This week, The Academy round of this season of So You Think You Can Dance continued with the remaining forty-one contestants. The dancers had to take on contemporary and jazz choreography in order to impress the judges and make it into the Top 20 dancers. Let’s take a look at who made it through Academy week.

Starting off with Emmy-award winning choreographer Travis Wall to teach the contestants a contemporary routine, the real challenge during this round of choreography was to be expressive and emotional. Any stiffness would be a surefire way to get a ticket home. First to leave this round was Dylan after being outperformed by Allen and Cole. Following him out of The Academy were Melanie, Eddie, and Bridget among others.

Next up was a new round to the competition, a group jazz production with Mandy Moore that would also feature the dancers’ individual styles. As exciting as it is to work with award-winning choreography and hilarious personality Mandy Moore, being a standout yet cohesive member of a large group number is an incredible task. Each group had its setbacks trying to come up with original choreography, but the end performance was incredible to watch. Despite the overall success, the judges still had to send thirteen dancers home. The jazz round was the end for Nicole, Tessa, Victoria, Alexis, Gaevin, and Jay.

The final day of Academy Week and the dancers last chance to make it into this season’s Top 20  was a solo round. The remaining dancers put everything they had into their solos to show the judges what they could bring to the stage and the competition. After several incredible solos, the judges made their final decisions.

Season 15’s Top 20 dancers are… Jay Jay Dixonbey, Gennesy Castillo, Magda Fialek, Jensen Arnold, Stephanie Sosa, Dayna Madison, Sydney Moss, Brianna Penrose, Chelsea Hough, Emily Carr, Hannahlei Cabanilla, Cole Mills, Justin Pham, Slavik Pustovoytov, Peyton Albrecht, Dustin Payne, Evan DeBenedetto, Kyle Bennet Jr. Darius Hickman, and Allen Rickman!

The Top 20 rejoiced, but the judges left them off with a surprise. Only 10 of these dancers will make it to the live show. Next week, the dancers will be paired with the All Stars to compete for those ten spots in the live show in the final episode of Academy Week.

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Veronica Good has been with Showstopper Magazine since 2016. When she isn't keeping you updated on the latest trends, she is at home with her many pets or probably playing The Sims 4. Veronica has a BA in English and an MA in writing from Coastal Carolina University. She is also a writer of fiction and poetry, and her work can be found in Archarios, Tempo, and Scapegoat.