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Season 2
SYTYCD S2 Group
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


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


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