by Gina Scarpa

The search is on for America's Favorite Dancer as season 9 for So You Think You Can Dance gets underway. Auditions have already taken place in Atlanta and Dallas and this week, the show stopped in New York City. RealityWanted was invited to attend, meet the judges, and watch some of the dancers as they performed for the chance to move on to Vegas.

On the stage of the beautiful Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), head judge and Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe talked about what he, Mary Murphy, and Tyce DiOrio would be looking for. "You want dancers that dance across all styles," he told RealityWanted and reporters. "We don't need contemporary dancers. We need DANCERS."

Dancers with all different backgrounds and training - hip hop, contemporary, tap, ballroom - lined the street outside of BAM waiting for their shot in front of the judges. There were returning contestants who were cut in previous seasons, there were teenagers trying out for the first time, and there were those who felt that this was their only shot at achieving their dream. Just as you see on the show, some just weren't strong enough, others needed to head to choreography to convince the panel, and there were those special few who were handed the ticket straight through to Vegas.

When it comes to choreography, Nigel says that hip hop dancers, who tend to have no formal training, often struggle the most. "You can't be expected to pick up the choreography that these wonderful choreographers do if you haven't had any formal training," he said. "That's why people like Twitch came back year on year - he came back three years - and didn't get onto the show and has now become one of the country's top commercial dancers because he did formal training."

If New York was any indication of what's to come in season 9, fans will be quite happy with what they see when the show returns in May. In the meantime, auditions are still taking place in the following cities:

Salt Lake City, UT - Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 - Capitol Theatre
50 West 200 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101

Los Angeles, CA - Friday, March 2, 2012 - Orpheum Theatre
842 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Be sure to check out fox.com/dance for more on So You Think You Can Dance!

(Image courtesy of Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

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