Honestly, if you weren't glued to your TV in the summer of 2013, you missed the absolute zenith of technical dance on a global stage. So You Think You Can Dance Season Ten wasn't just another installment of a Fox reality show; it was a bizarre, beautiful, and incredibly high-stakes collision of raw talent and Nigel Lythgoe’s specific brand of theatrical ambition. It was the year of the "Tappers." It was the year of the "Animators." Most importantly, it was the year the show finally stopped trying to find just a "commercial dancer" and started celebrating true specialists who could somehow, against all logic, master every other genre thrown at them.
The energy felt different.
Coming off the heels of the show's first-ever double-winner format in Season 9, the tenth anniversary season had a lot to prove. It delivered. We saw Amy Yakima and Du-Shaunt "Fik-Shun" Stegall take the titles, but the journey to that finale was paved with some of the most visceral choreography the show has ever produced. If you mention "The Bench" or "Gravity" to any die-hard fan, they know exactly what you’re talking about. They probably still have the music on a Spotify playlist somewhere.
The Amy and Fik-Shun Dominance
The narrative of So You Think You Can Dance Season Ten largely centered on the chemistry between the eventual winners. It’s rare. Usually, the "journey" involves a lot of shuffling and struggling with new partners, but Amy and Fik-Shun were a lightning bolt. You had this tiny contemporary powerhouse with feet that defied physics paired with a street dancer who moved like water.
Fik-Shun's victory was particularly significant because it solidified the "Street vs. Stage" debate that would eventually consume later seasons. He wasn't just a "hip-hop guy." He was an entertainer. When he performed that hip-hop routine to "After Party" or the contemporary piece with Allison Holker, he proved that technique isn't just about how many pirouettes you can do. It's about how you hold the space.
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Amy Yakima, on the other hand, was the technical "ringer." She was basically flawless. Whether she was doing jazz with Sonya Tayeh or a grueling contemporary piece with Travis Wall, she never looked like she was trying. She just was the dance.
Choreography That Actually Changed the Game
We have to talk about the choreographers. In Season 10, the creatives were working at a level that felt almost desperate to outdo the previous decade. Sonya Tayeh was at her peak "combat jazz" era. Nappytabs were evolving into more lyrical storytelling.
One standout moment? The "Wicked Game" routine. Travis Wall choreographing for Amy and Robert Roldan. It wasn't just a dance; it was a cinematic event. That piece alone probably won Amy the title. It showed the power of the "All-Star" system. Bringing back former contestants like Robert or Kathryn McCormick gave the Top 10 a benchmark to hit. If you couldn't keep up with an All-Star, the judges—Nigel, Mary Murphy, and a rotating door of guests like Christina Applegate or Jesse Tyler Ferguson—would eat you alive.
Mary Murphy’s "Hot Tamale Train" was in full force this season. It's easy to dismiss it as a gimmick now, but back then, getting that scream meant you had officially "arrived" in the dance world.
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The Rise of the Specialists
- Aaron Turner and the Tap Revival: For years, tappers were the underdogs. They were "too loud" or "too stiff." Aaron Turner changed that narrative by making it to the finale. He proved tap could be sexy, modern, and versatile.
- Hayley Erbert’s Versatility: Before she was a household name and married to Derek Hough, Hayley was a Top 10 finalist in Season 10. She was the quintessential "trouper," tackling every weird genre with a level of professionalism that the judges constantly praised.
- The "Animator" Influence: Characters like "Exorcist" dancer Jade Zuberi brought a level of "how did he do that?" to the early weeks. Even though he had to withdraw due to injury, he set a tone for the season: if you aren't doing something impossible, you aren't doing enough.
The "Cat Deeley" Factor and Production Value
You can't discuss So You Think You Can Dance Season Ten without mentioning Cat Deeley. She is, quite simply, the best reality TV host to ever do it. Her ability to pivot from a goofy joke to a genuinely emotional moment when a dancer was eliminated is a lost art. In Season 10, the production felt massive. The lighting cues were sharper. The musical choices were riskier—moving away from just Top 40 hits into indie tracks and obscure cinematic scores.
But it wasn't all perfect.
The show struggled with its own pacing. With two winners being crowned, the finale often felt rushed. There was also the perennial "busking" issue, where certain dancers (usually the ballroom specialists) would get saddled with choreography that didn't let them shine, leading to "shock" eliminations. Remember Paul Karmiryan? He was a ballroom genius who many thought would win it all. His exit was one of those "wait, what?" moments that defined the mid-season tension.
Why Season 10 Still Matters Today
Most reality shows fade into a blur of glitter and synthesized music. Season 10 sticks because it was the last time the show felt like a true "search for a star" before it started leaning into "Juniors" versions or heavy-handed "Street vs. Stage" gimmicks. It was the pure essence of the format.
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Dancers from this season went on to dominate the industry. You see them in Vegas residencies, on Broadway, and in major motion pictures. They weren't just "reality stars." They were—and are—elite athletes.
If you're looking to understand why dance became such a massive part of the cultural zeitgeist in the 2010s, you have to look at the work produced here. It taught a generation of viewers how to talk about dance. We learned about "lines," "extension," and "breath control" not from a textbook, but from watching Fik-Shun and Amy leave everything on that stage week after week.
Lessons for the Modern Viewer
- Watch the "All-Star" Rounds First: If you’re revisiting the season, skip the auditions and go straight to the Top 10. That is where the real art happens.
- Focus on the Choreographers: Pay attention to who is behind the movement. Many of the choreographers from Season 10 are now the most sought-after directors in Hollywood.
- Check the "Sytycd" YouTube Archives: Many of the best routines are still available in high definition. Specifically, look for anything choreographed by Sonya Tayeh or Christopher Scott from this era.
- Observe the Technical Evolution: Compare the ballroom routines from Season 10 to earlier seasons. The level of "crossover" ability required by the dancers had doubled by this point in the show's history.
The legacy of this season isn't just a trophy on a shelf. It’s the way it bridged the gap between underground dance styles and the mainstream stage. It made us care about a tapper from Las Vegas and a contemporary dancer from Michigan as if they were Olympic athletes. That’s the magic of the tenth season. It was big, it was loud, and it was occasionally over-the-top, but it was never boring.
To truly appreciate the current state of dance, go back and watch the Amy and Fik-Shun contemporary routine "After the Storm." It tells you everything you need to know about why this show, and this season specifically, became a permanent part of television history.