter the "judging" room one-by-one as the choreographers tell them whether they have made it to the top 16 or not. As each dancer approaches the table, a small recap of their experiences on the show is played.
5Top 16Several of the choreographers are now judges. This includes Mia, Brian and Dan. Joining them to make an even four is Producer Nigel. During the first round, each of the 16 dancers will dance in pairs. The pairs are chosen by the male dancer pulling the name of a female dancer out of a hat. The pair must dance to the style of dance that the female dancer pulls out of a hat. After the first round, the dancers line-up on stage and the bottom 3 couples, as decided by the judges, are put up for elimination. During the second round, the 6 dancers that are put up for elimination (one male and one female from each couple) dance solo for 45 seconds. After the show, the audience can call to vote for their favorite dancer leaving one male and one female dancer with the lowest number of votes eliminated before next week. During the first round, the pairs that are made include: Kamilah and Jonnis dance in hip-hop style, Michelle and Nick dance in mambo style, Ashle and Jamille dance in jive style, Sandra and Artem dance in lyrical style, Snow and Allan dance in hip-hop style, Melissa and Ryan dance in mambo style, Melody and Craig dance in jive style, and Destini and Blake dance in lyrical style.
6Top 14At the beginning of the episode, 2 dancers from last week are cut. At that point, the competition continues in the same format as last week, except the females pick the partner and the males pick the style. This week, Mia is replaced by Mary as a judge (Mia has the chance to choreograph instead). Nigel, Brian and Dan are still judges. The 14 dancers complete round 1 in the following pairs: Snow and Jamile (Quick Step), Destini and Blake (Lyrical Jazz), Melody and Craig (Hip Hop), Michelle and Nick (Quick Step), Ashle and Artem (Lyrical Jazz), Kamilah and Allan (Hip Hop) and Melissa and Ryan (Salsa). Everyone was amazed at the number of pairs that were re-united from last week. In round 2, the couples put up for elimination danced as individuals and the audience voting was opened.
7Top 12At the beginning of the episode, 2 dancers from last week are cut. At that point, the competition continues in the same format as last week, except the males pick the partner and the females pick the style. This week, Mia, Brian, Mary and Nigel are the judges. Dan will take part in the choreography. The 12 dancers complete round 1 in the following pairs: Blake and Ashle (Rock 'n Roll), Artem and Melissa (Paso Doble), Allan and Melody (Lyrical), Ryan and Snow (Hip Hop), Jamille and Destini (Viennese Waltz), and Nick and Kamilah (Disco). This week, only 2 couples are put up for elimination instead of 3. In round 2, the couples put up for elimination danced as individuals and the audience voting was opened.
8Top 10At the beginning of the episode, 2 dancers from last week are cut. At that point, the competition continues in the same format as last week, except this week reveals a new twist; when the females pick their partner, the males pick two dance styles. Each pair will dance twice, each time to a different style. This week, Brian, Mia, Nigel and Dan are the judges. Mary will take part in the choreography. The 10 dancers complete round 1 in the following pairs: Melissa and Artem (pop and quick step), Kamilah and Nick (tango and pop), Melody and Ryan (lyrical and fox trot), Destini and Jamile (quick step and hip hop) and Ashle and Blake (samba and lyrical). In round 2, 2 couples are put up for elimination. These couples then dance as individuals and the audience votes for who to save at the end of the show.
9Top 8At the beginning of the episode, 2 dancers from last week are cut. At that point, the competition continues in the same format as last week, except this week reveals a new twist; when the females pick their partner, the males pick two dance styles. Each pair will dance twice, each time to a different style, but they will not hear from the judges until after the second dance. This week, Dan, Nigel, Mary and Brian are the judges. The 8 dancers complete round 1 in the following pairs: Nick and Kamilah (mambo and contemporary), Blake and Melody (lyrical and disco), Artem and Ashle (fox trot and cha cha) and Jamile and Melissa (hip-hop and paso doble). In round 2, 2 couples are put up for elimination. These couples then dance as individuals and the audience votes for who to save at the end of the show.
10Top 6At the beginning of the episode, 2 dancers from last week are cut. At that point, the competition continues in the same format as last week, the females pick their partner, the males pick two dance styles. Each pair will dance twice, each time to a different style, but this week they go back to the format where they hear from the judges after each dance. This week, Mia, Nigel, Mary and Dan are the judges. The 6 dancers complete round 1 in the following pairs: Kamilah and Jamile (hip-hop and American Jive), Ashle and Blake (smooth waltz and Argentine Tango), and Melody and Nick (Broadway and disco). In round 2 there is a twist. No couples are put up for elimination. All 6 dancers dance as individuals and the audience votes for who to save at the end of the show.
11Top 4At the beginning of the episode, 2 dancers from last week are cut. At that point, the competition continues in the same format as last week, only they don’t show the actual “picking” process, and the dancers pair up differently each time allowing them all to dance together once. This week, Brian, Mia, Nigel, Mary and Dan are all judging, however if a judge choreographed the performance, he/she sits out of judging that round. Also, this week each dancer will dance as an individual as part of the performance. The 4 dancers compete in the following order: Melody and Nick (Paso Doble), Ashle and Jamile (Salsa), Melody solo (Lyrical), Nick and Jamile (Hip Hop), Ashle solo (Lyrical), Jamile solo (Hip Hop/Pop Lock), Ashle and Melody (Lyrical), Nick solo (Lyrical), Melody and Jamile (Jazz), and Ashle and Nick (Hip Hop). In round 2 there is a twist. No couples are put up for elimination. All 4 dancers dance as individuals to a song they’ve never heard before in a randomly drawn order.
12And The Winner Is...The final 16 return for a dance together, and a 'hip-hop chorus line' called Groovaloo perform. Other than that, the episode is made up of clips from previous episodes. Throughout, the cuts are made one by one to reveal a winner.

Episodes