So You Think You Can Dance? Season 3 Videos

Written by: Jaclyn Popola

And we're off! Produced by the same executives who created "American Idol" and "American Bandstand", season three of Fox's number one summer hit, "So You Think You Can Dance?" kicked off Wednesday night with the top 20 dancers being partnered into ten couples. Each couple performed one routine, each judge appeared slightly more drunk than last year, and host Cat Deeley is still as huge as a giraffe.

Despite shouts of nepotism -- this year's Lacey is the sister of last year's Benji, Faina is the sister of last year's Stanislav, Danny is Travis' adopted brother, and Lauren was choreographer Tyce Diorio's assistant for teaching one last season's routines -- the four contestants held their own, along with the other sixteen dancers.

In order to make it in this competition, you've got to have versatility and a great personality above all else. And, of course, a little talent never hurts. All the dancers have their specialty--ballroom, latin, swing, hip-hop, contemporary--but with only a week to learn each new routine, if they can't pick up a different style quick enough, they're not going to last.

A few of the contestants from season two, including Benji, Travis, Dmitry, Ivan, and Allison, were seated in the VIP section of the audience reserved for the choreographers, cheering on their successors. The contestant's families were also present, including Lacey's dad, who was out there supporting his offspring in full force, minus the electronic sign he wielded when Benji was performing.

"So You Think You Can Dance?" is on every Wednesday from 8:00pm-10:00pm EST, and every Thursday from 9:00pm-10:00pm EST. The two-hour show on Wednesday features the actual dances, whereas Thursday evening is the results show. After Wednesday's performance, Americans dial in to vote for their favorite couple. On Thursday, the bottom three couples each have to dance a solo in their own style. It is then up to the judges to decide who will be going home. Two dancers, one boy and one girl, will be eliminated each week.

If you didn't catch it on television, here are the videos of some of Wednesday night's dances.