One of the more colorful characters on So You Think You Can Dance each season is its executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe. He has a background in dance himself and has a lot of ideas about how to help dancers move forward with their careers. In this clip, he tells some of the things that may be included this season for the first time and offers his own opinions about the show:

The Hot Tamale Train is on its way to the station again tonight!

That’s because there’s a new episode of So You Think You Can Dance on. (Can you tell that I’m excited?)

In this clip, SYTYCD judge Mary Murphy tells us why being a part of the show is so meaningful to her and what it has doe to open up the world to dance. She talks about how difficult it is to learn a brand new genre of dance and how especially tough it is for the dancers to do it every single week while they are on the show:

It’s no secret that So You Think You Can Dance is one of my all-time favorite shows. Not only because I’m a lover of dance, but because I love to watch people triumph and succeed with hard work and determination.

Interestingly, Cat Deeley, the host of SYTYCD tells us in this clip that is pretty much the same reason she loves the show. She also talks about the dancers’ charisma and what makes a winning dancer. This is a great clip, and it makes me very eager for tomorrow’s new episode of the show:

From time to time I still run into people who think that dancing is for sissies. They argue that dance should not be considered a sport. WTF?!!

OK granted, none of these people in this clip are throwing a ball or catching one, but they are absolutely, definitely and completely some of the most talented athletes ever!! I dare anyone to watch this clip and not see that this takes extraordinary physical training, talent and just plain hard work. Most professional athletes couldn’t come close to doing these things. That’s not to take away from what they do, but it’s just another way of being athletic.

Dancing is definitely a sport!! Check out this clip for So You Think You Can Dance:

[Photo: courtesy of Fanscape]

Be sure to watch the Ellen Degeneres Show this Wednesday, February 25th to see the Jabbawockeez! If you can’t watch it live, be sure to record it!

Most of us who love America’s Best Dance Crew are fans of the first season’s winners, Jabbawockeez. They’ve done very well since winning the show and now they will be guests on the Ellen show. And you know they’ll be dancing. I know they’ll be fabulous, as always.

Don’t miss it!

Have you heard about the this dance reality show? It’s called America’s Ballroom Challenge and it’s professional ballroom dancers competing with each other. Jonathan Roberts from past seasons of Dancing With the Stars is one of the finalists too!

This is the fourth year that PBS has aired the world’s largest ballroom dancing competition that takes place in Columbus, Ohio. From the looks of this promo clip, it should be spectacular! There will be four major dance styles fetured in the competition: American Smooth, American Rhythm, International Standard, International Latin. Check it out:

[video source]

Don’t miss America’s Ballroom Challenge when the show airs on February 25th on PBS. Be sure to check your local listings for the time.

If you enjoyed the first rendition of Evolution of Dance that I posted several months ago, you’ll probably love the sequel too. In part 2 of Judson Laipply’s fun-loving routine, he makes sure to include the dance forms obviously left out of the last version…the Electric Slide and the Hokey-Pokey. Thank goodness! There’s even a tribute to Fergie’s humps.

One of the premiere dance companies is the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Any time they perform, it’s certain that the dance will be as nearly perfect as is humanly possible. I love to see them perform. They nearly always take my breath way.

And now, they have celebrated their 50th anniversary. And it was an all-star celebration too. Among the guests were Oprah Winfrey, Jesse Jackson, Soledad O’Brien and fashion designers James Mischka and Mark Badgley. Here are some cool photos from the event:

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Each season, before the cast of Dancing With the Stars is announced, we get a ton of rumors about who will be on the next season. Now and then, one of the rumors is true, often they aren’t. But, in the interest of full disclosure…and since we have a couple of months to wait…here is the first rumored cast member for DWTS season 8.

Radar Online is claiming that Paula Abdul will be part of the cast in Dancing With the Stars 8.

But wait, she’s a dancer/choreographer and even choreographed many of Janet Jackson’s music videos. I’m not so sure that’s in the spirit of amateur dancers…

What do you think of Paula Abdul being part of the show? Do you think it’s fair, or not? Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

[Photo: newscom.com]

That’s because Animal Planet has now televised the Dancing With Dogs program and it shows us dog lovers who choreograph dances with their talented dogs. The dogs seem to enjoy the dance just as much as their humans do! I had no idea that there was a dancing with dogs freestyle competition, let alone that it would be televised. But I managed to watch the two-hour show and it was totally fun! In fact, I’m thinking of training my fabulous dog Rufus to dance!

None of the humans seem stuffy, or tough on the dogs, they just share the fun activity of dance with them. I loved it and think you might too. Here’s a clip of one of the more colorful competing pairs: